This was the last chance fans had to see any of the movie before they got to see it in full on its release, and get a flavour for the story and characters.
The trailer was first released in cinemas which was the normal way to see trailers back then, and the next day released online, and this movie is largely responsible for the internet being the way we consume trailers today, and its responsible for the uptick in home broadband!
The first trailer for the movie, shown in 1998, was placed in front of movies Meet Joe Black, The Waterboy and The Siege and perhaps turned them into bigger movies than they would normally have been.
This trailer played in front of the movie Wing Commander and is most likely responsible for much of the box office gross of that movie.
Its hard to understand unless you were there how much excitement there was before the release of this movie, it had been 16 years since the last Star Wars movie, Star Wars Return of the Jedi and expectation were high.
Arguable this gave away a little too much, and perhaps promised a bit too much, but the release date was for May (in America at least) and the hype machine was just ramping up.
