Summary
- Obi-Wan spared Anakin’s life assuming he was near death, unaware of Palpatine’s intervention that saved him and led to his transformation into Darth Vader.
- Anakin Skywalker’s story, not Luke’s, became the heart of the
Star Wars
franchise, as his presence spans across all trilogies and series, shaping the saga’s narrative. - Hayden Christensen’s potential return as Anakin in upcoming
Star Wars
projects keeps fans eager for more unseen parts of the Jedi’s journey to be explored.
Star Wars has a number of moments that have stirred debates among fans, and one such pivotal moment of the franchise is the climactic battle between Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. As part of the current celebration of the prequel trilogy’s debut in 1999, one of the producers, Rick McCallum, recently addressed one question that has come up on many occasions; why did Obi-Wan not kill Anakin?
The conclusion of the prequel trilogy sees Obi-Wan Kenobi defeat Anakin in a lightsaber duel, which leaves the latter mortally wounded and near death. However, despite being left for dead, Anakin is saved by the arrival of Emperor Palpatine, and, well, we know how what comes next. According to McCallum, he believes that Anakin being as good as dead when Obi-Wan leaves Mustafar is the reason that he did not feel there is any reason to actually deal the final blow to the former Jedi. Speaking to Empire, McCallum said:
I also think he doesn’t believe Anakin will recover – he thinks he’s going to die. It’s only because Palpatine comes in and uses everything to save him and create this freak [that he survives].
In short, the survival of Anakin, attributed to Emperor Palpatine’s intervention and the advanced cybernetics that birthed Darth Vader, was an outcome Obi-Wan had not anticipated. This is something that Kenobi was able to ponder on when facing Vader in the future.
Anakin Skywalker’s Story Became the Heart of the Franchise
Although the original Star Wars trilogy was very much pitched as the story of Luke Skywalker, the expansion of the franchise has shone a light on many other stories and pivotal moments that suggest Luke was never the central subject of the story.
While Mark Hamill’s character is present in the sequel trilogy, and other off-shoots such as The Mandalorian, Anakin Skywalker is present throughout the entire franchise, from his beginnings in the prequels, through his villainous role in the original trilogy, and his continued presence in the sequel trilogy. McCallum’s comments on how Anakin was allowed to live in Revenge of the Sith – a moment that actually allowed anything that followed to exist – do bring to light the complex and tragic nature of the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin, something that was expanded on further in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+.
Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen Reveals His Thoughts on How the Prequels Have Held Up
Hayden Christensen still feels strongly about the Star Wars prequel trilogy after all these years later.
Although it seemed that Obi-Wan Kenobi filled in an important gap in the history of Star Wars, and effectively closed off the story of Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen made another appearance in the role in last year’s Ahsoka series, and has hinted that he would certainly consider stepping back into the Jedi’s shoes again.
Where, if or when this might happen is as yet unknown, but with the franchise once again planning to expand on both the big and small screen, there will be plenty of opportunities for more unseen periods of Anakin’s journey to be developed somewhere down the line.
The
Star Wars
franchise can be found streaming on Disney+.
