Welcome to another installment of FAN. This time, I’ll give my take on how I’d do the Star Wars Prequels.
So to start, Episode I changes in that it encompasses parts from both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. It’ll show Anakin with his mother and the Darth Maul fight, as well as Anakin being trained by the Jedi (and the drama surrounding that) and meeting Padme, protecting her, and loving her (with less corny lines). Jango Fett vs. Obi-Wan is thrown in there, as is Obi-Wan and Anakin vs. Dooku, though Anakin wouldn’t lose an arm this time and would actually hold his own. In fact, Dooku would complement Anakin on being more powerful than Obi-Wan by that time, and he would be said to have great potential that will allow him to one day be more powerful than Yoda. At the end will be his mother’s death and him slaughtering the Sand People, but feeling nothing instead of rage. Just emptiness and a sort of duty to avenge his mother.
A key change in this version of the prequels is that Anakin/Vader isn’t emotional and mostly sees his enemies as an obstacle in his path or a task to complete and thus he kills them. It seems to fit more with the portrayal of Vader from the Original Trilogy.
Episode II would be all about the Clone Wars. It would show the rise of Anakin Skywalker as a hero of the wars (as Obi-Wan hinted in Episode IV), with Obi-Wan Kenobi right beside him. He’d have various fights with droids, advanced droids, Asaji Ventress, and even a skirmish or two with Grievous and Dooku, clearly holding the advantage against them, forcing them to retreat. There would be situations where he’d show his great pilot skills, going in 1 on 20 in dogfights, and even great leadership by leading smaller clone forces against enormous droid armies. Of course, he’d also have solo/duo missions with Obi-Wan where he’d take on droves of droids and cut through their ranks, singlehandedly saving people and contributing greatly to the war. We’d see him go from powerful Padawan with high potential to Newly crowned Jedi Knight with even more power than before. Here he would develop his affinity for the Force Choke and begin using it to deal with his enemies (but never his allies, as he’s not tainted by the Dark Side just yet). He would start his relationship with Padme, but it would be a secret due to scandal, rather than hiding from the Jedi. This version of Anakin, modeled after Darth Vader, wouldn’t care to hide his relationship from the Jedi Order. Episode II would also show his brotherhood with Obi-Wan that is implied in the actual Prequels and Original Trilogy. They would be an unbeatable team.
Anakin would be authoritative and dominant over his troops and we would see the signs of Darth Vader begin to show.
Finally, comes the third movie, Episode III, which would be the Fall of the Jedi. This refers to the entire Jedi Order, as well as Anakin himself. In this episode, he would get serious with Padme and still have the visions of her dying. Anakin will leave he Jedi Order to pursue the relationship, and leave on good terms with Obi-Wan (but cordial terms with the rest of the Jedi). Anakin continues getting these dreams and will eventually ask Obi-Wan to research in the Jedi libraries. Obi-Wan’s skeptical, but originally agrees to help. Yoda will warn against it due to attachments and so on and Obi-Wan will be conflicted and slow to look. At the time, Anakin will still be a war hero, fighting on the side of the Republic. He’ll kill Dooku in a one on one duel, and force Grievous to retreat, allowing Obi-Wan to finish him off (after giving a nod to Anakin). Obi-Wan, heeding Yoda’s advice will tell Anakin he can’t find anything (mostly due to not looking) and Anakin will accept the new, though he’ll sense that Obi-Wan is lying. Anakin will do his own research and ask Palpatine his thoughts on it. This is when Palpatine reveals himself to Anakin and Anakin takes time to think. He tells Obi-Wan in passing about a new path to keep Padme alive, and Obi-Wan will be happy for him until he gets the exact details. Anakin will think it’s lucky that the Sith Lord is his good friend, but Obi-Wan will notice the manipulation by Palpatine and just how deep it is.
Obi-Wan will tell Mace Windu and the same scene will happen where Windu confronts Palpatine. Anakin will sense it and intervene, warning Windu that he’s standing in Anakin’s way and Anakin won’t hold back if they fight. The two will duel and Anakin will win, cutting off his arm. Palpatine will then use his lightning to blast Windu out of the window. Anakin will be crowned Darth Vader, but instead of being fueled by anger, he simply knows he must kill the Jedi to get the information needed from Palpatine to save Padme. Anakin will march on the temple with clones and fight various Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights ten on one, with other Jedi subbing in when some are cut down. Anakin will take them all down with his superior skill, and mostly his power. It will also be the first time he chokes any Jedi. The youngling scene will be cut. Finally, the Mustafar scene, but Anakin doesn’t choke Padme, he merely moves her aside. He fights Obi-Wan and Yoda two on one instead of just Obi-Wan and still manages to hold and advantage. This really pushes the power of Vader and the ‘Chosen One’ Prophecy. Eventually Anakin will push them back and Windu will return, wounded and tired, to even the odds. Anakin will lose, but Windu will die in a sacrificial move to defeat him. Unlike the real scene, Anakin will glare silently as he’s burned and mutilated by the lava. After that, Padme will have her children and die due to birth complications, which makes Obi-Wan realize that Anakin was right all along. Anakin will have his one and only tantrum in his Vader suit (much like the movie), and say the words: “Never Again” to exemplify that he will never lack the power to do something, that he will never let someone he cares for die again, that he will never again lose his temper. Thus is the birth of the Darth Vader we all know and love.
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