In the months that have passed since September 25, us denziens of the ever-expanding cyberfandom have, in my opinion, become accustomed to the now-accepted title of Episode I. This is the same title, The Phantom Menace, which a few months ago caused a widespread "Huh?" reaction because it sounded more like a new Batman movie. Personally, I myself was not one hundred-percent convinced that the title would stick, until the trailer was released. But the title grew on us, as others predicted. As we analysed it more carefully, asking ourselves, "Who is the Phantom Menace?" we began to refer to the movie that way. Some still call it "Episode I" or "the new Star Wars movie," but the title and even the acronym "TPM" are now in widespread use.

Who is the Phantom Menace? For months we speculated on whether this meant Darth Maul, the baddie with the double-blade lightsaber played by martial artist Ray Park; or Senator Palpatine, a guy who's supposed to take over the galaxy and become the Emperor somewhere along the line. Now George speaks up and tells us that the Phantom Menace is a guy nobody knows exists called Sidious. The name Sidious has been rumoured on TF.N and other websites for quite some time now, but there is one detail -- or lack thereof -- that sets him apart from the other characters: no actor has been listed as playing him.

Back to the spy reports we go, and learn from T'Bone Fender that Ian McDiarmid plays Sidious. Wait a minute, McDiarmid is the guy who plays Palpatine. Is this purely a coincidence, or something far more sinister? Now, one theory that I've heard is that Sidious and Palpatine are one and the same. Let's all hope that reading this isn't going to spoil the entire movie for you. This theory came from a misinterpretation of T'Bone's statement, and also from a guy who compared supposed shots of Sidious with the Emperor in ROTJ.

Now, that brings up an equally interesting theme: the presence of dual personalities throughout the Star Wars universe. You have Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is not only a Jedi Knight but a "crazy old hermit" in the Jundland Wastes called Ben. Then there is Darth Vader, who is obviously Anakin Skywalker. You have Natalie Portman's teen queen character in TPM, Amidala, who supposedly masquerades (or rather, de-masquerades) as a common citizen named Padme. Logically, why should Sidious and Palpatine be any different?

Something that is still problematic is why, on the website and in the trailer, the words "EPISODE I" are so big while The Phantom Menace is more of a subtitle. Previously, the titles of ESB and ROTJ stood on their own, and the episode number was more of a cosmetic item in the opening crawl. On the IMDB, ESB and ROTJ are listed by their own title. As for TPM? No such luck. It is not listed simply as The Phantom Menace, like it should be, but rather "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." This is also how the movie is referred to in reviews and the like. Why doesn't anybody settle down and simply call it The Phantom Menace?