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'Revenge of the Sith' is probably the strongest 'Star Wars' prequel film. It shows Anakin Skywalker's turn and Obi-Wan Kenobi's dismay. But this deleted scene adds another layer of hurt to the iconic end fight.

Published on January 13, 2020

Star Wars is enjoyable science fiction with Jedi and their lightsabers bringing joy to so many people. However, it also has its sad, heartbreaking moments that really hit home the tragedy within the story. It’s heavy in the feels department, if you will. And recently, Revenge of the Sith has made a comeback on social media and in the hearts of many fans. 

Even though the prequels come with this notion of being bad thanks to some loud opinions, Revenge of the Sith might be one of the most important films in the Star Wars saga. It shows the point-of-no-return to the Dark Side for Anakin Skywalker and how Darth Vader came to be. But what if there actually was a moment where Anakin regretted what he did. Was there ever a chance to save him? According to a deleted portion of the script, there was. 

The gravity of that last battle from ‘Revenge of the Sith’ is still felt today 

Star Wars is essentially about the battle between the Light Side and Dark Side within the galaxy, and how Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One. So, the weight Revenge of the Sith had on the series is pretty big. It shows the last bits of seduction Palpatine uses to fully turn Anakin, and how Anakin’s distrust in the Jedi was already so far along that he fell. 

The final battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin is the scene that creates who we know as Darth Vader today. Since they trained so closely, and Obi-Wan taught Anakin everything he knew, they were pretty well-matched. There are even times where their skills create an impasse. But Obi-Wan is more worldly and a smarter fighter, which causes the famous “high ground” line and his “win.” But the moment where Anakin’s legs are cut off and he’s lying in the dirt looked a lot different in another cut of the movie. 

Anakin originally begged Obi-Wan to help him

The YouTube channel, Star Wars Theory, shared a massive deleted scene where Anakin actually begged Obi-Wan to help him as he laid there. This isn’t important just because it happens at a pivotal moment for these two characters. It’s important because of how it would change the ending if it was kept in the movie. 

As the book, The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith by J. W. Rinzler, stated, originally Anakin cried to his master to save him. In the final cut of the movie, you can still see Hayden Christensen mouth the words, but they obviously muted it. Obi-Wan then refuses in the deleted scene. 

After Anakin implores Obi-wan to save him, George Lucas asked Ewan McGregor to say “I will not…” softer, almost to himself because after Anakin bursted into flames it’s as if Obi-Wan was talking to a dead person. That’s why he also suggested, to drive home this point, that McGregor changed the words in the script to the past tense “I loved you.”

As the YouTube channel points out, this shows that Anakin “never fully committed to the Dark Side” and was so vulnerable, he could have been turned back. He had done a lot of horrible at this point, though, so it’s no wonder Obi-Wan left him to die. 

Anakin’s story is tragic no matter how you spin it

If this scene was left it, it would have made Anakin’s turn a little more tragic. Because instead of the evil Darth Vader you see murdering younglings and choking his wife, you see a broken man crying out to his father-figure. A detail from the book also states that Anakin’s eyes were blue when he called out, making it even more clear that he wasn’t trying to deceive Obi-Wan; he was truly asking. 

It leaves room for the argument that Anakin wasn’t fully Dark until after this. Could Obi-Wan have saved Anakin? It’s possible. But, Anakin Skywalker’s tragic tale is one of redemption that couldn’t have happened without him succumbing to Palpatine. Even though Revenge of the Sith debuted 15 years ago, it holds a special spot in the Skywalker saga.

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