Darth Vader’s redemption and subsequent death are key moments in Return of the Jedi, but the Star Wars saga would be irrevocably changed had the former Sith Lord survived. The Star Wars franchise’s two main continuities, canon and Legends, each depict different versions of the original trilogy era, providing different contexts for Darth Vader’s hypothetical survival. The two timelines and their differing iterations of the New Republic, the new generation of the Jedi Order, and the post-Endor Imperial factions, as well as the two different versions of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, would all be affected by Darth Vader’s survival in fascinating ways.
Darth Vader knowingly sacrifices himself at the end of Return of the Jedi, enduring lethal bolts of Emperor Palpatine’s Force lightning, which shorts out his armored suit’s life support systems. Although Vader (now Anakin Skywalker again) had no intention of surviving his decision to kill Palpatine, this scenario assumes that his suit’s systems do not fail, allowing him to return to the Forest Moon of Endor with Luke Skywalker alive, albeit badly wounded. Luke Skywalker may redeem his father in this scenario, but the ramifications of Vader’s survival would have a profound effect on the Star Wars galaxy in the following ways.
The Rebels Would Never Accept A Redeemed Darth Vader
If the Star Wars canon continuity’s post-original trilogy novels are any indication, the New Republic had a low tolerance for surviving Imperials, with officers typically being branded war criminals. Considering the Empire’s galaxy-wide fascist oppression and multiple instances of genocide (with the Jedi, Dizonites, and Alderaanians being the most notable examples), this stance is understandable. Darth Vader’s role in the Empire’s atrocities is perhaps only surpassed by that of Palpatine himself, so the New Republic would likely be inclined to have him tried and executed as a war criminal. In light of his hard-fought redemption of Vader, Luke Skywalker would likely lobby to have the former Sith Lord imprisoned instead.
Darth Vader’s Redemption Would Negatively Affect Luke
Although Luke Skywalker knows of the good man that Darth Vader used to be (and now is once more), it would be nearly impossible to convince the galaxy to forgive the former Sith Lord. Luke Skywalker would likely succeed in preventing Vader’s execution by revealing that he had killed Emperor Palpatine and thus played a pivotal role in the Rebellion’s victory on Endor, but his lobbying would also taint his image as one of the Rebellion’s greatest heroes. Luke Skywalker would be seen by many as an Imperial apologist, something that would be far more damning if the truth of his parentage became public knowledge as well.
Princess Leia Would Never Warm Up To Darth Vader
In both canon and Legends, Princess Leia was far less eager to forgive Darth Vader than Luke. With Vader having been complicit in Alderaan’s destruction, Leia would not easily warm up to her redeemed biological father. Moreover, the likely revelation of Leia being the daughter of Vader would be a major political scandal that nearly ends her career in the New Republic, as demonstrated in the 2016 canon novel Bloodline. If the Legends-era novel Tatooine Ghost is any indication, however, Leia may eventually forgive him as Anakin after learning about his life from Padmé’s perspective, but never his actions as Darth Vader.
Darth Vader Would Reveal The Secrets Of Exegol
As a prisoner of the New Republic, the redeemed Darth Vader would provide his captors with invaluable information about the bygone Empire. Canon comics reveal that Darth Vader knows about Palpatine’s fortress on Exegol, and he would certainly reveal this knowledge to Luke and the New Republic. Vader’s warnings would likely cause a chain of events that would prevent Palpatine from returning as he did in the sequel trilogy. The discovery and subsequent defeat of the Sith Eternal on Exegol would prevent the First Order from rising to power, potentially softening the galaxy’s view of Vader, though likely not fully redeeming him in the eyes of the public writ large.
Anakin Could Not Join Luke’s Jedi In Canon
Although Luke Skywalker’s character arc in Return of the Jedi had him grow into a better sort of Jedi than his predecessors, his portrayals in canon are dissonant with his original trilogy trajectory, having Luke rebuild the same flawed Jedi Order as its prequel-era incarnation and ensuring its eventual failure. With this in mind, even a redeemed Anakin Skywalker who helped prevent the return of Palpatine would have no place among Luke’s Jedi, though he may become an ally as an unaffiliated Force-user. Anakin would likely reunite with Ahsoka Tano and possibly establish a successor to the Jedi, helping both Luke and Ben Solo avoid their respective pitfalls.
Darth Vader’s Survival Is Bad News For The Empire In Legends
In Legends, the Empire remains at war with the New Republic for 15 years after the Battle of Endor, fracturing into warlord factions before its reunifications as the Dark Empire in 10 ABY and the Imperial Remnant in 12 ABY. The redeemed Darth Vader would be extremely valuable to the New Republic as they battle these factions, with Vader almost certainly undermining former colleagues, such as Cronal, Jerec, and Grand Admiral Thrawn. Darth Vader would also warn Luke of his Sith apprentice, Lumiya, and possibly prevent her from corrupting Jacen Solo and plunging the galaxy into another Civil War. Vader may even warn Luke of the Emperor’s Hand, Mara Jade.
Although Darth Vader would know of Palpatine’s fortress on the Deep Core world of Byss, the Legends continuity provides no evidence that he knew of the Emperor’s cloning labs and contingencies to return from the dead. Unlike his canon counterpart, a redeemed Darth Vader would not be able to prevent the return of Palpatine in Legends. In this alternate version of Operation Shadow Hand, the New Republic might become desperate enough to employ Vader against the Dark Empire, perhaps preventing Luke Skywalker from needing to feign falling to the dark side to destroy the Dark Empire from within.
A redeemed Darth Vader would likely replace Empatojayos Brand as the one who traps Palpatine within the netherworld of the Force, preventing him from ever returning from the grave again. With Palpatine gone for good and Vader having sacrificed himself for the New Republic, his once monstrous image may be slightly softened in the eyes of the public and certainly improved for Luke and Leia. Darth Vader surviving the events of Return of the Jedi would certainly change the events of the Star Wars Legends timeline – but he would, ultimately, still give his life to defeat Palpatine.
