Although Star Wars has added post-credits scenes to a few more recent projects, the first post-credits tease in Star Wars actually happened 25 years ago. Compared to franchises like Marvel, which has been incorporating post-credits scenes to tease upcoming movies and TV shows for well over a decade, Star Wars is fairly new to the post-credits game. However, one post-credits tease in the Star Wars timeline is 25 years old.
The Mandalorian season 2’s post-credits scene was Star Wars‘ first, with Boba Fett and Fennec Shand killing Bib Fortuna and preparing audiences for the start of The Book of Boba Fett. Since then, The Book of Boba Fett incorporated a post-credits scene bringing back Cobb Vanth, and Andor’s post-credits scene set up season 2 of the show. The franchise’s first post-credits moment came a long time ago, though, and didn’t quite tease something brand new.
How To Watch Star Wars Movies In Order
Here is how to watch all Star Wars movies and TV shows chronologically and in order of release, and how each fits into the Star Wars timeline.
The Phantom Menace’s Final Black Screen Features Darth Vader’s Breathing
As pointed out in Pablo Hidalgo’s Star Wars: Fascinating Facts, the end of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace features a black screen with the infamous heavy breathing of Darth Vader’s mask. Although audiences would have known that the boy in the movie was going to become Darth Vader, it was surely jarring after seeing young Anakin, who was seemingly so innocent. This was no doubt in part the point; not only does it signal what is to come in the rest of the trilogy, but it also serves as a reminder that Anakin is destined to turn to the dark side of the Force.
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This became a bit of a pattern throughout the prequel era. In Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, when Anakin slaughters the Tuskens, Vader’s breathing is once again played alongside Qui-Gon Jinn saying, “Anakin! Anakin, no!” Unlike the post-credits breathing in The Phantom Menace, this moment is less a teaser and more a form of ominous (and a bit heavy-handed) foreshadowing.
Vader’s breathing was also incorporated into The Clone Wars show during the Mortis gods arc when Anakin confronts and fights the Son. While it became something of a plot device, though, for the theatrical release of The Phantom Menace, it would have had much more impact. Audiences at the time had only the original trilogy to draw from, so this would have been a much more thrilling hint of things to come.
This Was One Of Many Darth Vader Teases In The Phantom Menace
Vader’s breathing wasn’t the only nod to what Anakin’s future held in The Phantom Menace, though. John Williams also had the “Imperial March” incorporated into “Anakin’s Theme” in the movie. These choices were brilliant ways to not only connect the prequel trilogy movies to the original trilogy that audiences knew and loved, thereby keeping fans engaged, but to also create a narrative throughline for better storytelling.
Of course, The Phantom Menace had other moments of clear foreshadowing, too. Perhaps the most notable was the Jedi Council’s hesitation to welcome Anakin into their ranks; this made the Jedi seem wiser and was in keeping with the audience’s perceptions of the Force, but it was also yet another harbinger of things to come. Given the amount of retconning that had to be done in The Phantom Menace to pull off a connection to the original trilogy, these nods were a smart move by Star Wars for the first installation of the prequel trilogy.
Star Wars
- Created by
- George Lucas
- First Film
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
- Cast
- Mark Hamill , James Earl Jones , David Prowse , Carrie Fisher , Harrison Ford , Daisy Ridley , Adam Driver , Ian McDiarmid , Ewan McGregor , Rosario Dawson , Lars Mikkelsen , Rupert Friend , Moses Ingram , Frank Oz , Pedro Pascal
