The fall of Anakin Skywalker. The collapse of the Galactic Republic. The rise of Emperor Palpatine and creation of Darth Vader. It’s been 25 years since the Star Wars prequels changed everything – back in 1999, The Phantom Menace exploded into cinemas in an unprecedented cultural event. In its wake followed Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith, unspooling George Lucas’ visionary, technically ambitious, and thematically-dense trilogy of tragedy. The reception at the time was unsteady; today, they’re hailed as a vital and beloved era of Star Wars history.
The new issue of Empire is an epic celebration of Episodes I, II, and III, revisiting the movies with the people who made them. Inside, we have brand new cast interviews, including major conversations – and exclusive photo shoots – with Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, and the one and only Emperor Palpatine, Ian McDiarmid; also speaking to Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, Brian Blessed and more on their memories of the trilogy. Plus, we revisit iconic sequences with producer Rick McCallum, stunt co-ordinator Nick Gillard, and concept designer Iain McCaig, breaking down the Podrace in Episode I, the arena battle in Episode II, and the Mustafar duel in Episode III; we get a closer look at rarely-seen concept art from across the trilogy; we speak to designer Ellen Lee Moon on the story behind her legendary Phantom Menace poster. We even catch up with Elan Sleazebaggano himself, Matt Doran. (No death sticks for us, thank you.) It’s the ultimate look back at the trilogy that changed everything.
The issue features two collectible covers (“Always two, there are,” a wise Jedi once told us), illustrated exclusively for Empire by Paul Shipper, bringing together characters from across the entire trilogy. On the light side cover, we have Anakin in Jedi mode, joined by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé, Mace Windu, Yoda, and Qui-Gon Jinn.
And on the dark side, we have Anakin in Sith mode, flanked by Count Dooku, Darth Maul, General Grievous, Palpatine, and Jango Fett.
This month’s subscriber cover is an epic illustration by Bill McConkey, delving into the joyous toybox of the prequels, packed with poseable presentations of the trilogy’s greatest heroes and most dastardly villains.
And that’s not all – in the issue, we also take a first look at the long-awaited mutant mayhem of X-Men ’97, get the early word on Alex Garland’s A24 epic Civil War, go kaiju-huge with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, bulk up with bloody thriller Love Lies Bleeding, get the full story behind Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black, and much, much more.
You won’t find a magazine with a higher midi-chlorian count – pick up Empire’s Star Wars prequel trilogy 25th anniversary issue on newsstands from Thursday 15 February. Pre-order the issue online – find the light side cover here, and the dark side cover here. This is where the fun begins.