On Coruscant, Qui-Gon Jinn informs the Jedi Council of the mysterious attacker he encountered on Tatooine. The fight is cut short when Qui-Gon manages to escape his black-robed assailant by jumping onboard the Naboo Royal Starship as it takes off. Maul appears just as the group is leaving the planet, and duels with Qui-Gon. Meanwhile, Darth Sidious sends his apprentice, Darth Maul, to kill the two Jedi and capture the Queen.
Anakin wins the race and joins the team as they head for Coruscant, where Qui-Gon plans to seek permission from the Jedi High Council to train Anakin to be a Jedi. By entering Anakin into a podrace, Qui-Gon orchestrates a gamble in which the boy (alone, since Qui-Gon was unable to include the youth's mother in the bargain) will be released from slavery and they will win the parts needed for their ship. Qui-Gon Jinn senses a strong presence of the Force in Anakin, and feels that he may be the Chosen One who will fulfill a prophecy by bringing balance to the Force. While searching for a new hyperdrive generator, they befriend young Anakin Skywalker, a slave boy, whose master is Watto, a Toydarian junk dealer.Īnakin is gifted with piloting and mechanics, and has built an almost-complete droid named C-3PO. An astromech droid named R2-D2 manages to repair the Queen's starship and they narrowly escape an attack from Federation battleships.ĭue to the damage the ship's hyperdrive sustained in the attack, the Queen's party is forced to land on the desert planet of Tatooine for repairs. They depart for Coruscant, the Galactic Republic's capital planet, to ask for help from the Senate. The Jedi, with Binks in tow, reach Theed, the capital city of Naboo, and rescue Queen Amidala from the Trade Defense Force. The are attacked by an opee sea killer but the fish is eaten by a sando aqua monster. The Jedi meet the Gungan leader, Boss Rugor Nass, and ask him to help the people of Naboo, but Nass refuses and sends them off in a bongo submarine. Meanwhile, the Trade Federation invades Naboo and captures their leader, Queen Padmé Amidala. Jar Jar Binks shows the two Jedi the way to an underwater Gungan settlement, Otoh Gunga, escaping the Trade Federation army. Later, STAPs attack but are destroyed by the two Jedi. On the planet's surface, Qui-Gon Jinn saves local native outcast Jar Jar Binks from being trampled by a MTT.
Their ship, Radiant VII, is destroyed and the two Jedi escape the assassination attempt by stowing themselves aboard two separate Federation landing craft leaving for the surface of Naboo. Unknown to them, the Trade Federation is in league with the mysterious Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, who secretly orders Gunray to invade Naboo and kill the two Jedi upon their arrival.
Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, leader of the Galactic Senate, has secretly dispatched two Jedi, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, as ambassadors to the Federation flagship, Saak'ak, in order to meet with Viceroy Nute Gunray and resolve the dispute. It is the year 32 BBY, and a trade dispute between the Trade Federation and the outlying systems of the Galactic Republic has led to a blockade of the small planet of Naboo. Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.