Riding a wave of hype, expectation, and merchandising that no film could hope to live up to, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is released, starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, and Ian McDiarmid. 
Riding a wave of hype, expectation, and merchandising that no film could hope to live up to, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is released, starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, and Ian McDiarmid.
Emerging into a film landscape with more staunch fantasy and science fiction competition than the franchise has encountered in the past, Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones is released, starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Temuera Morrison, and Ian McDiarmid. The film’s most lasting contribution may be in setting up the Clone Wars storyline, which will be explored much more extensively on television in the coming years.
The final film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith is released, starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ian McDiarmid.