The film was supposed to focus on Obi-Wan Kenobi's adventures on the planet Utapau. He later discovers Anakin Skywalker, a child slave on Tatooine who he decides to train as a Jedi.
On November 1, 1994, George Lucas started to write a prequel to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. The film, entitled Star Wars: Episode I The Beginning was supposed to be the first of a Prequel trilogy. Although producer Gary Kurtz stated on May 26, 1999, during an interview with TheForce.net that the original plot of Episode I was to focus on the origins of the Jedi Knights, the film's script was to focus on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
Despite this, in late summer 1995, Lucas wrote a second draft in which Obi-Wan Kenobi's role was taken by the character of Qui-Gon Jinn. Kenobi still appeared in the script, but as Qui-Gon's student. After many changes, Lucas scrapped this draft at an unspecified moment. On June 6, 1997, Lucas presented the shooting script for the movie. It is unclear when the title was changed to Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace