What Anakin Would Have Looked Like If He Didn't Turn To The Dark Side
As we've mentioned in some of our previous articles, you'd be hard pushed to find a bigger and more passionate fanbase than that of Star Wars. The franchise spans several decades and continues to provide more and more stories expanding on the universe originally created by George Lucas. Throughout all nine films in the Skywalker saga, we meet a vast amount of interesting characters who we fell in love with or even hated. Fans will forever disagree on certain elements, as any fanbase for anything does, but one thing they excel at, is coming up with new thoughts and theories based on seemingly random pieces of dialogue or events throughout the entire franchise.
One of the more interesting aspects explored by fans is the vast amount of what-ifs they also put forward. Some examples of this are questions like, "What if Yoda or Obi-Wan went to arrest Palpatine instead of Windu?" or "What if Luke wasn't successful in blowing up the Death Star?" to name a couple, but perhaps the most talked about is, "What if Anakin didn't fall to the Dark Side?" Granted, the events of the prequel trilogy were pretty much dictated by the original trilogy, due to when each trilogy was released, but it's still fun to think about how certain changes in the events could have effected the outcome.
The prequel trilogy focuses heavily on the fall of Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side of the Force and his inevitable future as the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, but given that his story is pretty tragic, fans often reignite discussions around him not turning. The prequels do a good job of filling in the characters history. However, there are a lot of really specific circumstances which happen, allowing Palpatine to turn the young Jedi, which do seem a little "convenient."
The final tragedy Anakin suffers at the end of Revenge of the Sith is the fact he knew the love of his life, Padme, had died. Considering he knew she was pregnant, he also believed he'd lost his child. This is a pain not many people recover from, and served to push him deeper into the darkness. As we know, Padme gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The boy grows up to be Luke Skywalker and the girl Princess Leia Organa. They are pivotal in the downfall of the Empire. However, had Anakin not turned, it's highly likely Palpatine's plans would have been foiled, and he, Padme, Luke, and Leia would have lived their lives out as a family.
So what would he look like? Recently, an image has resurfaced on social media, giving fans a potential answer to this question, which you can see below.
Instead of the badly damaged burned face and body contained within the famous robotic black suit, the image shows Anakin having grown old gracefully, and he is joined by his smiling son. His look in the photo is very reminiscent of his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which would make sense if Anakin didn't turn away from the light, as it's very likely the two would have remained very close friends. There have even been images circulating social media implying Obi-Wan would have been known as "Uncle Obi-Wan" to the kids.
Whilst we knew Anakin had to turn in the end, it is nice to think of the alternative. Although it wouldn't have resulted in the amazing story we got, something about seeing Anakin raise Luke and Leia, no doubt teaching them the ways of the Force while Padme is likely serving the Senate (maybe at some point becoming Supreme Chancellor?) would have been a happy ending a lot of fans would love to see.
Now that Marvel are following up on their vast success with their version of what-if stories and both franchises are owned by Disney, perhaps we may get a Star Wars: What If? series somewhere down the line. If we do, this would be a very worthwhile thought to explore.
What do you think about the image? Do you think Anakin could have avoided turning? Do you think he would look different? Be sure to let us know your thoughts.
Until next time!