Help: The Phantom Trailer

[Skykid]

I'm going out of my mind here. Or at least possibly so.

In the UK wayyy back there was an Episode I: Phantom Menace teaser trailer that initially aired on TV on the Good Morning breakfast show. It was the first time the trailer had ever been seen in the UK (even before cinemas).

This teaser trailer was very short. Probably a minute or just over. It began with the swamp intro that's present on so many of them, and the "Every generation has a legend" line, and, critically, it ends with the whole musical crescendo and just when you think it's over, it went into that really dark added outro where the emperor says "wipe them out. All of them", followed by Obi-Wan's "noooo" and a bunch of quick cuts.

Now, I can find all these things on youtube, but not in this specific arrangement. And I know (I know!) it existed in this format, and I was wondering if anyone had it on their HDD? I remember seeing it on youtube years later, but now there just seem to be alternative variants.

Key notes:

- Approx 1 minute, and for sure less than 2
- I don't remember ANY talking at all, except the emperor's line and Obi-Wan's scream. That's it.
- Starts with the swamp fade in (and not the military assault over the hilltops) and ends with the "wipe them out" montage.

Please put me out of my misery on this and tell me you know where this cut is, or at the very least, remember it too!

[RGC]

That does seem familiar. If memory serves (and there could be a problem right there! lol), there were three teaser trailers in total available to download. Via 56k modem, we're talking many agonising hours to obtain. Don't think I've been as hyped for any movie since. That moment when nine of us left the cinema, some awkward murmuring about going for a pint or something, and no one daring to broach the subject of what we'd just witnessed.

[BryanM]

As a librarian of internet, it might be possible this is a mandela effect thing.

The closest thing I could find is the same teaser shown in this warbly Entertainment Tonight cap. I dunno if they would have released multiple versions of the FIRST trailer they released to the public, considering how gigantic and managed this was. Google Bard basically told me I was an idiot looking for something that doesn't exist (but in its diplomatic and overly kind corporate way). Its kind of amazing chatbots can give us working Youtube links now, we really are living in the scifi future.

You might have to go to the Star Wars reddit page if no one here has an answer for ya, the guys there live and breathe this stuff.

Reading the Den Of Geek's throwback article on the topic is a trip, this movie was such a big f'in deal back then. People buying movie tickets just to watch the trailer for Star Wars, then walking out? The line was crazy long when I went to see it with my family.

We'll never see anything like that again man...

That moment when nine of us left the cinema, some awkward murmuring about going for a pint or something, and no one daring to broach the subject of what we'd just witnessed.

Haha, the difference between fantasy and reality.

I remember in the parking lot my parents looked like they had eaten shit. And I was like "..... what? It was a Star Wars movie!"

It's funny reading internet comments defending (that bitch) Lucas now. "At least he had ideas..." The well's only so deep, before it runs dry.

[Skykid]

That does seem familiar. If memory serves (and there could be a problem right there! lol), there were three teaser trailers in total available to download. Via 56k modem, we're talking many agonising hours to obtain. Don't think I've been as hyped for any movie since. That moment when nine of us left the cinema, some awkward murmuring about going for a pint or something, and no one daring to broach the subject of what we'd just witnessed.

I need to find these.

this warbly Entertainment Tonight cap.

Not this one. The one I saw didn't have Darth Maul's face reveal or all that talking. It gave away very little. I remember you saw Maul from behind, cloaked, standing in the desert only. And this one doesn't have the Obi-Wan NOOOOOO part tacked on after the Episode I title.

[Skykid]

That does seem familiar. If memory serves (and there could be a problem right there! lol), there were three teaser trailers in total available to download. Via 56k modem, we're talking many agonising hours to obtain. Don't think I've been as hyped for any movie since. That moment when nine of us left the cinema, some awkward murmuring about going for a pint or something, and no one daring to broach the subject of what we'd just witnessed.

I need to find these.

this warbly Entertainment Tonight cap.

Not this one. The one I saw didn't have Darth Maul's face reveal or all that talking. It gave away very little. I remember you saw Maul from behind, cloaked, standing in the desert only. And this one doesn't have the Obi-Wan NOOOOOO part tacked on after the Episode I title.

[BryanM]

Hmm... I can't prove it's not mandela. This reddit post indexes a lot of the trailers, doesn't have the one you describe. If they did cut a UK-only teaser that was only aired once on tv, it's gonna be hella tough to find. (One other thing that occurs to me looking in from the outside: these two trailers are very different. One is a fluffy harmless normie trailer for kids and moms, focused more on wonder. The "kill'em all" trailer is full of violence and murder and the word "die" a lot. Mixing the two isn't something I think they'd do; they're targeted to very different people.)

I'm really only making this post to comment on how funny I think it is George Lucas felt we needed three movies of Darth Vader being whiny and cringe nonstop. Never in a million years would anyone else come up with the idea that should be the foundation of a billions-dollar trilogy. George is a king, a real sigma male hero. All that money and emotion to have it all culminate in making James Earl Jones give a cringe "NooOOOOOOOOOOoOOOOoOoooo!!!" at the climax of it all.

Nobody can remember a single thing that happened in a Zombie Simpsons episodes even five seconds after having watched it. But by god, people remember things from this movie they've only seen once twenty years ago.

[Skykid]

I swear to god I'm not having a Mandela. That teaser is etched into my brain, and I know I saw the exact one on YouTube years later, now seemingly vanished.

I wonder if the UKs ITV still have it in a vault somewhere.

Either way, it was much better than the film.

That Reddit OP is having the same crisis. On recollection, I remember Yoda doing his hate leads to suffering spiel too.

EDIT:
Ok, here is the most accurate assembly:

First 2 minutes and 1 second of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ

Paired with last 20 seconds of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo--sWDK_nU

However the 2 minute part I really don't remember Maul getting such a blatant reveal, nor as much talking. Could be wrong though.

[BryanM]

I can't remember a time where Maul wasn't a crux of the promotional material. He's the movie's bad guy after all, you can't have a wrestling match without having someone's ass to kick. My memory has him mentioned around the internet even before trailers dropped. The first footage most anyone ever saw included the DOUBLE LIGHTSABER reveal. A moment which Disney tried to recreate with the laser crossguard on Darth Vader Jr.'s sword.

Along the way I came across a fan-made retro trailer made in the style of the original Star Wars trailer, maybe some people would enjoy giving it a look.

[Skykid]

I can't remember a time where Maul wasn't a crux of the promotional material. He's the movie's bad guy after all, you can't have a wrestling match without having someone's ass to kick. My memory has him mentioned around the internet even before trailers dropped. The first footage most anyone ever saw included the DOUBLE LIGHTSABER reveal. A moment which Disney tried to recreate with the laser crossguard on Darth Vader Jr.'s sword.

Along the way I came across a fan-made retro trailer made in the style of the original Star Wars trailer, maybe some people would enjoy giving it a look.

He could well be in it, but I'm sure the teaser I saw was shorter and had the swamp beginning and the emperor ending.

[RGC]

A less direct avenue you could explore is clips from The Big Breakfast from around that time. I recall their Star Wars week in celebration of TPM's release (really illustrating how caught up in SW mania the world had become, once again), where they interviewed just about everyone involved in the project, including the big man himself. Although it had released by this point, there might be some anticipatory clips out there where they showed the official trailer (assuming they would have been granted permission to do so, which is a big 'IF').

Beard

[orange808]

Auralnauts did a parody that's better than the film..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSCm8yAxBr8

[GaijinPunch]

This is really important stuff. I'd like to applaud the participants.

Hope you find it, SK, even though you never call or send flowers any more.

[Skykid]

Beard

I only see a couple of clips unfortunately, but holy crap, Kelly Brook. Thanks for that!

This is really important stuff. I'd like to applaud the participants.

Hope you find it, SK, even though you never call or send flowers any more.

These pressing matters have become my life's priorities.

[GaijinPunch]

These pressing matters have become my life's priorities.

I'd say you're doing it right then!