Star Wars Releases New Timeline of Phantom Menace Events

By Jennifer McDonough Posted:
The Phantom Menace, Star Wars logo

A new Star Wars book from DK Publishing breaks down the sequence of events as they occurred in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

It’s hard to believe that The Phantom Menace is almost 25 years old. The film is one of the more divisive offerings in the Star Wars franchise; however, public opinion has softened on it in since its release.

Most fans know the story by now: Qui-Gon Jinn finds a young boy named Anakin Skywalker who he believes is the Chosen One meant to bring balance to the galaxy. There’s some mostly boring politics, a meeting of the Jedi Council, and then everyone heads to Naboo so Qui-Gon can be killed by Darth Maul.

It’s a reasonably straightforward plot, but at times, there’s a lot going on. But readers won’t need to wonder any longer about the precise chronological placement of story beats.

Star Wars Releases Official Official Episode I Timeline

Star Wars: Timelines, a new and upcoming book from Dorling Kindersley intends to shed light on the chronological order of the Star Wars galaxy. An excerpt from the book, focusing on the final battle from The Phantom Menace, was recently revealed. Check it out below, along with some close-ups of the text and images (Via Star Wars News Net.)

Here’s the full breakdown of what happened when during the fateful Battle of Naboo.

An excerpt from Star Wars: Timelines
DK Publishing

This segment of the timeline includes the moment where John Williams’ score swells and the fearsome Darth Maul appears from behind a set of blast doors.

An excerpt from Star Wars: Timelines
DK Publishing

Moving on, the climactic lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Maul comes to its nail-biting conclusion as Jinn is impaled by the Sith’s blade and Kenobi retaliates, ending Maul for good (or not).

An excerpt from Star Wars: Timelines
DK Publishing

And finally, little Anakin Skywalker thinks spinning would be a good trick, so he tries it in the cockpit of an N-1 Naboo Starfighter, flying into the heart of the droid control ship and blowing it to smithereens. 

https://images.thedirect.com/media/photos/64E7B1BF-D090-4055-B820-9AA28AC42009.png
DK Publishing

The official description of the book reads as follows:

“The upcoming book Star Wars: Timelines from DK Publishing features five talented writers that some of you may have heard of already: Kristin Baver, Jason Fry, Cole Horton, moderator Amy Richau, and Clayton Sandell. The book will cover everything in the Star Wars universe, from the formation of the Jedi Order to the Battle of Exegol.

'Star Wars: Timelines' will be available on April 25 in the United States and April 27 in the United Kingdom. Pre-orders are now available wherever books are sold.”

Star Wars: Timelines Seems Quite Illuminating

One doesn’t need to be an expert in all things Star Wars to know what’s going on in these movies and shows. After all, George Lucas designed the franchise with kids in mind. At its core, Star Wars has always basically been about the battle between good and evil.

But as with any major media franchise, some fans enjoy obsessing over the extreme detail and minutia of a galaxy far, far away, so in that regard, the Star Wars: Timelines book looks to be pretty perfect.

There are some projects from the recent Star Wars canon that overlap chronologically, such as Revenge of the Sith and the final four episodes of The Clone Wars. Both installments depict the tragedy of Order 66 from different characters’ perspectives and occur at the exact same time. So Timelines might come in handy.

Star Wars: Timelines will be available for purchase starting April 25.

- About The Author: Jennifer McDonough
Jennifer McDonough has been a writer at The Direct since its 2020 launch. She is responsible for the creation of news articles and features. She also has a particular affinity for action figures and merchandise, which she revels in discussing in the articles she writes, when the situation calls for it.