Back to Yoda. His pronouncement on the roots of evil occurs during "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace," the 1999 "Star Wars" episode that presents the once and future Darth as a spunky, tow-haired tyke named Anakin Skywalker. He's Jedi material, argue his mentors, but Yoda senses fear in the boy.

who was Darth Vader before he hid his face behind a shadowy visor? To answer that question, [George Lucas] needed to take a look at the man in black back when he was a golden child named Anakin Skywalker. Lucas says of the first "Star Wars" prequel, "'Phantom Menace' was done really to determine that Anakin was a good person, good heart, nice kid. We're not talking here about an evil little monster child-- we're talking about this great kid just like we all start out as, or [we] think we start out as."

"This stuff was written 25 years ago, so however relevant it is now is based on issues that have been around a long, long time," says Lucas, who spent two years in the early '70s researching mythology and religion before he sketched out an outline for the entire "Star Wars" odyssey. (Lucas created the basic story for each "Star Wars" film. He wrote the original "Star Wars" by himself, then delegated "The Empire Strikes Back" screenplay to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. Lucas co-wrote "Return of the Jedi" with Kasdan, wrote "Phantom Menace" on his own, and co-wrote "Attack of the Clones" with Jonathan Hales.)