Lucasfilm’s Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni made the bizarre claim that Anakin Skywalker never thought he became evil.
(L-R): Dave Filoni and Rosario Dawson on the set of Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Filoni’s claim came in an interview with Leslye Headland promoting her upcoming Star Wars: The Acolyte series for Disney+.
Headland says, “You don’t wake up thinking you’re evil or that you’re the bad guy as explored by George with Anakin.”
Filoni then responded, “Yeah, I don’t think Anakin thinks he ever becomes evil in life, you know.” Headland then states, “I agree.”
Dave Filoni, Lucasfilm’s chief creative officer, and The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland discuss the power and breadth of Star Wars storytelling.
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This claim is utterly ridiculous and contrary to not only the original films, but the prequel films as well. It’s also contrary to what George Lucas has said.
First, in the original trilogy, it’s very clear that Anakin Skywalker believes he’s become evil. In The Return of the Jedi when Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader on the Forest Moon of Endor, he implores Vader, “Come with me.”
Vader responds, “Obi-Wan once thought as you do. You don’t know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master.” It’s a clear indication that he knows what he is doing is wrong.
Nevertheless, the conversation continues with Luke stating, “I will not turn, and you’ll be forced to kill me.” Vader replies, “If that is your destiny.” Luke continues, “Search your feelings, Father. You can’t do this. I feel the conflict with you. Let go of your hate.”
Vader then makes it even more abundantly clear that he knows he is evil, “It is too late for me, son. The emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now.”
David Prowse and James Earl Jones as Darth Vader and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), Lucasfilm
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After Vader kills the Emperor by throwing him down the central shaft of the Death Star, Vader confesses to him that he’s already saved him. Luke tell him, “You’re coming with me. I’ll not leave you here. I’ve got save you.”
Anakin responds, “You already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister… you were right.”
Not only does Anakin clearly recognize that he’s evil and has done evil in Return of the Jedi, but he knows it in Revenge of the Sith as well. Immediately after he chops off Mace Windu’s hand and allows the Emperor to electrocute him and cast him out of the building, Anakin exclaims, “What have I done?” He then drops his lightsaber.
He clearly knows he’s done evil. Instead of rejecting it. He embraces it by becoming the Emperor’s apprentice. He tells him, “I will do whatever you ask. … Just help me save Padme’s life. I can’t live without her. … I pledge myself to your teachings.” He then looks away in disgust at himself.
Lucas described this scene from Revenge of the Sith during a writers meeting for Star Wars: The Clone Wars with Dave Filoni sitting right next to him.
He said, “Obviously, the Sith are always unhappy because they never get enough of anything they want. Mostly their selfishness centers around power and control. And the struggle is to be always able to let go of all that stuff.”
“And that’s the problem with Anakin, ultimately, is that you’re allowed to love people, but you’re not allowed to possess them. And what he did is that he fell in love, and then married her, and then became jealous, and that he saw in his visions that she was going to die, and he couldn’t stand losing her. So, in order to not lose her he made a pact with the devil to be able to become all powerful. But of course, when he did that she didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. So he lost her,” he shared.
What do you make of Dave Filoni claiming that Anakin Skywalker never thought he was evil?
