Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace arrived in 1999 as one of the most anticipated films in modern cinema history, a Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox production that launched the prequel trilogy after a sixteen-year gap since Return of the Jedi. Directed by George Lucas, it introduced audiences to a younger galaxy, new technology in digital filmmaking, and a wave of merchandising and fan devotion that reshaped how blockbuster releases were marketed and consumed.
This 35mm cell bears the name Darth Maul, the double-bladed Sith apprentice who became an instant icon of the prequel era despite limited screen time in the finished film. Collectors prize Maul for his striking design and his role as the first live-action Sith villain audiences had seen in decades, a bridge between the original trilogy's mythology and this new chapter. A cell carrying his name preserves a fragment of that introduction, a physical piece of the print tied directly to the character's presence in the 1999 release.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
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