The Top 10 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Posters From The Last 25 Years, Ranked

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and these 10 posters represent the best of the Star Wars movie over the last 25 years. As the first movie in the chronology of Star Wars movies and TV shows, The Phantom Menace has had a massive impact on the franchise. Now, a quarter-century after its original release, the characters, stories, and concepts have only become more significant, as more recent Star Wars projects have further fleshed out the events of the movie.

In fact, one of the most anticipated of the upcoming Star Wars TV shows will provide even further insight into The Phantom Menace. Updates on Star Wars: The Acolyte, set to release on June 4, 2024, demonstrate that the show will act as a prequel to the prequel movies, contextualizing the events of the prequel trilogy. In the meantime, though, these 10 posters best represent the impact of The Phantom Menace and how its importance to the franchise has only increased over time.

10
One Phantom Menace Poster Shows The Minor Characters Too

Even Jar Jar Binks Gets Love On This Poster

Although The Phantom Menace was heavily criticized when it was released, it did introduce some beloved characters, perhaps most notably Queen/Padmé Amidala and Qui-Gon Jinn. The movie also introduced audiences to younger versions of fan-favorites already established in the original trilogy, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, C-3PO, and R2-D2. A newcomer who unfortunately took on significant heat, however, was Jar Jar Binks. Generally disliked because of the way he spoke and his personality, Jar Jar became one of the most contentious choices The Phantom Menace made. However, this poster welcomes him.

Moreover, the poster truly tells a story, showcasing the main characters and the secondary characters together. This poster is also excellent because it prominently features Queen Amidala who, despite being a key character, often does not get recognized for how significant her contributions were throughout the movie. The poster also captures many of the movie’s most important moments—the iconic Duel of the Fates fight between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Darth Maul in particular.

9
A Unique Phantom Menace Poster Puts Queen Amidala Front And Center

Naboo’s Queen Gets The Respect She Deserves

Truthfully, Queen Amidala does not often get the recognition she deserves. At just 14, Queen Amidala was leading an entire planet and risking her life to protect and save her people. She was also fierce in the face of battle, strategic in dealing with political issues, and wise in knowing when to employ her decoys. Particularly given her age, these feats are incredible.

This poster demonstrates that she had those major impacts by positioning her regally in the center of the poster, looking down upon the other characters. The golden hue of the poster also reflects Queen Amidala’s royal standing, as it matches her crown and is a color intrinsically linked to wealth and power. The poster also includes Anakin, Qui-Gon, Darth Maul, and a podracer, making it a truly fascinating combination of The Phantom Menace’s characters and events.

8
One Phantom Menace Poster Takes On A New Look

This Phantom Menace Poster Takes On A New Color Scheme

This Phantom Menace poster takes on a fascinating color scheme, deviating from the often red and brown tones of the prequel trilogy. In fact, the blue hues of this poster seem more reminiscent of the sequel movies. In part, this is because of Anakin’s lightsaber and how frequently characters wield it in the sequels. However, blue lightsabers, that one included, also exist in the prequels, making that seemingly a more intentional design choice.

This is therefore an interesting connection between the prequels and the sequels, though very likely unintentional. Even so, the poster is an interesting reflection of the ways each trilogy has its own aesthetic; it’s almost jarring how different this poster looks from much of the other merchandise, advertising, and movies themselves. Moreover, the poster is simply beautifully designed, again featuring Qui-Gon and Queen Amidala most prominently.

7
The Classic Phantom Menace Poster Brings On Nostalgia

This Iconic Phantom Menace Poster Will Always Be Beloved

Of course, the most common Phantom Menace poster is also beautifully designed and has become something of a classic. This poster much better reflects the main color scheme of the prequel movies but also maintains a connection to another Star Wars trilogy. Specifically, the design of this poster connects back to the stylization of the original trilogy posters, making it all the more nostalgic.

The original poster also captures the feel of the movie, which is marked by a sense of dread over the looming evil—the phantom menace himself. In this poster, that menace is Darth Maul, lurking in the background. While there’s some debate over whether that phantom menace was ultimately Darth Maul or was Palpatine all along, this poster perfectly makes the case for Maul being the true phantom of the movie.

6
A Phantom Menace Poster Captures The Best Parts of The Movie

Even Duel Of The Fates Is Included On This Excellent Star Wars Poster

One of the best-designed Phantom Menace posters creatively implements many of the movie’s characters with a close-up of Darth Maul’s face. In the image, Darth Maul’s face can be seen on the left side, while characters including Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi make up the right side. This poster demonstrates even better what a major impact Darth Maul had on the movie.

In many ways, Maul was the driving force behind The Phantom Menace. While, yes, it was ultimately revealed that Palpatine was pulling the strings all along, it’s nevertheless the case that Darth Maul was the one tracking and battling the Jedi. He was also responsible for Qui-Gon Jinn’s death, which set in motion all the events of the franchise. With Qui-Gon dead, Obi-Wan took Anakin on as his own apprentice. Ultimately, that decision contributed to the creation of Darth Vader and all the events that followed.

5
One Lightsaber Cut Makes For A Brilliant Phantom Menace Poster

This Phantom Menace Poster Beautifully Uses A Lightsaber Design

Another excellently designed Phantom Menace poster utilizes a lightsaber to create an incredible image. In this poster, the lightsaber blade creates a cut in which the main characters appear, creating a truly unique design. In addition to looking very cool, though, it also reflects a key aspect of The Phantom Menace.

Darth Maul was exciting because he was the first canon Star Wars Sith following the iconic Darth Sidious and Darth Vader duo from the original trilogy. However, he was also a thrilling addition because he was the first to bring double-bladed lightsabers to the big screen. This Phantom Menace poster is therefore perfect, as it highlights how amazing that introduction was by featuring a red lightsaber. In fact, Darth Maul’s lightsaber has continued to inform lightsabers in the franchise to this day, perhaps most notably with the Inquisitors’ many red lightsaber designs.

4
One Unique Phantom Menace Poster Has A Great Spin On Star Wars

The Style of One Phantom Menace Poster Feels Brand New

Like the color schemes for the trilogies, Star Wars has a very specific aesthetic that began early in the original trilogy. In particular, Star Wars has become known for the Imperial designs seen in the original trilogy movies, and that has informed much of the stylization for the other movies’ artwork and advertising. However, this poster is incredibly original, taking a completely different approach to Star Wars’ aesthetic.

Instead, the poster looks like an art print, incorporating an almost modernist design with its geometric shapes. Moreover, though, the poster only includes Queen Amidala, once again highlighting her importance to The Phantom Menace and to the prequel trilogy more broadly. While it may not have worked as the most prominent poster for the movie, this poster is brilliantly designed and one of the best in The Phantom Menace’s last 25 years.

3
One Phantom Menace Poster Proves The Acolyte Isn’t A Retcon

Darth Maul Confirms The Sith Were There All Along

As the prequel to the prequel movies, The Acolyte will be directly linked to The Phantom Menace, no doubt making clear why many of the movie’s events transpired in the way they did. However, some viewers have already become concerned that The Acolyte may be retconning The Phantom Menace, particularly because the trailer included a red lightsaber, suggesting the existence of the Sith. Although The Phantom Menace mentioned that the Sith had been eradicated for generations, The Acolyte is not retconning the movie or this understanding of the Sith.

This poster clarifies exactly that. By stating that, “at last,” the Sith will be able to reveal themselves to the Jedi, the poster makes clear that the Sith had never truly gone away. Instead, the Sith were always in hiding, biding their time. This reflects the perfect link between The Acolyte and The Phantom Menace in addition to being an incredibly designed poster.

2
The Phantom Menace Anniversary Poster Is The Perfect Throwback

The New Phantom Menace Poster Combines Nostalgia With Present Updates

The 25th anniversary poster for The Phantom Menace is one of the best posters for the movie to date. Not only does the poster beautifully reference the classic original poster, but it also adds to the details of that poster with the context that has been fleshed out through the movies and TV shows in the 25 years since. The biggest example is the stylization of Maul in the poster, which looks much more like the Maul of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.

Darth Maul’s return in The Clone Wars was one of the most shocking Star Wars plot twists in the franchise. Despite seeming quite dead in The Phantom Menace after Obi-Wan cut him in half, Darth Maul revealed himself to be alive after all and still very capable with the Force. In fact, he ultimately became a major adversary in both animated shows. This poster beautifully weaves that plot twist in, combining it with the original poster perfectly.

1
A Classic Phantom Menace Poster Foreshadows Anakin Skywalker’s Future

Darth Vader’s Shadow Perfectly Connects To The Original Trilogy

The single best Phantom Menace poster is that of young Anakin walking with his shadow in the shape of Darth Vader behind him. At the time of The Phantom Menace’s release, it was shocking for Anakin to appear not as an already evil man, or even a teenager, but instead as an innocent child. This poster perfectly reflects how insidious his path would truly be in spite of his introduction as a sweet, selfless child.

While audiences are now familiar with Anakin’s arc, this poster perfectly captured the shock of that impending transition at the time, and it was simply artfully done. Anakin’s fall to the dark side of the Force and transition into Darth Vader is one of the most compelling aspects of Star Wars, and this poster perfectly encapsulates that. While Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace has had many incredible posters over the course of its 25 years, this one stands out as the very best.