[1]Once, when a movie was successful there used to be a "sequel", a follow-up film destined to build on the popularity of its predecessor and extend the life of the story at the box office.

[2] Now there is the "prequel". After the success of the great Star Wars trilogy--Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983)--producer George Lucas has come up with the movie which preceded the famous story of good and evil forces battling it out across the galaxy.

[3] This preceding movie, or prequel, Star Wars: Episode 1----The Phantom Menace (1999) sets the scene for the Star Wars trilogy, with the introduction of characters such as the all-seeing old man of wisdom, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the evil Darth Vader.

[4] When Star Wars was introduced in 1977, it set new standards. Writes film critic Colin Hogg: "'A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away,' begins 'Star Wars', the 'Gone With the Wind' of science fiction movies, the epic that made the stars in the sky the stars of the movie screen and did more than any other film to bring that 'other world' out there in the darkness into the hearts and minds of a generation.

本文简介：由乔治·卢卡斯创造的、耗巨资拍摄的最宏大的电影系列之一《星球大战》故事又回到了银幕上。这部“前传”名叫《星球大战：第一集----幽灵的威胁》。----编者

一旦一部影片成功了，往往就会有一部“续集”出现，这部紧随其后的电影注定是建立在前一部影片的名气之上并在票房收入方面延续该故事生命的。

现在则有了“前传”。在了不起的《星球大战》三部曲----《星球大战》（1977），《帝国反击战》（1980）和《杰迪的归来》（又译：《武士的归来》（1983）----成功之后，制作人乔治·卢卡斯又推出了一部新片，讲述的是银河系善恶力量决一胜负的这个著名故事之前的故事。

这个之前的故事，或称前传，《星球大战：第一集----幽灵的威胁》（1999）以介绍诸如洞悉一切的智慧老人、奥比温·肯诺比和恶魔达思·威德等人物为《星球大战》三部曲作了铺垫与衔接。

当《星球大战》在1977年初次面世的时候，它树立了一些新标准。电影评论家科林·霍格写道：“‘很久很久以前，在遥远的银河系上开始的‘星球大战’，是科幻电影中的‘飘’，是使太空中的群星成为银幕上明星的史诗，没有任何一部电影像它这样将那个在黑暗中的‘另一个世界’带进一代人的心里和意识中。”