Anakin Skywalker’s famous Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith speech proves the Sith are hypocrites. Anakin Skywalker was never in love with the idea of democracy; even in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, he told Padmé Amidala – an elected senator – that a dictatorship would be more effective than the Republic. Anakin surrendered to those beliefs in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, leading Order 66 and helping Palpatine establish the Empire.
Revenge of the Sith builds to a climax when Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi confront Anakin on Mustafar. This is the moment when Anakin truly loses everything he was trying to protect, fully embracing the ways of the Sith. He does so not only on an experiential level, but also in terms of philosophy, expressing the Sith belief in absolute power and dominance.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
- Created By
- George Lucas
- Cast
- Bob Anderson , Hayden Christensen , James Earl Jones , Matt Lanter , Matt Lucas , Jake Lloyd , David Prowse , Sebastian Shaw
- Movies
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope , Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back , Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi , Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones , Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- TV Shows
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Star Wars Rebels , Obi-Wan Kenobi , Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi , Ahsoka
Anakin Skywalker Claimed He Had Brought Freedom To His Empire
Standing over Padmé’s body, Anakin tells Obi-Wan that he has “brought peace, justice, freedom, and security to my new Empire.” Even at this stage, Anakin is justifying himself – insisting his actions are for the good of others, not purely in his own interests. Anakin has moved from believing in dictatorship as a potential good, to claiming the role of dictator for himself. This philosophy told Obi-Wan that his friend was lost, because he understood things like freedom cannot come from dictatorships.
Why George Lucas Made His Most Controversial Anakin Skywalker Decision
George Lucas made several controversial choices for the story of the Star Wars prequels, with one concerning Anakin Skywalker being easily explained.
As Darth Vader, Anakin Led An Army Of Slaves
This line is ironic because Anakin had just done the opposite – and he hadn’t cared. Anakin led an army of clones during Order 66, and these were later revealed to be under the control of inhibitor chips that had erased their free will. Anakin led an army of slaves, people who were acting under the imposed will of another rather than their own free choice. The claim to have brought “freedom” was self-evidently a lie.
This revelation makes Anakin’s Darth Vader turn even worse. Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn (2017) and Andor reveal that the Empire often used slave labor, and Darth Vader was certainly aware of and facilitated it. Given the nature of the Empire and the Sith, this isn’t surprising at first glance. However, Anakin grew up as a slave. He harbored an intense hatred for slavers, going as far as wanting to kill the Zygerrian slavers in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Yet, once he became Darth Vader, he became a slaver himself. The Chosen One had fallen further than he would ever have feared possible.
The Sith Way Is Freedom… Only For The Sith
Anakin’s Mustafar speech hints at the true nature of the Sith; they covet their own personal freedom, which they define as the freedom to control others. To a Sith, the freedom they seek is utterly self-serving, and any attempts to pretend they are pursuing freedom for others are simple hypocrisy. According to the Sith Code, they use power to gain victory, and through victory their own chains are broken; but in doing so, they bind everyone else tightly.
But this is also why the Sith would inevitably fall; it means any Sith are automatically rivals to one another, because each seeks to dominate the other. Because they view freedom as nothing more than power, other Sith are ultimately just hurdles to be overcome. Darth Bane established the Rule of Two to try to limit this, but he simply set up a neverending rivalry between master and apprentice. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith reveals just how flawed the Sith philosophy really is.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is the sixth film in the Star Wars franchise and chronologically the third in the Skywalker Saga. Set three years after the events of Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker is tasked with keeping an eye on Chancellor Palpatine while other Jedi battle across the galaxy. In the background, however, a mysterious Sith lord begins to make their move to destroy the Jedi once and for all.
- Director
- George Lucas
- Release Date
- May 19, 2005
- Studio(s)
- Lucasfilm
- Distributor(s)
- 20th Century Fox
- Writers
- George Lucas , John Ostrander , Jan Duursema
- Cast
- Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Hayden Christensen , Ian McDiarmid , Samuel L. Jackson , Christopher Lee , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Frank Oz , Ahmed Best , Temuera Morrison
- Runtime
- 140 Minutes
- Franchise(s)
- Star Wars
- Sequel(s)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope , Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back , Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi , Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens , Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi , Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker
- prequel(s)
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- Budget
- $113 Million
