The Phantom Menace is set some 30 years before the original Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in the era of the Republic. Naboo, a peaceful planet governed by the young but wise Queen Amidala, is being threatened by the corrupt Trade Federation, puppets of an evil Sith lord and his terrifying apprentice, Darth Maul. Jedi knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are called on to intervene in the trade disputes. Along the way, they acquire an apprentice of their own in the form of young prodigy Anakin Skywalker. They also encounter Jar Jar Binks, a goofy, lizardlike creature who has been banished from his underwater world for clumsiness. When the Trade Federation launches an attack on Naboo, the queen and her allies must battle hordes of robot troopers while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan face off against the sinister Darth Maul.