Invasion of Naboo

"The situation here is not what it seems. There is something else behind all this, Your Highness. There is no logic in the Federation's move here. My feelings tell me they will destroy you."

- Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn

The Invasion of Naboo, also known as the Naboo Crisis, was a pivotal galactic conflict that took place ten years prior to the Clone Wars, laying the seeds for the war itself. During the invasion, Naboo's capital city and surrounding regions were occupied by the battle droid army of the Trade Federation. The Federation was secretly in league with the Sith led by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who was Naboo's senator, Sheev Palpatine. The Dark Lord intended to use the crisis as a pretext to remove the Galactic Republic Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum from office and have himself elected in his place as Palpatine.

During the initial blockade, Valorum sent two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negotiate with the Federation, but Sidious ordered that they be killed and that the Federation deploy their forces to Naboo. The Jedi escaped and rescued Queen Padmé Amidala from the Federation, making their way to the world of Tatooine that was controlled by the Hutt Clan for refuge after their vessel was damaged while escaping the blockade. There, Jinn discovered a young slave named Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force.

The group repaired their damaged vessel and made their way to the Republic capital world of Coruscant, where Amidala pleaded for assistance before the Galactic Senate. The Republic's bureaucracy was unable to help Amidala, who called for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum, leading to an election in which Palpatine was a favorite to win. Knowing she would find no help on Coruscant, Amidala returned to Naboo with the Jedi and planned to defeat the Federation on her own.

Upon her return, Amidala met and forged an alliance with the Gungans who lived in Naboo's oceans, and the Gungans agreed to join the fight against the Federation. In the final battle, the Gungan army took on the Federation army as a diversion; a wing of starfighters attacked the droid control ship in orbit; and Amidala and the Jedi infiltrated the palace to capture Nute Gunray, the Federation viceroy. By the battle's end, Skywalker had destroyed the Federation control ship, the Gungans were victorious, Gunray was captured, and the Sith Lord Darth Maul was defeated&mdash;at the cost of Jinn's life.

The crisis ultimately allowed Palpatine to achieve his goals; with a strong sympathy vote, Palpatine was elected Supreme Chancellor. Over the next ten years, he furthered his Sith plot to take over the Republic and destroy the Jedi, launching the Clone Wars that would allow him to form a Galactic Empire and destroy the Jedi Order.

Prelude
"Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the Senate, a tragedy has occurred, which started right here with the taxation of trade routes, and has now engulfed our entire planet in the oppression of the Trade Federation!"

- Senator Sheev Palpatine

Prior to the invasion, the Trade Federation used the Free Trade Zones to conduct untaxed business. The Galactic Senate, however, decided to make them eligible for taxation. This angered the Federation, which decided to retaliate by blockading the Mid Rim planet Naboo.

Negotiations
"Is it in their nature to make us wait this long?''" "''No. I sense an unusual amount of fear for something as trivial as this trade dispute"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn

The two Jedi were scheduled to meet with Viceroy Nute Gunray immediately after arriving at Naboo in the starship Radiant VII. However, TC-14, the hostess protocol droid which they encountered first, promptly informed Gunray, his lieutenant, Settlement Officer Rune Haako, and invasion force Captain Daultay Dofine, that the ambassadors from Coruscant were Jedi Knights. Terrified at the prospect of facing Jedi, Gunray contacted Darth Sidious and presented the situation. Sidious said the Chancellor should never have bought them into crisis and ordered Gunray to kill the Jedi at once and begin landing his troops on Naboo for an invasion, and when Gunray questioned the invasions' legality, Sidious replied that he would make it legal. Sidious also told Gunray to make sure that any future contacts to him have Dofine excluded from participation after the latter implied they should call off the plan due to fear of the Jedi.

The toxic gas dioxis then flooded the ventilation system in the Jedi's waiting room, and Gunray dispatched a squad of battle droids to ensure the destruction of the Jedi. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi though, proved more than a match for the droids and nearly cut through the blast doors to the bridge before being chased away by the more formidable droidekas. The two Jedi navigated the ship and then stowed away on separate invasion craft, with Kenobi forcing his to make a crash landing on Naboo.

The Subjugation of Naboo
"You were right about one thing, Master. The negotiations were short."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Qui-Gon Jinn

After learning the Jedi had escaped, Gunray contacted OOM-9, warning him of the Jedi's presence among them and to not underestimate them.

The loss of communications occurred as Padmé Amidala was consulting with Senator Palpatine. The failure prompted Theed's Governor Sio Bibble to say that it was an invasion, although Amidala reconfirmed her pledge of no fighting. She soon switched places with her decoy Handmaiden Sabé. Within hours, the droid armies had taken Theed, subduing Naboo's small Royal Naboo Security Forces and leaving the planet completely under the control of the Federation. Nute Gunray himself landed in Theed and assumed control from Queen Amidala's own throne room. After Amidala refused to sign a treaty legitimizing the occupation, she and her retinue were to be processed into Camp Four.

However, the two Jedi had survived and reached the Naboo swamps. After having run into local Gungan Jar Jar Binks and contacted Boss Rugor Nass, leader of the Gungans, in the underwater city of Otoh Gunga both Jedi Jinn and Kenobi finally made it to Theed. There they found the Queen and her entourage held hostage by battle droids. The Jedi made quick work of the droids and the Queen agreed to return with them to Coruscant, where she could plead before the Senate for help against her planet's cruel and abrupt siege.

However, getting past the Trade Federation blockade proved very difficult and the Queen's ship was barely able to scrape by, its shields having been repaired by astromech droid R2-D2 at the last possible moment. Since the hyperdrive was leaking badly during the escape, the group decided to hide on Tatooine in the Outer Rim Territories until a replacement could be found.

In the following days, Trade Federation continued to take over the planet, eventually taking complete control. Following the subjugation of the planet, command transferred from the Saak'ak to the Droid Control Ship and the blockade dispersed.

Arrival
"Tatooine is sparsely populated. If the trace was correct, I will find them quickly, Master." "Move against the Jedi first. You will then have no difficulty taking the Queen to Naboo to sign the treaty." "At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge." "You have been well trained, my young apprentice. They will be no match for you."

- Darth Sidious and Maul

After finding out that the Queen had escaped the blockade, Darth Sidious was furious. He sent his Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, to find the Queen and the Jedi, destroy the latter, and bring the former back. Now was the time for the Sith to unmask themselves to the Jedi after almost a thousand years.

After the Queen's ship on Tatooine, Qui-Gon Jinn went with Amidala (disguised as a handmaiden) and Jar Jar Binks to Mos Espa, where he attempted to barter for parts with Watto, the greedy Toydarian owner of a junkyard. They also met the young slave Anakin Skywalker, who invited them back to their home.

On the second day on Tatooine, they bartered with Watto and were allowed to enter Skywalker's podracer into the Boonta Eve Classic. The Jedi and Amidala helped Skywalker complete his podracer. When cleaning a small cut, Jinn was able to acquire a blood sample, which he sent over his comlink to Kenobi. The sample revealed a startling discovery&mdash;over 20,000 midi-chlorians, things which resided in each individual and allowed them to commune with the Force.

Boonta Eve
"My only conclusion can be that it was&hellip; a Sith Lord."

- Qui-Gon Jinn, after the duel with Darth Maul

Skywalker won the podrace and was granted his freedom, and Watto gave the Jedi a replacement T-14 hyperdrive generator. Young Skywalker agreed to return to Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi. As he packed up, Obi-Wan made the necessary replacements.

On his ship, Scimitar, Maul traveled to Tatooine. He touched down on the planet's sand and sent probe droids in different locations to find his targets. One of the probe droids ended up destroyed by Jinn upon discovering its tailing them. Later that day, as the Jedi returned to their ship, Maul ambushed Jinn and his new protege, Anakin Skywalker. Maul leaped from his speeder and clashed with the Jedi. It was only through extreme concentration that Qui-Gon could defend himself against Maul's heavy attacks. As he fended a blow from the Sith, Qui-Gon told a puzzled Anakin to leave and tell the Naboo pilot to take off. While he was driven back, Skywalker boarded the Royal cruiser and did as Jinn said. Maul attempted to take Jinn by leaping over him, but Jinn blocked the strike to his back and jumped on the ramp. Now saved from the clutches of the Sith, the Queen and her entourage departed Tatooine for Coruscant. Down in the cruiser's boarding ramp, Jinn expressed his worries and introduced Skywalker to his future master.

Amidala before the Senate
"Honorable representatives of the Republic, I come to you under the gravest of circumstances. The Naboo system has been invaded by the droid armies of the Trade&hellip;" "I object! There is no proof! This is incredible. We recommend a commission be sent to Naboo to ascertain the truth."

- Queen Amidala and Senator Lott Dod

After the duel on Tatooine, the Jedi and Queen Amidala arrived on Coruscant. They were met on the landing platform by Senator Palpatine and Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. Palpatine brought them to his apartment.

Jinn, Kenobi, and Skywalker appeared before the Jedi Council. Jinn reported his encounter with Maul, leaving the Council to consider the possibility that the Sith had returned after a thousand years. Skywalker was tested, and although he demonstrated Force-sensitivity, he was denied admittance. The Council cited his advanced age as the deciding factor, and ordered Kenobi and Jinn to return to Naboo with the Queen and find out what they could about her mysterious assailant to bring the existence of the Sith into light.

In a special meeting of the Galactic Senate, Amidala herself spoke before the thousands of Galactic delegates. Her pleas were instantly accused of being lies and baseless accusations by the Senator of the Trade Federation, Lott Dod, who recommended appointing a commission to ascertain the truth. Senator Aks Moe of Malastare agreed with Dod. The blatant corruption of the Senate dismayed Amidala, shaking her faith in its ability to govern. Valorum was interrupted by Vice Chair Mas Amedda, and when he spoke to Amidala, it was to ask her if she would defer her motion and allow the commission to proceed. Amidala responded by saying that she would not defer.

At the behest of Palpatine, Amidala shocked the Senate by moving for a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Valorum. Although she was reluctant to make the motion, it was taken up enthusiastically by the Senators.

Within hours, Palpatine was named one of the nominees to succeed Valorum and promised to Queen Amidala to clean up the rampant corruption. Bail Antilles was nominated, and Ainlee Teem as well. Palpatine ended up winning the election.

Against Palpatine's requests, Amidala returned to Naboo, deciding that her fate belonged with that of her people.

The battle for freedom
"Now, Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty."

- Queen Amidala to Viceroy Gunray

Upon their arrival back on Naboo, Amidala and the Jedi formulated a plan to capture Viceroy Gunray in Theed, thus taking back the planet. With the aid of Jar Jar Binks, an alliance was formed with the proud Boss Nass and the Gungans, and Captain Panaka organized together all Resistance cells.

The plan was for the Gungan Grand Army to engage the Droid Army of the Federation in open combat while the Queen and the Jedi quietly infiltrate the palace in Theed with the remainder of the Royal Security forces to capture the Viceroy. The small number of pilots in the Naboo security forces would then fly into space and attempt to destroy the only battleship still in orbit: the Droid Control Ship, where all the battle droids were controlled from a single computer brain.

The plan began as intended, but the entire dynamic of the situation changed with the arrival of Darth Maul. The two Jedi engaged the Sith Lord in battle while the queen led a raid into the throne room. Soon after, Amidala and her Security Captain Panaka successfully captured both Gunray and Rune Haako. Maul led Jinn and Kenobi through the hangar and into Theed's power generator complex, where Maul managed to kick Kenobi, who fell several stories below. Jinn was then able to knock Maul back. Jinn jumped down after him, but the Sith Lord managed to get up. They moved down the catwalk near the refinery.

Meanwhile, Kenobi was able to jump up on the catwalk Jinn and Maul were on, and ran to help Jinn. But Jinn, Kenobi and Maul were stuck behind the laser shields, each cut off from the other. Maul waited impatiently looking in mocking contempt at Jinn, who was calmly meditating, possibly as an attempt to strike the Sith Lord off-guard. The walls shut down, Kenobi ran, and Jinn jumped up and battled Maul once again. At the melting pit, Maul battled the Jedi and mortally wounded Jinn. He then had to face Kenobi. The wall once again shut down and Kenobi was left to face Maul, alone. Maul managed to kick Kenobi into the pit, but Kenobi grabbed hold onto a nozzle which was jutting out a little below Maul. The Sith Lord then kicked Kenobi's lightsaber into the bottomless shaft, past the still hanging Jedi. Calling his Master's lightsaber to him, Kenobi jumped and cut through the Sith Lord's waist. Maul then fell into the shaft. Kenobi joined his dying Master who, in his final words, told him to train Skywalker, the fabled "Chosen One" destined to bring balance to the force. Jinn died in a distraught Kenobi's arms. With Maul presumed dead, Amidala's assassination failed, but the Droid Army, however, was still active, until the Droid Control Ship was miraculously destroyed by an unexpected participant in the day's events: young Anakin Skywalker.

Aftermath
With the defeat of the Trade Federation and the deactivation of its mechanical army, the invasion was over. Peace and order were restored, as were positive relations between the Gungans and the people of Naboo. Soon after, Palpatine arrived on Naboo with members of the Jedi High Council to oversee the arrest of Gunray and Haako. Yoda promoted Kenobi to full Jedi Knight and assigned him to train Skywalker. That evening, Qui-Gon was given a Jedi funeral. The Council members believed that Kenobi had destroyed Darth Maul, but he had in fact survived and went into exile. The day after, the Gungans and celebrated with a parade in Theed, complete with overflights by N-1 starfighters. Amidala and Boss Nass shared a symbolic globe as a Gungan band played music.

After the battle, Palpatine promised to bring Gunray and his lieutenants to justice and end the corruption of the Senate.

Eventually, Amidala's term as Queen expired. Although the Naboo people were willing to amend the Constitution, Amidala stepped down and Jamillia was elected as her successor. Amidala then accepted the position as Naboo's senator. Eventually, Count Dooku was apprenticed to Darth Sidious, but became the public face of the Separatist Crisis. Gunray continued to despise Amidala for her part in his defeat and sought revenge against her.

The ascension of Palpatine to the post of Supreme Chancellor was part of his grand scheme to put himself in total control of the galaxy.

Although Maul was believed to have died, he had in fact survived, but was crippled, and ended up going into hiding until he was found by his brother, Savage Opress. His survival was eventually exposed publicly during the Skirmish on Florrum.

Behind the scenes
The Invasion of Naboo was first shown in the first film of the Star Wars Prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, released in May of 1999.

Conception
The screenplay for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was started on November 1, 1994. Although the Star Wars universe started in the middle, with the Original trilogy, creator George Lucas had always conceived of the films as being part of a multi-film saga. It was written, like the rest of Lucas' scripts, on loose-leaf paper with pencil in a red binder.

The Art Department was led by Design Director Doug Chiang. During the pre-production time, Lucas and Producer Rick McCallum met weekly with the Art Department. Costume Designer Trisha Biggar and her staff of 40 made over 1,000 costumes for the film. Additionally, Industrial Light & Magic created dozens of full-scale models.

Filming began on the first prequel 20 years after the first Star Wars had been released, as creator George Lucas felt that technology had reached the point. Principal photography was done at at Leavesden Studios. The sets were constructed under the supervision of Production Designer Gavin Bocquet. Among the sets were the Tatooine slave hovel, the Royal Starship cockpit, Theed Hangar, Jedi Council Chambers, the Trade Federation battleship generator core, and more. Scenes in the Theed Royal Palace were shot at Caserta, Italy, and Tatooine returned to location in Tunisia. Portions of the Gungan city were done in CGI.

The score was done by Star Wars composer John Williams.