This Blink-And-You-Miss-It Anakin Skywalker Detail Totally Changes Order 66

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is easily one of the most important characters in Star Wars movies and TV shows and arguably the single most important in the first six movies. Because of that, it’s no surprise that Anakin/Vader has been prominent in a host of other Star Wars projects and stories, from TV shows to comics and novels.

Yet, even with that prominence, it seems there’s always more to discover about this character, even when it comes to Star Wars movies that have been around for quite some time. That includes Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which is perhaps the most crucial in terms of Anakin’s larger Star Wars story. In fact, in that movie in particular, there is one small detail that many fans have missed, and it has a massive impact on not only Anakin but also on Order 66 overall.

Anakin/Vader Reached For His Lightsaber While Kneeling Before Palpatine

The scene in which Anakin finally accepts Palpatine as his Sith master, embraces the dark side, and is officially christened Darth Vader is one of the most famous in Star Wars. However, what many fans haven’t spotted is the brief moment in which Anakin’s black glove can be seen reaching towards his lightsaber while he’s kneeling in front of Palpatine.

Shockingly, this suggests that in that moment, Anakin was still conflicted and was perhaps considering attacking Palpatine. This makes sense, given that the first thing Anakin said after Mace Windu went flying out the window was say, “What have I done?” Even with it making sense, though, this makes a massive difference in terms of how this scene is interpreted.

If Anakin was indeed reaching for his lightsaber at this moment, as he seems to be, then he wasn’t actually fully turned toward the dark side yet. In addition to that making his fall much more complex and interesting than it may initially seem to be in that movie, this also raises one critical question: When does Anakin truly embrace the dark side?

Read Next

3 Projects Star Wars Should Absolutely Make After The Mandalorian And Grogu

Order 66 Was The Event That Finally Pushed Anakin Over The Edge

With this newfound understanding of Anakin’s fall to the dark side, the most obvious answer to the question about Anakin’s full fall seems to be that Order 66 was the event tat saw Anakin truly committed to the dark side, with no possibility that he would turn back. In fact, that seems to be the purpose of the horrible scene in which Anakin is clearly about to slaughter younglings.

Anakin had done plenty of bad up to that point, but this was beyond the pale. After killing these innocent children and participating in the overall slaughter of the Jedi during Order 66, Anakin had done something truly unforgivable and irreparable, and it meant, at least in his mind, that staying on/returning to the light side of the Force was no longer a possibility. However, that wasn’t the end of his intentions to kill Palpatine.

Anakin Still Planned To Kill Palpatine After That

Although Anakin was firmly on the dark side of the Force after Order 66, he still hadn’t lost his thought process about potentially killing Palpatine (for different reasons at this stage). That became clear when Anakin was talking to Padmé on Mustafar and told her that he could overthrow Palpatine.

Unfortunately for Anakin, soon after that conversation, he was nearly dead, permanently restricted to his Darth Vader suit, and learned that Padmé was dead. Particularly the latter meant that his desire to kill Palpatine and take his place was gone; he no longer had any reason to fight, and until he protected Luke and betrayed Palpatine, he really didn’t fight in this capacity again.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!