In May 1999, Star Wars hadn’t been in movie theaters for nearly 20 years—well, new Star Wars, at least; the Special Editions had returned a few years prior. But the galaxy far, far away was about to explode with the arrival of The Phantom Menace. And actually, a few weeks earlier, the explosion had already begun, in pretty much every store and toy aisle across America and beyond.
Technically, the fervor had kicked off the year before with a mail-away campaign for the first Episode I figure, a mysterious Jedi Master—and later, an even more mysterious, skeletal battle droid and their STAP speeder hit shelves as part of a sneak preview program. But things reached a fever pitch on May 6, 1999: at midnight across the U.S., stores opened to hordes of fans eager to get their hands on the merchandise for a brand new Star Wars movie, for the first time in 16 years.
Product images sourced from the Rebel Scum photo archive, unless otherwise stated.
In May 1999, Star Wars hadn’t been in movie theaters for nearly 20 years—well, new Star Wars, at least; the Special Editions had returned a few years prior. But the galaxy far, far away was about to explode with the arrival of The Phantom Menace. And actually, a few weeks earlier, the explosion had already begun, in pretty much every store and toy aisle across America and beyond.
Technically, the fervor had kicked off the year before with a mail-away campaign for the first Episode I figure, a mysterious Jedi Master—and later, an even more mysterious, skeletal battle droid and their STAP speeder hit shelves as part of a sneak preview program. But things reached a fever pitch on May 6, 1999: at midnight across the U.S., stores opened to hordes of fans eager to get their hands on the merchandise for a brand new Star Wars movie, for the first time in 16 years.
Product images sourced from the Rebel Scum photo archive, unless otherwise stated.