“The film starts with corrupt corporations doing things behind people’s backs. The Jedi are trying to solve the mystery. A corporation is a shark without a conscience. All it cares about is eating. It’s not responsible. It’s the stockholders’ fault, or the CEO’s fault, or the board’s fault. It’s always somebody else’s fault, but of course the golden rule is ‘make money, no matter what,’ so that’s what everybody follows. They’re not doing it to be nice people. Our central characters-Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Anakin-are all trying to do the right thing, but they’re completely overwhelmed by forces that are way bigger than they are. The Jedi Council and the bureaucrats in the Senate are the inactive forces working against them; while unbeknownst to them the active one is Palpatine.”
— George Lucas, The Star Wars Archives (1999-2005) by Paul Duncan