While the original trilogy of Star Wars films sought to tell the story of Luke Skywalker, his friends, and the Rebel Alliance's struggle against the Empire, the prequel era detailed how the Republic fell. Specifically how the Jedi Order was eradicated, how Emperor Palpatine came to power, and the origins of the most iconic villain of all time, Darth Vader. The Sith Lord, formerly known as Anakin Skywalker, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights, betraying his friends, his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Republic for which he had fought and swore to protect, and his wife, Padme Amidala.

The prequels begin with The Phantom Menace, the story of how the Jedi Order first stumbled upon young Anakin, many years before his dark reign as Vader. As a slave on Tatooine, the young boy proves his Force-sensitivity and his potential to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. The maverick Jedi takes Anakin with him to the Jedi Temple where the boy is reluctantly accepted into the Jedi Order. When Jinn is slain by a mysterious Zabrak warrior at the end of the film, Jinn's apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, volunteers to take on young Skywalker as his own Padawan learner. The movie ends on an exceedingly upbeat note as the Gungans celebrate their new found alliance with the people of Theed, and their victory over the Trade Federation.

However, even when the film debuted in 1999, audiences knew that this trilogy would ultimately not lead to a happy ending like Return of the Jedi's victory BBQ in the Ewok village. Ultimately the prequels had to result in the beginning of the era commonly known as "the Dark Times." This dark future for Phantom's protagonists was hinted at during the end credits.

In recent years, fans have made it a point to sit through the end credits of a movie to catch any scenes that include last minute references and Easter eggs. With Marvel movies using these scenes to tease/announce upcoming characters and Star Wars recently venturing into the territory of the "end credit scene", the last 20 minutes of a film's runtime has become all too important. It seems that The Phantom Menace was a bit ahead of it's time in this regard however, as a teaser for Anakin's ultimate fate can be heard toward the end of the credit reel of the 1999 film.

This video highlights the Easter egg in question, a brief snippet of Darth Vader's iconic breathing during the end credits. This audio clip, while short and seemingly insignificant, is instantly recognizable to even the most casual of movie-goers. While the Dark Lord of the Sith may have begun as an innocent boy on Tatooine, eager to help others and shouting "yippee", the iconic breathing within the end credits reminds audiences of who this truly is.

This would not be the first or last time that Anakin's fall was hinted at during the prequel era. In several other scenes, both in the prequels and in the Clone Wars animated show, the iconic Imperial March motif can be heard in the background as Anakin struggles with his inner darkness. One such scene takes place on the Lars homestead after Anakin's mother, Shmi, is killed by Tusken Raiders. As Anakin confesses his vengeful massacre of the entire village to Padme, Vader's theme music builds in the background, matching the growing rage within the young Jedi Padawan.

Source: YouTube

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