Every Wilhelm Scream In The Star Wars Saga

8. The Phantom Menace (1999)

The maligned first episode, and fourth entry in the Star Wars saga, The Phantom Menace, follows the fates of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (a post-Trainspotting Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) as their paths cross for the very first time. Charting a course from Naboo to Coruscant, the film tracks Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (a pre-Taken Liam Neeson) and his apprentice, Obi-Wan, as they try to protect the young queen of Naboo from evil Trade Federation forces, navigating encounters with the infamous Jabba the Hutt and Sith Lord Darth Maul.

As Phantom is now experiencing something of a resurgence in popularity, thanks in no small part to the comparative backlash against the new sequel trilogy, this may be the time to take another look and uncover some of its secrets.

The scream doesn't crop up until the film's third act, as Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) storms her palace in an effort to wrest it back from the Trade Federation Viceroy. A brave Naboo soldier runs headfirst into the fray in the Theed Palace hangar, falling almost instantly to Federation battle droid blaster fire and releasing Wilhelm's iconic vocal.

While Wooley's scream is often apparent to the attentive viewer, the Star Wars films are peppered with other little curiosities that require a finely tuned dial and set of military-strength macrobinoculars. Among these are the THX-1138 references - an added bonus alluding to director/creator George Lucas's 1971 original feature film. In Phantom, the code is featured on the backpack of a battle droid that breaks down in front of the unsung hero of this film: Jar Jar Binks.