It would be easier to sneak into the Death Star than to learn about the "Star Wars" prequel before George Lucas wants you to. When the first posters for the film, "The Phantom Menace," were printed last week, a LucasFilm or Fox (the film's distributor) representative supervised all machines at the Los Angeles printers to make sure no employees could sneak one home. If any of the posters, which portray a boy standing alone and casting a shadow of Darth Vader, were slightly flawed, they were immediately destroyed. And to foil the evil empire of counterfeiters, each authorized one-sheet has a special Fox logo that changes color under a black light.

Force-o-philes will finally get their first glimpse of the film on Nov. 20, when the trailer hits theaters, according to an announcement from Lucas on Friday. (Hopefully this teaser will hold them until Memorial Day, when the movie opens.) Fans expected to see the coming attraction before this summer's "X-Files" movie, thanks to a widespread rumor. After that proved false, there has been wild speculation on which film Lucas would pair his trailer with. But his official announcement on the "Star Wars" website says the teaser won't be attached to any one film but will be shown with many different movies all around the country. It probably doesn't matter: Knowing "Star Wars" fans, they probably won't even stick around for the main attraction.