Looking back on Star Wars, part 8: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Intended as the last Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith still holds up as the best chapter of the Prequels and a fitting bridge for the Original Trilogy.

"ANAKIN SKYWALKER: “If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy.” OBI-WAN KENOBI: “Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.” ANAKIN SKYWALKER: “You will try.”"

By 2005, a division erupted within the Star Wars fan community over the Prequels. Some believed that while The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones weren’t as good as the Original Trilogy, they were still entertaining as the originals. Others felt that George Lucas had betrayed the fans, reducing a beloved modern myth into a commercialized clap-trap and kiddie fare. And after Attack of the Clones’ lower than expected box office returns, the pressure on Lucas was intense.

Then in May of that same year, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith premiered. And almost overnight, to the eyes of his disillusioned disciples, Lucas redeemed himself. Not only did critics and audiences consider it the best of Prequels, some even said it was the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. Even today, there are those who recommend that when doing a Star Wars marathon, to just skip Episode I and II altogether and watch Revenge of the Sith in-between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Their argument for doing this is that, in terms of backstory, Revenge of the Sith is all you really need.

Since [Anakin and Obi-Wan’s] duel was intended as the key moment of the “Skywalker Saga,” it meant everything in Revenge of the Sith needed to support or lead up to this moment. As a result, Lucas forced himself to rewrite–or cut out entirely–several scenes during filming, including plot developments built from the previous prequels.

Interestingly enough, Lucas himself might agree with them. Because when it came to Anakin Skywalker’s (Hayden Christensen) fall to the Dark Side and becoming Darth Vader, Revenge of the Sith is what Lucas mostly had in mind ever since making The Empire Strikes Back. The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are essentially the backstories to the backstory he really wanted to tell.

Well… if we’re being honest, there’s only one specific aspect of Revenge of the Sith which Lucas envisioned. This would be the climactic lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) on the volcanic planet of Mustafar, the end of which results in Anakin somehow surviving having his limbs cut off and being burned alive (hence the “PG-13” rating instead of the usual “PG”).

Since this duel was intended as the key moment of the “Skywalker Saga,” it meant everything in Revenge of the Sith needed to support or lead up to this moment. As a result, Lucas forced himself to rewrite–or cut out entirely–several scenes during filming, including plot developments built from the previous prequels.

A ten-year old Han Solo? Gone. Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) returning as a Force ghost? Gone. The answer to the Sifo-Dyas mystery from Attack of the Clones? Gone. A prologue depicting the Clone Wars fought on seven different planets? Gone, but somewhat kept during the “Order 66” scene. More lines for Jar Jar Binks? Mercifully gone. Though, there’s supposedly a deleted scene where Palpatine sarcastically thanks the Gungan for helping him take over the galaxy.

Thus what started off as a four-hour long movie, Lucas and company managed to cut down to almost two-and-a-half. Some subplots still remain, though, like Obi-Wan hunting down the droid Separatist military leader, General Grievous. Same with the battle on the Wookie planet Kashyyyk, a holdover from Lucas’ original draft of Star Wars and Return of the Jedi, using concept art from The Holiday Special. Even so, there apparently wasn’t enough room for all the scenes with Princess Leia’s adoptive father, Senator Organa (Jimmy Smits) and the beginning of what would become the Rebel Alliance.

Lucas also wanted to explore with the subplot of Chancellor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) rise to power how totalitarian regimes can emerge from democratic governments. After all, the Galactic Empire in Star Wars is clearly an allegory for Nazi Germany. Nevertheless, one can pretty much tell that Lucas wrote the script for Revenge of the Jedi during the aftermath of 9/11 and in the early years of the Iraq War. More than one political pundit at the time observed how similar Anakin’s line of “If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy” echoed then President George W. Bush’s, “If you’re not with us, then you’re with the terrorists.” To be fair, the line also goes as far back as the Book of Joshua, but whatever.