George Lucas’ Hidden Cameo in STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE Has Finally Been Confirmed and Revealed
For years, Star Wars fans assumed George Lucas’ only on-screen appearance in his own galaxy came in Revenge of the Sith, where he briefly showed up as the blue-skinned Baron Papanoida.
But it turns out he made his first “cameo” much earlier, but not in the way you’d expect. Thanks to a long-lost Easter egg that’s just been confirmed, Lucas has been quietly watching over The Phantom Menace this whole time.
The revelation comes from Star Wars journalist Clayton Sandell, who recently spoke with former ILM matte painter Caroleen “Jett” Green.
During their conversation, Green finally put to rest a long-standing rumor: that somewhere in The Phantom Menace, Lucas’ face was secretly hidden in the scenery. And it turns out, the rumor is true.
Lucas never actually steps in front of a camera for this appearance. Instead, his face was subtly incorporated into a matte painting used to extend the background of Theed’s royal palace.
Green explained: “I decided to get a picture of George, and I put it on this plaque.” She had been working on a shot where Padmé and her guards rush through the palace during the film’s climactic battle.
A section of the arch above a large window looked too empty to her, so she decided to add George Lucas’ face. She said: “I thought, ‘Well, that’ll be cool. By the time you shrink that down, his face is just a blur.’”
Of course, sneaking something like that into a Star Wars film wasn’t going to fly under the radar forever. When Green showed the painting to a supervisor, Lucas himself had to be brought in to approve it.
Green recalled: “George is really quiet. He looks at it, and he goes, ‘Oh, naughty, naughty.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but it’s you! It’s your face.’ And then there’s silence again.
“And I’m just sitting there with everybody. And for some reason, I can’t describe the feeling, but—I knew that I wasn’t going to get in trouble. And then George says, ‘Okay. Leave it in.’”
And with that, a new piece of Star Wars trivia was born. It may not be as obvious as his turn as Papanoida, but it’s arguably a much more fitting cameo… Lucas, forever embedded in the grand architecture of his own universe.
