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Those who watch Star Wars for the first time should not fear Darth Vader but rather pity him, at least according to George Lucas. In terms of release order, Darth Vader’s first appearance happens a couple of minutes into A New Hope – and it is difficult not to fear or at least be amazed by the mysterious, robotic sci-fi villain. But Lucas explained that his view of the story is based on the chronological order of the events, giving a different take on the iconic villain.
During an interview following the release of 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the final entry in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, George Lucas explained how Episodes I, II, and III thematically connected with the original films and made sure to point how the six installments were all part of just one story (via RollingStone). Since chronological order is what Lucas calls the correct Star Wars order, that has to do with how the Star Wars creator perceives the story of Anakin Skywalker. Lucas’s view of Star Wars chronology means Darth Vader’s appearance in A New Hope is not supposed to be threatening given the context of the prequels. The way Lucas sees it, by the time Darth Vader appears in Episode IV, audiences are supposed to know that Vader is not a scary robotic monster but rather a “pathetic guy” who made several wrong choices when he was still a Jedi.
Why George Lucas Thinks Darth Vader Is Pathetic
Suggesting that Darth Vader, one of the most iconic villains of his time, is “pathetic” might not make much sense at first – but it works when Anakin Skywalker’s backstory is taken into consideration. The Star Wars prequels revealed the man behind the mask by telling Anakin Skywalker’s entire story – from the podracing tournaments in Tatooine to the death of most of the Jedi. The Star Wars prequel trilogy tells a tragedy, and there is not really a victory for the heroes in any of the three movies. Lucas wanted to showcase that Anakin Skywalker had a “very sad life”, and that instead of a mighty villain, Vader was just a pawn who had wrongfully chosen to work for Palpatine.
Most Of Anakin Skywalker’s Flaws In The Prequels Were Intentional
Considering how iconic Darth Vader had become after the original trilogy, many people had their own expectations as to what Anakin Skywalker was like during his Jedi days. The Star Wars prequels’ portrayal of Anakin was not very well received, especially because it made the “future Darth Vader” seem whiny and irritating most of the time. However, going by what George Lucas wanted to convey about Darth Vader’s “pathetic” decisions, most of Anakin Skywalker’s flaws in the Star Wars prequels must have been intentional. The mysterious, melancholic villain from the original Star Wars films is something that only came to be after Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side, meaning that Darth Vader’s actions in the original trilogy would necessarily reflect who Anakin was as a Jedi.
Whether Star Wars works better if watched chronologically or by release is a debate that will probably never be settled, even though George Lucas says it should be watched chronologically. That considered, starting with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace does change Darth Vader’s role in Episodes IV, V, and VI. Instead of a scary, mysterious villain who may or not be a robot, Darth Vader becomes a shell of a person when Anakin Skywalker’s prequels backstory is added to the equation. Essentially, the Star Wars prequels made Darth Vader a tragic character rather than a two-dimensional villain, although The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi had already contributed to that change.
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