Back in 1999, a brand new era in the galaxy far, far away came to life. George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels told an epic tale of fallen Jedi, forbidden romance, and the dismantling of democracy – assembling a whole new cast to inhabit his vast space-opera. The stars who entered that sandbox took a bold step, not only working at the frontier of digital filmmaking techniques, but conjuring a Star Wars saga that stood apart visually and tonally from the beloved originals. The likes of Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson and Ian McDiarmid became an entire generation’s set of Star Wars heroes (and villains) – and they all spoke to Empire for our epic new issue, celebrating 25 years of the trilogy.
For Ewan McGregor, the pressure of playing the young Obi-Wan Kenobi was eased by working alongside Liam Neeson – whose Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn suffers a noble end in the final act of Episode I – The Phantom Menace. “There are moments in any script that become like little pinnacles, that there’s an expectation that you hit emotionally. And that was one of them,” McGregor tells Empire now of the scene. “I was so fond of Liam [Neeson]. He’s such a generous and wonderful man — playing it was super-easy, because he was right in the moment with me, and I was in there with him.”
Revisiting his time on Episode I, Liam Neeson fondly remembered working not just with McGregor, but with Ahmed Best – the actor behind Jar Jar Binks. “Ahmed was so funny and inventive,” Neeson enthuses, remembering his dismay at the Binks backlash that lasted for years. “Myself and Ewan were personally hurt and offended by the critical reaction to the character.”
With Episode II – Attack Of The Clones, the time came to cast the 19-year-old Anakin Skywalker – requiring an actor who would have to, come the trilogy’s end, become Darth Vader. That task fell to Hayden Christensen, who took part in a major new interview and photo shoot with Empire for the issue. “The scope of the opportunity — the enormity of it all — was exciting to me. It was obviously a little daunting too, but there’s a saying: ‘Pressure is privilege’. I just felt very lucky to have it,” he says of becoming Anakin. And the films gave him one hell of an arc to play. “I was really thrilled that I was gonna get to express George’s mapping out of how someone goes from good to bad.”
Also daunted was Natalie Portman, who played formidable politician (and later Anakin’s secret wife) Padmé Amidala across all three films. “I was worried about doing it, that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else after, because the series carries such a mythology in American life. But that was precisely why it was such an incredible opportunity,” she tells Empire now. “It bridged my career from a child to an adult.”
Underlying the journey of the heroes and villains, stirring the pot across all three films, was Ian McDiarmid’s sinister Sith Lord, Sheev Palpatine. Having played the Emperor in Return Of The Jedi back in 1983, decked out in old-age makeup, the timing worked perfectly for McDiarmid to reprise the role of the younger Chancellor in the prequels. While the earlier prequels involved much politicking, he got to revel in all-out evil by Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith. “George [Lucas] kept hyping me up on that,” he remembers of the scene in which he attacks Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu. “I was screaming, ‘ABSOLUTE POWER!’ I said, ‘Do you want me to do some quiet ones, because this is a bit much?’ George said, ‘No, go further, go further!’ So I did, and he seems to have kept most of it — there’s no holding back there.” It’s one of many lines that fans still request from the actor today. “The one that they like most of all is, ‘DO IT!’ People just love it,” he says. It’s official: the dark side has more fun.
Read Empire’s full interviews with Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, and Ian McDiarmid – as well as Samuel L. Jackson, Brian Blessed, Matt Doran and more – in the Star Wars prequels 25th anniversary issue. Also inside the issue, we revisit iconic sequences with producer Rick McCallum, stunt co-ordinator Nick Gillard, and concept designer Iain McCaig, breaking down the Podrace, the Geonosis arena battle, and the Mustafar duel; we get a closer look at rarely-seen concept art from across the trilogy; we speak to designer Ellen Moon Lee on the story behind her legendary Phantom Menace poster, and much, much more. It’s the ultimate look back at the trilogy that changed everything.
Find the issue in all good newsagents – from the core worlds to the outer rim – from Thursday 15 February. Pre-order the issue online – find the light side cover here, and the dark side cover here.