I was insanely hyped. 12-years-old, and I had bought into the HUGE marketing lead up for the movie. Like, all the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC promotional cups, toys, collectables, gimmicks, etc. You could say I was the perfect age for all that gullible shit.
But what had gotten me into Star Wars was the 1997 Special Edition re-release. I actually went into those movies only with a vague understanding of what Star Wars was from popular culture references in my TV shows and cartoons. My home wasn't a Star Wars household by any stretch. I had friends with the VHS releases of course, but I never watched them. But seeing the Special Editions was like like "WHOA, WHAT IS THIS?" It was thanks to the movies releasing back in theaters which garnered my interest in the fandom.
I actually saw The Empire Strikes Back first, before A New Hope, and it still remains my favorite today. Actually, it took me a while to really like ANH even though it was the movie that spawn the whole craze. I think having the characters be more developed and well-established really piqued my interest in their backstories and where they came from. So actually, went talking about Prequels, I've always seen it through the lens of a progressing story rather than a Beginning - MIddle - End.
But I was subscribed to Star Wars: Insider magazine and they would have lead-up articles about the production of The Phantom Menace in their pages, so it was a constant flow of new information every month about Characters, Actors, Locations, Props, Filming troubles - Basically whatever they could get their hands on. It was like having a collection of Nintendo Power or Tips & Tricks. That first issue I picked up (Issue #33 The Wampa Attack) became so worn and torn that the cover came off. I also ordered a bunch of nerdy shit from their catalogue, like ESB shirts and a dumb Stormtrooper cardboard-cutout that I still own to this day.
So going into the newest Star Wars movie in over 30 years, despite having never grown up with the originals, was a HUGE frickin' deal to me. All I could talk about was Episode I for months and months. I remember I was so excited that it coincided with the year 1999, as if it was a landmark occasion for some reason; but also calculating how long the other 2 movies would take to come out, and being super elated that Episode III would happen on my High School graduation year (lol). It was like having a Star Wars for my generation, even though that doesn't make any sense. I guess it was seen as more special at the time.
I saw it at my local 5-screen movie theater. Thinking back, it was a surprise that such a small theater had the opportunity to showcase the movie. I went on the Wednesday night it was released, worried it would be completely packed. And it was fairly sold out to be sure, but not wall-to-wall people like I was worried it would be. At that point, I had learned so much about the characters of the movie, the setup, the history of what was going to happen... watching the movie felt like expecting the expected as if I had practiced it beforehand. The stuff I didn't know about in the movie, such as character interactions or the music, is what truly grasped my attention. Good or not, the moments of utter surprise took me into a fun space of new lore and new locations to learn for my nerdy self.
