The Phantom Menace Timeline & All Palpatine's Plans Explained

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace includes a complex timeline of treaties, political maneuvers, and manipulations thanks to Emperor Palpatine’s master plan. This long story filled with confusing political jargon has often led The Phantom Menace to be ranked among Star Wars’ worst movies, despite the story being an intriguing exploration of how corrupt politicians can manipulate a state or, in this case, a galaxy. Although the Star Wars timeline before The Phantom Menace is important, what comes after Palpatine’s plan is enacted saw the Skywalker Saga take shape.

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Overall, George Lucas’ prequels impacted the franchise massively, from the initially divisive reception to the way upcoming Star Wars movies will incorporate elements first introduced in the former stories. Aside from those wider effects on the franchise, the story told by the prequels outlines the complete history of how Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader came to rule the galaxy via the timeline of Star Wars’ Galactic Empire. As such, exploring exactly how this plan began is certainly worth it, beginning with Palpatine’s political machinations that saw him rise to power in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

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Palpatine Engineers The Invasion Of Naboo

The Blockade Of Naboo Begins The Downfall Of The Galactic Republic

The first step in Palaptine’s decades-long plan was, ironically, the invasion of his own home planet. Little is known of Palpatine’s backstory in Star Wars, but it has long been common knowledge that he hailed from Naboo. Under the guise of his Sith alter ego, Darth Sidious, Palpatine convinced members of the Trade Federation to set up a blockade of Naboo. This stopped any supplies from reaching the planet in a bid to persuade Queen Amidala to support the Federation’s taxation bill and essentially give control of the planet to the latter.

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Naturally, the question raised about this is why Palpatine wanted Naboo under the control of the Trade Federation. The blunt answer is that he did not. The invasion of Naboo was simply a way of building up sympathy for his cause in the Senate. With Naboo being his home planet and the greed of the Trade Federation causing the situation to escalate into the threat of war, Palpatine grew into a more sympathetic figure within the Senate as faith in Chancellor Valorum was shaken.

8

Sifo-Dyas Is Betrayed By Count Dooku

Worlds Away From Naboo, Palpatine’s Plans Were Furthered

While Naboo was being invaded and Palpatine was manipulating the Senate to his side, other Sith actions were being carried out across the galaxy. This part of Palpatine’s was not explored in The Phantom Menace, but instead retroactively tied to the film via the timeline of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Palpatine’s plans with Naboo coincided with more overtly evil actions, as Count Dooku betrayed his former Jedi ally, Sifo-Dyas. Sifo-Dyas is mentioned many times in the prequels, but his story remained shrouded in mystery until The Clone Wars.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 6, episode 10, “The Lost Ones” is the episode that details Sifo-Dyas’ backstory and betrayal by Dooku.

Interestingly, Sifo-Dyas suspected the Sith were planning something during the prequel era, yet the Jedi Order did not share his worries. As such, Sifo-Dyas secretly ordered the Kaminoans to craft a Grand Army of the Republic, otherwise known as the Clone Army. Wishing to fold the clones into his plans, Palpatine ordered Count Dooku to kill Sifo-Dyas, which the aspiring Sith did with ease.

7

Padmé’s Escape Complicates Palpatine’s Plans, & He Sends Darth Maul

The Jedi Order Rescue Padmé From Naboo

Up to this point in The Phantom Menace, Palpatine’s plan goes down relatively smoothly. However, this changes when Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi smuggle Queen Amidala away from Naboo. Knowing that Palpatine needs Amidala to cooperate in order to further his standing within the Senate, he unleashes his Sith apprentice Darth Maul to find her. Maul fails in doing so, allowing Padmé and her Jedi allies to reach the Republic capital of Coruscant.

6

Palpatine Manipulates Padmé Into Calling A Vote Of No Confidence

Another Contingency Plan Works In Palpatine’s Favor

Arguably the most impressive thing about Palpatine’s rise to power is how often he sidestepped potential obstacles. No matter what transpired, Palpatine often had contingencies in place to put his rise to power back on track, the biggest being Star Wars’ Project Necromancer. After his attempted Sith kidnapping via Maul did not work, Palpatine changed tact by delving into political manipulation. Using their shared love of Naboo, Palpatine persuades Queen Amidala to call for a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum.

5

Palpatine Manipulates His Way Into Becoming Chancellor

Palpatine’s First Major Success Is Granted

After Padmé calls for the aforementioned vote of no confidence, Palpatine’s prior manipulation of the Senate begins to bear fruit. By capitalizing on the sympathy he drummed up for the Naboo situation, calling in political favors from others in the Senate, and no short amount of blackmail, Palpatine wins the election to become Chancellor of the Republic after Valorum is ostracized. This essentially makes Palpatine the most powerful man in the galaxy as the leader of the Republic and a powerful Star Wars Sith Lord who operates from the shadows.

4

Count Dooku Takes Over Sifo-Dyas’ Plans For The Clone Army

Dooku’s Betrayal Yields Results

While Palpatine rises to the top of the Republic’s political landscape, Dooku continues the clandestine works of the Sith. After murdering Sifo-Dyas, Dooku begins work on turning the Grand Army of the Republic into a deadly Sith weapon. Dooku does this by reworking the chips placed inside the clones into what becomes known as the inhibitor chips via another Clone Wars retcon.

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As revealed in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the inhibitor chips become a dangerous thorn in the side of the Jedi Order. The chips eventually turn the clones against the Jedi, forcing the soldiers who fought alongside the space wizards to murder them for Palpatine’s gain. This became known as Star Wars‘ infamous Order 66 and stemmed entirely from Dooku’s off-screen machinations involving the Clone Army in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

3

Palpatine’s Plans Fail When Darth Maul Dies On Naboo

Palpatine Finds Himself In Need Of Another Sith Apprentice

As alluded to, Palpatine’s plan is derailed several times throughout the nine-episode story of the Skywalker Saga. That said, no setbacks are arguably as big to Palpatine as the loss of Darth Maul. Maul dies on Naboo during the climactic Duel of the Fates, leaving Palpatine without his Sith assassin. Without Maul, Palpatine does not pose the same threat to the Jedi Order that he did previously.

After all, Palpatine’s entire plan surrounds pure chaos. If he can sew enough war, confusion, and disorder throughout the galaxy as possible, his rise to power is made much easier, as seen by his being elected Chancellor in The Phantom Menace. Where the Jedi Order was concerned, Maul was a big tool in ensuring chaos within the Jedi’s ranks, by having his apprentice regularly kill off members of the Order. Regardless, Palpatine pivoted to Count Dooku/Darth Tyrannus as his next apprentice who, while powerful in the Force and influential politically, did not possess quite the same chaotic bloodlust as Maul.

2

Dooku Deletes The Jedi Records Of Kamino

Dooku’s Final Episode I Act Is Completed

The final mission Dooku received from Palpatine during the timeline of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is tied to the Clone Army. After killing Sifo-Dyas and taking control of the clones via the inhibitor chips, Dooku is tasked with wiping the records of Kamino from the Jedi Temple so as to keep the Order in the dark about both Sifo-Dyas’ original plans and the updated, reworked schemes of the Sith. This explains why the Clone Army was not discovered until 10 years later during Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

1

Palpatine Recruits Count Dooku As His New Apprentice

The Sith Acolyte Becomes A True Apprentice

The death of one Star Wars Sith Lord made way for another in the final step of Palpatine’s plan in The Phantom Menace. Maul’s death left Palpatine in need of a Sith apprentice to do his bidding, so who better than the acolyte who had killed Sifo-Dyas, reworked the Clone Army, and ensured the Jedi remained ignorant of their plans? Therefore, Dooku officially took Maul’s place as the apprentice of Darth Sidious, solidifying himself as Darth Tyrannus and a major threat to the Jedi for the remainder of the prequels after Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

The beginning of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace sees young Anakin Skywalker put on his path to discovering his ability to influence the Force. While attempting to thwart the nefarious Trade Federation in their plans for the planet of Naboo, two Jedi discover an exceptionally-gifted slave with the ability to wield the Force. Little do they know, rescuing him is just the beginning of a saga that will span generations of the Skywalker family.

Where to Watch

stream
rent
buy

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

May 19, 1999

Runtime

133 minutes

Cast

Ewan McGregor
, Liam Neeson
, Natalie Portman
, Jake Lloyd
, Ahmed Best
, Ian McDiarmid
, Anthony Daniels
, Kenny Baker
, Pernilla August
, Frank Oz
, Ray Park
, Samuel L. Jackson

Director

George Lucas

Writers

George Lucas

Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment

9 Palpatine Engineers The Invasion Of Naboo