Bold Star Wars Prequels Theory Changes Anakin’s Story Completely
The Anakin Skywalker depicted in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the one from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith are very different characters, and one bold Star Wars prequel theory explains why. While George Lucas had plans for Anakin’s backstory prior to Return of the Jedi, it was only during the Star Wars prequel trilogy that audiences got to know more about the man who would tragically become Darth Vader. However, Anakin's character and story presented in the prequels were met with a lot of criticism upon release—an issue that The Clone Wars tried to solve.
While The Clone Wars was meant to fill in the gaps between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith through serialized adventures, the show also helped improve a lot of elements from the prequel trilogy. That includes a better overview of what the Clone Wars actually meant for the galaxy, how the Jedi were slowly losing their morale, and how strong the bond between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi was before everything fell apart. Despite being aimed at younger audiences and being initially limited to a very niche public, Clone Wars ended up being one of the main responsible for keeping the Star Wars franchise moving forward in the long window without live-action movies, and it continues to be an important part of the Star Wars lore even after the final season.
Chronologically, the Clone Wars was when Anakin went from Attack of the Clones’ petulant padawan to the fearless, cunning Jedi knight who would become Darth Vader. However, the Anakin audiences see in Revenge of the Sith still feels way too similar to the one from Attack of the Clones–as if that Clone Wars character progression had never happened. Obviously, the Clone Wars show only came to be after Revenge of the Sith and was developed by a different creative team, which by itself excuses any inconsistencies between the two versions. Still, as with every Star Wars plot hole or canon inconsistency, in-universes explanations can be found. To better explain why Clone Wars Anakin and Revenge of the Sith Anakin are so different, one wild fan theory (via Reddit) suggests that the latter is a clone created by Palpatine to replace the former.
Obi-Wan describes Luke’s father in A New Hope as the best starship pilot in the galaxy, a cunning warrior, and a good friend. However, none of those elements were given major focus during the prequel trilogy – mostly because of how much George Lucas was trying to convey in only three films. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace followed a young Anakin being found by Qui-Gon Jinn, meaning that audiences only got two movies to actually learn more about the Jedi knight whom Obi-Wan thought so fondly of. Considering that the latter half of Revenge the Sith is when Anakin becomes Darth Vader, there were actually less than two movies worth of runtime depicting adult Anakin.
However, in Clone Wars, audiences got to follow Anakin through several adventures across the galaxy for seven seasons. The show did more than just offer more of Anakin – it also made the character a lot different. Clone Wars Anakin seems much more mature than Hayden Christensen’s right from the beginning, replacing the often irritating attitude for something more on pair with a Republic Jedi General at a time of war. While that could be attributed to the fact Clone Wars Anakin is voiced by a different actor under different guidelines, the differences between the two characters are not restricted to how they sound. Anakin is much more sure of himself during The Clone Wars, serving as a strong leader for his clone battalion and for his padawan Ahsoka. Anakin’s relationship with Obi-Wan also seems stronger and more positive than one depicted in the movies, with the duo truly feeling like brothers.
Given how heroic and kind-hearted Anakin was in Clone Wars, it’s both more tragic and more difficult to picture that character as the same one from Revenge of the Sith. However, according to that fan theory, The Clone Wars Anakin and the Revenge of the Sith Anakin were never meant to be the same character. Considering how cloning technology is particularly common in the Star Wars universe, plus how Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Palpatine had been experimenting with clones for years, the theory suggests that Darth Sidious created an Anakin Skywalker that replaced the original.
As such, the real Anakin Skywalker never fell to the dark side – he was either killed or captured somewhere between his reunion with Ahsoka and the Revenge of the Sith opening sequence. Therefore, what went on with Anakin in Episode III, such as betraying Mace Windu, killing the younglings, and fighting Obi-Wan, was all part of a mission being executed by this Palpatine-created clone. The often flawed cloning process would explain why Anakin looks younger in Revenge of the Sith than he did in The Clone Wars, and the fact that his entire personality would be completely artificial could explain why the clone acts significantly different from the original.
As out-of-the-box as the Anakin clone theory might seem, clone replacements and vessels have always been a part of Star Wars. Even before Attack of the Clones explained what Luke meant by “the Clone Wars" in A New Hope, the Star Wars Expanded Universe was already dealing with the concept of clones. For example, in the third volume of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy, there was a Luke Skywalker clone who had been created from the cells of Luke’s lost hand. The clone was named "Luuke", and he was able to learn the ways of the Force just like the original. More recently, The Rise of Skywalker revealed that the First Order leader and Star Wars sequel villain Snoke was a clone, one of many who had been created by Palpatine. In fact, The Rise of Skywalker's Palpatine himself is a clone whose body was inhabited by the essence of the original Darth Sidious.
The idea that an Anakin clone replaced the original Anakin under the orders of Darth Sidious explains why the character is so different in Revenge of the Sith from how he was in Clone Wars, thus turning a significant Star Wars canon inconsistency into an in-universe storyline. That said, the price for that theory is the entire Skywalker Saga losing its meaning, or at least having a different one. If the real Anakin died right at the end of the Clone Wars, that means the person who betrayed Obi-Wan’s trust, who broke Padmé’s heart, and who ended up becoming the galaxy’s most feared Sith Lord was actually a brand new character. Likewise, in this scenario, Luke never redeemed his father but rather put a clone out of years of misery. This theory also puts the Star Wars sequels into a different perspective, as it suggests that the Chosen One prophecy had never been fulfilled by the real Anakin, leaving the true balance of the Force to be conquered by Rey and Ben Solo.
Source: Screenrant
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