174-738: Anakin may refer to: Anakin Skywalker, later known as Darth Vader , the central character in the Star Wars franchise Anakin Solo , grandson of Darth Vader A variant of the surname Annakin Anakin (given name) Cyber Anakin , the pseudonym of a computer hacktivist Doug Anakin (1930–2020), Canadian bobsleigh athlete Fly Anakin , American rapper and record producer See also [ edit ] Anakim , biblical giants Topics referred to by
348-524: A 3d-printed skull cap with an internal skeleton to give the lekku more fluid movement. It was difficult applying the prosthetics around Dawson's long hair in the previous series, so she considered shaving her head for Ahsoka but ultimately decided to just cut her hair shorter. It took more than three hours to apply Dawson's make-up and prosthetics for the previous series, but the team got this down to 90 minutes for Ahsoka . Hera has green skin and lekku, which took around three hours to apply to Winstead in
522-539: A " Star Wars history lesson" and focused on the relationship between Ahsoka and Anakin instead. He saw Ahsoka's time in the World Between Worlds as the turning point for her character, allowing her to accept her past and move forward and be less stoic; this is signified by a costume change to "Ahsoka the White" at the end of the episode. Filoni wanted the audience to question whether the World Between Worlds
696-399: A "chemical impossibility" for Bordizzo's hair to hold the color for the duration of filming. She instead decided to use hair dye for an initial long wig and then fabric dye for a shorter wig after the character cuts her hair. Sandoval's team spent two months testing different dyes to get the colors right. An in-between wig was created for the scene where Sabine cuts her hair, while duplicates of
870-526: A "climactic story event"; Filoni later indicated that this would involve a conflict with the remnants of the Empire which Ahsoka helps build towards. They were being concurrently developed by Favreau and Filoni, with Filoni creating, writing, and serving as lead producer and showrunner on Ahsoka . Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy , Carrie Beck, and Colin Wilson were also executive producers. Peter Ramsey
1044-407: A "layer of hate". The Emperor then orders Vader to send another Inquisitor to capture her. Later in the season, Ahsoka has a vision in which Anakin blames her for his fall to the dark side. In the season finale, Ahsoka duels with Vader inside a Sith Temple. As the episode concludes, Vader emerges from the ruins of the temple, while Ahsoka's fate is left unknown. Anakin appears in multiple episodes of
1218-520: A Jedi Code prohibition against romantic relationships. Sensing that his mother is in danger, Anakin travels with Padmé to Tatooine and finds that she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders . He locates her at a Tusken campsite, where she dies in his arms. Overcome with grief and rage, Anakin massacres the Tusken tribe. Padmé is disturbed by what he has done, but comforts him nevertheless. Anakin and Padmé then go to Geonosis to aid Obi-Wan , only to be captured by
1392-695: A bond with Padmé. Qui-Gon asks the Jedi Council for permission to train Anakin, but they refuse, concerned that the fear he exhibits makes him vulnerable to the dark side. During a conflict with the Trade Federation , Anakin helps end the blockade of Naboo by destroying a control ship. Qui-Gon is mortally wounded in a duel with the Sith Lord Darth Maul , and with his dying breath asks his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Anakin. With
1566-470: A castle on the planet Vjun. Anakin Skywalker is a major character in Dark Horse Comics ' Star Wars: Republic series (1998–2006). In Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire (1999), Vader hires Fett a few years before the events of A New Hope . In Vader's Quest (1999), set soon after A New Hope , the dark lord encounters Luke for the first time. Star Wars: Empire (2002–2005) spans from about
1740-422: A father to a young Luke and Leia, with some scenes portraying light-hearted versions of their darker film counterparts. For example, one scene shows Vader, Luke and Leia at the carbonite freezing chamber on Bespin, with Vader pronouncing the freezer adequate for making ice cream. Vader appears in several comic books such as Marvel Comics ' Star Wars (1977–1986). In Dark Empire II , he is revealed to have had
1914-457: A full-face breathing mask with a samurai helmet . A 1975 production painting by McQuarrie depicts Vader engaged in a lightsaber duel with Deak Starkiller, who later became Luke Skywalker. Vader is shown wearing black armor, a flowing cape and a skull-like mask and helmet. This early design was similar to Vader's final appearance. Working from McQuarrie's concepts, the costume designer John Mollo devised an outfit that combined clerical robes,
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#17327646727792088-673: A funeral pyre. As the Rebels celebrate the destruction of the Death Star and the fall of the Empire, Luke sees Anakin's spirit appear alongside the spirits of Obi-Wan and Yoda . The first film of the prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace (1999), takes place 32 years before Star Wars . Anakin is a nine-year-old slave living on Tatooine with his mother Shmi . He is a gifted pilot and mechanic, and has built his own protocol droid, C-3PO . The Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn meets Anakin after making an emergency landing on Tatooine with Padmé Amidala,
2262-583: A good handle on when the technology was right to be used and when traditional blue screen stages or outdoor locations needed to be used instead. Filoni's approach to filmmaking, based on his background in animation production, was to previsualize each episode ahead of time so he could see and work on a version of them before filming began. Filoni, the other directors, and cinematographers Eric Steelberg and Quyen Tran spent eight months creating and editing previsualizations of each episode using virtual reality cameras and headsets. The first table reads with
2436-467: A lightsaber duel. After placing a tracking device aboard Han's ship, Vader locates the Rebel base on Yavin 4 . When the Rebels attack the Death Star, Vader pursues Luke in his TIE fighter . Before he can shoot Luke down, Han intervenes and sends Vader's ship spiraling off course, which allows Luke to destroy the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Vader becomes obsessed with finding Luke, who
2610-487: A live-action version was the same character. Disney CEO Bob Iger said in February 2020 that spin-offs of The Mandalorian were being considered, and there was potential to add characters to the series to then give them their own series. Rosario Dawson was reported to be cast as Ahsoka for the second season a month later, but this was not officially confirmed until the episode she appears in, " Chapter 13: The Jedi ",
2784-402: A motorcycle suit, a German military helmet , and a military gas mask. The prop sculptor Brian Muir created the helmet and armor. The sound of Vader's breathing was created by the film's sound designer, Ben Burtt , using modified recordings of a scuba breathing apparatus. The sound effect is trademarked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office . Lucas has provided differing accounts of how
2958-642: A playable character for a limited time in Disney Magic Kingdoms . A bird version of Vader appears as a playable character and a boss in Angry Birds Star Wars and its sequel . Star Wars: Lords of the Sith was one of four canon novels released between 2014 and 2015. In it, Vader and Palpatine find themselves hunted by revolutionaries on the planet Ryloth . The 25-issue Marvel comic series Darth Vader (2015–2016) focuses on
3132-482: A separate narrative universe. Vader is featured prominently in novels set in the Star Wars universe . In the 1978 novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster , Vader meets Luke for the first time and engages him in a lightsaber duel that ends with Luke cutting off Vader's arm and Vader falling into a deep pit. Shadows of the Empire (1996) reveals that Vader is conflicted about trying to turn his son to
3306-519: A servant of Thrawn. Lucasfilm announced several spin-off series from The Mandalorian in December 2020, including The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka , also known as Star Wars: Ahsoka . The new series were set in the same trimeframe as The Mandalorian —during the 30 years between the films Return of the Jedi (1983) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)—and were planned to culminate in
3480-553: A similar transformation to the character Gandalf who begins as the wandering, unsure "Gandalf the Gray" but is later reborn as the wise and powerful "Gandalf the White". This transformation was hinted at in the epilogue of Rebels , in which Ahsoka appears wearing all white; this led to some fans calling her "Ahsoka the White". The second episode of the series recreates the epilogue in live-action, but it changes Ahsoka's costume from white to gray to allow her transformation to come later in
3654-711: A slave and his mother's traumatic death. In The Unifying Force (2003), Anakin tells his grandson Jacen Solo to "stand firm" in his battle with the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong . Upon the release of the prequel films, the Expanded Universe grew to include novels about Vader's former life as Anakin. Greg Bear 's 2000 novel Rogue Planet and Jude Watson 's Jedi Quest series chronicle Anakin's early missions with Obi-Wan, while James Luceno 's 2005 novel Labyrinth of Evil , set during
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#17327646727793828-400: A striking image for viewers who had not seen The Clone Wars . He had ideas for continuing the story, but if that did not happen he was at least happy to have Ezra return by the end of the season as that was an important milestone for him. In the last scene of the season, Anakin appears as a Force ghost watching over Ahsoka and Sabine. Filoni said Anakin was always watching over Ahsoka but she
4002-594: A wandering rōnin who Filoni compared to the main character of Akira Kurosawa 's film Yojimbo (1961), noting that Lucas was inspired by the works of Kurosawa when originally creating Star Wars . This depiction of the character comes after Ahsoka's decision to leave the Jedi and the subsequent destruction of the Order in The Clone Wars , as well as the revelation that Anakin is Darth Vader in Rebels . This series
4176-412: A year before A New Hope to several months afterwards. Anakin and Vader appear in the non-canonical Star Wars Tales (1999–2005); in the story Resurrection , Darth Maul is resurrected and faces Vader in battle. Ahsoka (TV series) Ahsoka , also known as Star Wars: Ahsoka , is an American space fantasy television series created by Dave Filoni for the streaming service Disney+ . It
4350-476: Is Svarthöfði , which means "black-head". The films Swiss Family Robinson (1960) and Battle of the Bulge (1965) influenced the original Star Wars trilogy, but Lucas's publicist has denied that Anakin Skywalker was named after Ken Annakin , the director of those films. The original surname of Anakin and Luke was "Starkiller", and it remained in the script until a few months into filming Star Wars . It
4524-633: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Darth Vader Darth Vader ( / d ɑːr θ v eɪ d ər / ) is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire . The prequel trilogy chronicles his transformation from the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into
4698-518: Is named for a lesser-known Knight of the Round Table from Arthurian legend who is turned into a werewolf . The first season ends with Ahsoka and Sabine trapped in the new galaxy, Thrawn and Ezra returning to the original Star Wars galaxy, and Baylan discovering large statues of the Mortis gods , powerful Force-wielders introduced in The Clone Wars . Filoni hoped the statues would still be
4872-641: Is now a Rebel commander. Vader's forces assault the Rebel base on Hoth , but the Rebels escape. Vader convinces the Emperor that Luke could be a valuable ally if he were turned to the dark side of the Force. Vader hires a group of bounty hunters to follow Luke's companions, and compels the Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian to set a trap for them. After Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO arrive, Vader tortures and freezes Han in carbonite and gives him to
5046-428: Is part of the Star Wars franchise and a spin-off from The Mandalorian , taking place in the same timeframe as that series and its other interconnected spin-offs after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). Ahsoka follows former Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano and her allies as they fight the remnants of the Galactic Empire during the time of the fledgling New Republic . Rosario Dawson stars as
5220-521: Is pregnant. Although initially excited, Anakin soon begins to have nightmares about his wife dying in childbirth. Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his personal representative, but the council is suspicious of the Chancellor. They decline to grant Anakin the rank of Jedi Master and instruct him to spy on Palpatine, which upsets Anakin. Later, Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he is
5394-414: Is produced with visual effects studio Industrial Light & Magic 's StageCraft virtual production technology, which was developed for The Mandalorian . This involves filming on a "volume" set surrounded by a circular LED video wall that digital backgrounds can be displayed on in real-time. With his experience using virtual production on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett , Filoni felt he had
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5568-408: Is still alive. Vader begins hunting Obi-Wan , which eventually leads them to duel again. Although Vader initially overpowers his former master, Obi-Wan recovers his strength and wounds Vader multiple times. He slashes open Vader's helmet to partially reveal his face, then leaves him, weakened and wheezing. Flashback sequences in the series depict Anakin training under Obi-Wan in the years preceding
5742-468: Is the Chosen One. Even when Anakin turns into Darth Vader, he is still the Chosen One." Hayden Christensen said of Anakin: "He believes that he's the Chosen One. He's not doing wrong things knowing that it's having a negative impact. So there's that sort of naivety to him ... and it makes him more human in a lot of ways." Lucas later clarified that the plot element of Anakin's virgin birth
5916-407: Is voiced by Kirby Morrow in several television productions. Matt Lanter provides the character's voice in video games and in various television productions, including The Clone Wars , Rebels , Forces of Destiny and Star Wars: Tales . Lanter also voices Anakin in the film version of The Clone Wars . During the second-season finale of Rebels , Lanter's voice is sometimes blended with
6090-486: The Nightsister witches. Similar to Thrawn, that group of characters were first introduced in an EU novel, in this case The Courtship of Princess Leia (1994), before appearing in the animated series. The three Nightsister "Great Mothers" who live on Peridea–Aktropaw, Klothow, and Lakesis–are named after the three Fates from Greek mythology : Atropos , Clotho , and Lachesis . Other new antagonists introduced in
6264-606: The Sith Lord Darth Vader. His metamorphosis begins when he is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine , who later becomes the Emperor. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi , Vader is severely injured and is transformed into a cyborg . He serves Palpatine for over two decades, hunting down the remaining Jedi and attempting to crush the Rebel Alliance . When Palpatine tries to kill Vader's son, Luke Skywalker ,
6438-620: The Star Wars films. In the seventh episode, Anthony Daniels reprises his Star Wars film and television role as the droid C-3PO . Additionally, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee reprises his role as Captain Carson Teva from The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett , and the Mandalorian 's on-set double from those series, Brendan Wayne, appears as Lieutenant Lander; Clancy Brown portrays Ryder Azadi , reprising his voice role from Rebels , while Vinny Thomas appears as Jai Kell, who
6612-535: The 2004 DVD release. When The Phantom Menace was being developed, hundreds of actors were auditioned for the role of young Anakin before Jake Lloyd was cast. Rick McCallum , the film's producer, said that Lloyd was "smart, mischievous and love[d] anything mechanical—just like Anakin." When casting the role of 19-year-old Anakin for Attack of the Clones , the filmmakers reviewed about 1,500 candidates before selecting Hayden Christensen. The Canadian actor reprises
6786-404: The 2008 animated film The Clone Wars , set shortly after the events of Attack of the Clones , Yoda assigns Anakin an apprentice, Ahsoka Tano . Anakin is at first reluctant to accept this responsibility. He calls Ahsoka "Snips" for her "snippy" attitude, while Ahsoka refers to him as "Skyguy". After earning Anakin's respect during a dangerous mission, Ahsoka joins him on a quest to rescue Jabba
6960-617: The 2019 virtual reality series Vader Immortal . Matt Sloan voices the Sith Lord in both video games and television productions. Both Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous portray Vader in Rogue One , with Jones providing the voice. Jones also voices Vader in the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) and the animated series Star Wars Rebels . In September 2022, it was confirmed that Jones would retire from voicing
7134-533: The Building . It topped the chart for the rest of the season. JustWatch , a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 20 million users around the world, estimated that Ahsoka was the second-most watched streaming series in the U.S. for the week ending September 3, behind Netflix 's One Piece . It remained in the site's top five for the rest of the season's release, finishing in third behind Amazon Prime Video 's Gen V and Only Murders in
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7308-581: The Building . Nielsen Media Research , which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, estimated that the first two episodes of Ahsoka were watched for 829 million minutes during its first five days. This put it in second on the list of original series for the week, behind Netflix's Who Is Erin Carter? . It was above the premieres for Andor (624 million minutes) and the third season of The Mandalorian (823 million minutes) but below Obi-Wan Kenobi (1.03 billion minutes). The series dropped down
7482-621: The Clone Wars, as well as a newly minted Vader carrying out the massacre at the Jedi Temple. Hayden Christensen portrays Anakin in Ahsoka (2023), which takes place after the original trilogy. Anakin appears in spirit-form to his former apprentice Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds, an ethereal realm that exists outside of time and space. He leads her through visions of their shared past together, including her training, their battles during
7656-538: The Clone Wars, depicts Anakin battling Separatist commander General Grievous . In Luceno's Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (2005), set a few months after the events of Revenge of the Sith , Vader disavows his identity as Anakin as he hunts down surviving Jedi and cements his position in the Empire. In the Dark Nest trilogy (2005), Luke and Leia uncover old recordings of their parents in R2-D2's memory drive; for
7830-625: The Clone Wars, her departure from the Jedi Order and his fall to the dark side. Industrial Light and Magic used " de-aging " technology to make the 42-year-old Christensen appear younger. Vader is featured in the three-episode virtual reality game series Vader Immortal , which is set between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One . The first episode became available with the launch of the Oculus Quest virtual reality headset in May 2019, while
8004-468: The Clones to the Revenge of the Sith look, rather than directly adapt the "straighter and sort of chunkier" style seen in The Clone Wars . Legacy Effects returned from The Mandalorian to create puppets and animatronics for the series, including Sabine's loth-cat—a cat-like creature native to the planet Lothal . Huyang and Chopper were also created as animatronics. The series prominently features
8178-529: The Darth Vader costume which is only seen in brief flashes. Ahsoka and Sabine's hunt for Thrawn and Ezra takes them to a new galaxy, outside the main Star Wars galaxy, in a first for the franchise. Filoni was inspired by an image of multiple galaxies seen in the film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and felt it was necessary because he thought it unlikely that Thrawn and Ezra would have remained hidden for so long if they were still in
8352-460: The Emperor down a reactor shaft to his death, but is mortally wounded in the process. Luke carries him to a docking bay, where Imperial forces are evacuating in the face of a Rebel assault. At Vader's request, Luke removes his father's mask and looks upon the face of Anakin Skywalker for the first time. The redeemed Anakin Skywalker encourages him to go and tells him that he has saved him, before peacefully dying. On Endor, Luke burns his father's body on
8526-421: The Emperor, Vader refuses. At the end of the film, Vader boards a Rebel flagship and kills several Rebel soldiers as he tries to recover the stolen Death Star plans. Vader's role in the film was different in early versions of the story. In Gary Whitta 's original pitch , the Sith Lord appeared on Scarif and slaughtered a Rebel blockade. In another early storyline, Vader killed Krennic for his failure to prevent
8700-571: The Emperor. The five-issue series Obi-Wan & Anakin (2016) depicts the lives of the two Jedi between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones . Between 2017 and 2018, Charles Soule wrote a prequel-era series, also called Darth Vader (sometimes subtitled Dark Lord of the Sith ). It begins immediately after Vader wakes up in his armor at the end of Revenge of the Sith and explores his emotional transformation upon learning of Padmé's death, his adjustment to his mechanical suit, how he creates his red-bladed lightsaber, and his hunting of Jedi in
8874-575: The Holocron from Cal Kestis , who barely manages to escape. Vader returns as a boss in the sequel, Jedi: Survivor (2023), where he leads an Imperial assault on a Jedi hideout on the planet Jedha . He duels Cere Junda, whom he manages to slay after a prolonged battle. Both Vader and Anakin are playable characters in every Lego Star Wars video game . Vader is a playable character and a boss in Disney Infinity 3.0 , and can be unlocked as
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#17327646727799048-507: The Hutt 's infant son, Rotta. Her impetuousness both annoys and endears her to Anakin, and he develops a friendly affection towards her. In the standalone film Rogue One (2016), set immediately before the events of A New Hope , Vader summons the weapons developer Orson Krennic to his castle on Mustafar. He confronts him about his handling of the Death Star project and the destruction of Jedha City. When Krennic asks Vader for an audience with
9222-513: The Inquisitor program. Its final arc, which depicts the construction of Vader's fortress on Mustafar, implies that Palpatine used the Force to conceive Anakin in utero , as some had theorized that Revenge of the Sith indicates. A Lucasfilm story group member later clarified that "This is all in Anakin's head". A five-issue limited series titled Vader: Dark Visions , was released in 2019. Vader Down writer Jason Aaron wrote part of
9396-425: The Jedi (1983), while Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen portray Anakin in the prequel trilogy, with Christensen reprising the role in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Ahsoka (2023). In the standalone film Rogue One (2016), Vader is portrayed by Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous. The character also appears in novels, comics, and video games. He has become an iconic villain of cinema. As part of
9570-489: The Jedi . Lucas chose to have a different actor provide Vader's voice, because he felt Prowse's West Country English accent was inappropriate for the character. The director originally considered Orson Welles for the role, but selected James Earl Jones instead after deciding that Welles's voice would be too recognizable to audiences. Jones initially felt his role was too small to warrant recognition, and he chose to be uncredited in Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He
9744-445: The Jedi in the Jedi Temple, including the younglings. After learning what her husband has done, a distraught Padmé travels to Mustafar and pleads with him to abandon the dark side, but he refuses. Believing that Padmé and Obi-Wan are conspiring against him, Vader uses the Force to strangle his wife into unconsciousness. He then engages Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel that ends with Obi-Wan severing his limbs and leaving him for dead on
9918-401: The Jedi to the series' characters, Filoni realized that Ahsoka would be able to provide this information. After writing and directing episodes of the first season , he felt confident enough in his filmmaking abilities to be able to introduce her to live-action in the second season without "mess[ing] it up"; it was important to Filoni that fans who grew up watching the animated Ahsoka feel that
10092-614: The Rebel threat after the Inquisitor is killed. In the second-season premiere, Vader orchestrates the murder of Imperial Minister Maketh Tua, who tried to defect to the Rebellion, and confronts the two Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger . When Vader attacks the fleet of the Phoenix Squadron, he discovers that Ahsoka is still alive and has joined the Rebel Alliance. She is overwhelmed when she recognizes Anakin under
10266-466: The Rebels from stealing the Death Star schematics. Anakin is featured in all seasons of The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), set between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith . As a Jedi Knight, he leads the 501st Legion on missions with both his master Obi-Wan and his apprentice Ahsoka. Some of Anakin's actions taken out of concern for Ahsoka violate the Jedi code, such as torturing prisoners who may know her location. Throughout
10440-535: The Sith (2005) is set three years after Attack of the Clones . Anakin, who is now a Jedi Knight and a hero of the Clone Wars , leads a mission with Obi-Wan to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from the Separatist commander General Grievous . The two Jedi again battle Count Dooku, whom Anakin overpowers and then slaughters at Palpatine's urging. Anakin returns to Coruscant to reunite with Padmé, who tells him she
10614-572: The Sith Lord Count Dooku . Facing execution, Anakin and Padmé profess their love for each other. They are saved from death by an army of Jedi and clone troopers , led by the Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Yoda. Anakin and Obi-Wan then confront Dooku, but he defeats them both and severs Anakin's arm. After being rescued by Yoda, Anakin is fitted with a robotic arm and marries Padmé in a secret ceremony. Revenge of
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#173276467277910788-560: The Sith Lord Darth Sidious, the mastermind of the Clone Wars. He suggests that Anakin can prevent Padmé's death by using the dark side of the Force. Anakin reports Sidious' treachery to Windu, who confronts and subdues the Sith Lord. Desperate to save Padmé, Anakin betrays Windu by cutting off his hand, which allows the Sith Lord to kill him. Anakin then betrays the Jedi by pledging himself to the Sith, and Sidious dubs him Darth Vader. On Sidious' orders, Vader slaughters all
10962-588: The Sith Lord in the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction, as well as his life after learning about his son's existence. The series takes place parallel to the 2015 series Star Wars , in which Vader and Luke meet; the two series have a crossover titled Vader Down . A continuation series set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi debuted in 2020. The first few issues focus on Vader exacting revenge on those who concealed Luke; he also visits Padmé's tomb on Naboo and encounters her handmaidens. A subsequent story arc depicts Vader being tested by
11136-472: The Sith Lord turns against his master and destroys him. Vader is the husband of Padmé Amidala , the father of Luke and his twin sister Leia Organa , and the grandfather of Ben Solo (later known as Kylo Ren). David Prowse physically portrays Vader in the original trilogy, while James Earl Jones provides his voice in all of the films and some television series. Sebastian Shaw portrays Anakin in Return of
11310-602: The United States. In France, Vader's name was changed to Dark Vador ( pronounced [daʁk vadɔʁ] ) starting with the original film. Although the names of some other characters have been reverted to the English versions over the years, Vader is still referred to as Dark Vador in recent French-language Star Wars media. The title "Darth" has been replaced with "Dark" for other Sith Lords as well. In Italian-language editions of Star Wars films, Darth Vader
11484-544: The World Between Worlds. New themes for the series represent Baylan, Shin, Morgan and the Nightsister witches, and the New Republic. Baylan's theme prominently features the piano , which is rare for Star Wars music and was inspired by Rachmaninoff. The melody is a variation on the medieval chant " Dies irae ", but played by an orchestra with a " heavy metal sensibility". The Kiners were particularly happy with
11658-530: The animated series Star Wars Rebels to prevent Grand Admiral Thrawn —who is stranded in another galaxy—from returning and uniting the remnants of the Empire against the fledgling New Republic . The first season ends with Thrawn returning from the other galaxy, leaving Ahsoka and Sabine stranded there. Ahsoka Tano was created for the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars by original Star Wars creator George Lucas and The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni . Voiced by Ashley Eckstein ,
11832-400: The animated series. In July 2021, Dawson acknowledged rumors that Ezra Bridger and Thrawn would be in the series. By the following month, Lucasfilm was looking for an actress to co-star in the series as Sabine Wren, who was voiced by Tiya Sircar in Rebels . In October, Christensen was set to reprise his role as Anakin, reportedly appearing as a Force ghost due to the series being set after
12006-548: The animated web series Forces of Destiny (2017–2018). Hayden Christensen portrays both Anakin and Vader in the 2022 miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi , set a decade after Revenge of the Sith and 9 years before A New Hope . The series reveals that for a decade after their duel on Mustafar, Obi-Wan believed his fallen apprentice to be dead. While attempting to draw Obi-Wan out of hiding, the Imperial Inquisitor Reva Sevander tells him that Anakin
12180-493: The audience. Filoni disagreed with some fans who felt this was going against the franchise's established rules for the Force, noting that the Force has always been described as connecting to all living beings and adding his view that anyone can become a Jedi with the right training. Borrowing from J. R. R. Tolkien 's novel The Lord of the Rings , which was a big inspiration for his storytelling, Filoni wanted Ahsoka to go through
12354-567: The band Illuminati Hotties , who Deana is friends with and had played on tour alongside. Walt Disney Records released two soundtrack albums featuring the first season's score: the first volume, covering music from the first four episodes including the song "Igyah Kah", was released digitally on September 15, 2023, while a second volume, covering music from the final four episodes, was released digitally on October 6. All music by Kevin Kiner except where noted: Filoni and Favreau promoted
12528-412: The banks of a lava flow, where he catches fire and sustains severe burns. Sidious finds the barely-alive Vader and takes him to Coruscant, where his mutilated body is covered in black armor that keeps him alive. When Vader asks if Padmé is safe, Sidious lies to him and says that his strangulation killed her, which causes Vader to scream in anguish. At the end of the film, Vader supervises the construction of
12702-402: The bounty hunter Boba Fett . When Luke lands on Cloud City to help his friends, Vader overpowers him and severs his hand. He tells Luke that he is his father, and tries to persuade him to join the dark side and help him overthrow the Emperor. Horrified, Luke escapes through an air shaft. Vader telepathically tells Luke that it is his destiny to join the dark side. Vader and the Emperor supervise
12876-428: The cast were recorded and added to the previsualizations, which Dawson described as "mini episodes". The directors and cinematographers discussed the approaches to The Mandalorian , The Book of Boba Fett , and Obi-Wan Kenobi so Ahsoka could feel like it takes place in the same universe as those series but also stand apart. Steelberg's main influences were the original Star Wars film trilogy, but he also discussed
13050-721: The character is introduced as the Jedi apprentice of Anakin Skywalker , the main character of the Star Wars prequel films . Ahsoka became a fan favorite over the course of The Clone Wars and Eckstein reprised her role for the follow-up animated series Star Wars Rebels . Rebels was co-created by Filoni and focuses on a group of heroes who resist the Galactic Empire : the Jedi Kanan Jarrus , his apprentice Ezra Bridger , pilot Hera Syndulla , Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren , Zeb Orrelios , and Hera's droid Chopper . During Rebels , Ahsoka learns that Anakin has fallen to
13224-427: The character's appearances since the start of The Clone Wars . For Tales of the Jedi , which Filoni wanted to be an homage to the works of Studio Ghibli and other Japanese cinema , Sean and Deana created a new variation of Ahsoka's theme inspired by the music of samurai films. They said this was Ahsoka's rōnin motif, which combines a pulsing cello with Kevin's original Ahsoka melody. Kevin felt this variation of
13398-460: The character's death. Natasha Liu Bordizzo was cast as Sabine a month later, when Ivanna Sakhno joined the cast. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was added to the cast in January 2022, and Ray Stevenson joined the next month to play an antagonist other than Thrawn. Stevenson previously voiced Gar Saxon in Rebels and The Clone Wars . At Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in May 2022, Bordizzo
13572-592: The character. Filoni said all elements of the animated characters' appearances were considered to an "unbelievable" degree when translating them into live-action. Ahsoka has orange skin, white markings on her face, and blue-and-white montrals (horns) and lekku (head tails). Filoni wanted her skin to look natural and less saturated than in the animated series, and wanted the white markings to be subtle and not look like face paint. He told Dawson not to worry about her brown eyes differing from Ahsoka's blue eyes, but Dawson chose to wear colored contact lenses which she felt made
13746-430: The character. His voice was digitally recreated by the company Respeecher for use in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi , and he later signed over the rights to his voice for future Star Wars productions. Near the end of Return of the Jedi , Luke removes Vader's mask. Although Prowse had portrayed the Sith Lord throughout the trilogy, the filmmakers wanted a more experienced actor to play the unmasked Vader. Sebastian Shaw
13920-562: The composers slowed down the music, distorted the organ sounds, and made the score more "atmospheric". For the flashbacks to the Clone Wars in the fifth episode, the Kiners included references to their synthesizer music from the final season of The Clone Wars , including the track "Burying the Dead". Sean used the Chinese guzheng string instrument to represent the metaphysical elements of
14094-414: The composers to interact with the musicians as episodes were being recorded. They incorporated feedback from the musicians for early episodes when composing the score for later episodes. The in-universe song "Igyah Kah" that Sabine listens to in the first episode was co-written by Kevin and Deana Kiner, Noah Gorelick, and The Mandalorian composer Ludwig Göransson . The composers initially tried to make
14268-467: The conclusion of The Clone Wars . The Sith Lord makes minor appearances throughout the first season, and plays a larger role in the second season. At the beginning of the series, he leads a squad of Force-sensitive Imperial Inquisitors who kill Jedi and Force-sensitive children. He dispatches the Grand Inquisitor to hunt a Rebel cell on Lothal , and later arrives personally to deal with
14442-400: The construction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi (1983). Believing there is still good in his father, Luke surrenders to Vader in an attempt to bring him back from the dark side. Vader takes his son to the Death Star and brings him before the Emperor, who attempts to seduce him to the dark side. Luke lashes out at the Emperor with his lightsaber, but Vader blocks his strike, and
14616-561: The council's reluctant approval, Anakin becomes Obi-Wan's apprentice. Palpatine, the newly elected Chancellor of the Galactic Republic , takes an interest in Anakin and his career as a Jedi. Attack of the Clones (2002) is set ten years after The Phantom Menace . Anakin has grown powerful but arrogant, and believes that Obi-Wan is holding him back. After rescuing Padmé from an assassination attempt, he travels with her to Naboo as her bodyguard. They begin to fall in love, despite
14790-487: The dark side of the Force and become the Sith lord Darth Vader . In the final season , Kanan sacrifices his life and Ezra is taken to an unknown location with antagonist Grand Admiral Thrawn . The series ends with an epilogue in which Ahsoka joins Sabine to search for Ezra, leading to speculation about a new series focusing on them. Filoni said he had ideas for that story but nothing was in development. He described bringing
14964-728: The dark side, and knows deep down that he still has good in him. Vader's supposedly indestructible glove is the MacGuffin of the young-reader's book The Glove of Darth Vader (1992). Anakin Skywalker's redeemed spirit appears in The Truce at Bakura (1993), set a few days after the end of Return of the Jedi . He appears to Leia, imploring her forgiveness. Leia condemns Anakin for his crimes and banishes him from her life. He promises that he will be there for her when she needs him, and disappears. In Tatooine Ghost (2003), Leia learns to forgive her father after learning about his childhood as
15138-478: The development for the original Star Wars film , George Lucas hired the artist Ralph McQuarrie to create conceptual images for the characters. For Vader, Lucas asked McQuarrie to depict a "very tall, dark fluttering figure that had a spooky feeling like it came in on the wind." Because the script described Vader traveling between spaceships, McQuarrie suggested that he should wear a space suit. Lucas agreed, and McQuarrie created Vader's iconic mask by combining
15312-570: The difference between wearing cosplay versus actually portraying the character. She was disappointed to see that the prosthetic montrals and lekku were much shorter than their animated series look, but accepted Filoni's explanation that this was needed to accommodate for her fighting and stunts. New technology was developed for the series to create the montrals and lekku, allowing them to be bigger and move more realistically than in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett . Dawson called it
15486-406: The different directors' episodes simultaneously, with two full crews working at the same time on some days. Tennant's pre-recorded dialogue was played on set for the other actors to perform against. Dawson's favorite day of filming was when Ahsoka voice actress Ashley Eckstein visited the set. Ming Qiu, a stunt performer on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett , was the stunt coordinator for
15660-510: The difficult environment Thrawn has been in since the end of Rebels , but kept his hair looking "composed" because the character would not let himself appear "shaggy". Sandoval closely studied Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) to replicate Christensen's mullet hairstyle from that film. For the Clone Wars flashbacks she wanted to show what Christensen's hair would realistically look like if it grew from its appearance in Attack of
15834-503: The droid Huyang as he did in The Clone Wars , and Lars Mikkelsen reprised his role as Thrawn from Rebels . Filoni first hinted to Mikkelsen that he could reprise his role in live-action when the actor finished his voice work for Rebels , but it was not until a year-and-a-half later when Filoni contacted him about appearing in Ahsoka . Mikkelsen's role in the series was kept a secret until it could be announced at Celebration London, with Mikkelsen repeatedly denying his involvement before
16008-401: The end credits track combines different themes for the series into one, starting with the rōnin variation of Ahsoka's theme. Inspired by the imagery of the end credits sequence, the composers wrote a new "celestial" motif that is included in the track. Feeling this was too good to just have in the credits, it became a recurring motif in the score. It is used for scenes with the purrgil, and for
16182-439: The epilogue of Rebels because of the complicated relationship that could potentially be developed between Ahsoka and an apprentice who reminds her of her own master. He was also interested by the idea of someone training to be a Jedi who does not have a strong connection to the Force, feeling that differentiated the story from most Star Wars projects which are often about very talented Jedi who he felt were not always relatable to
16356-572: The existing silvery gray color, which was inspired by previous depictions of the Nightsisters, with a new style that Sandoval described as a cross between the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Lady Tremaine from Cinderella (1950). Thrawn's black hair is a wig because Mikkelsen did not have the right hairline for the character. Sandoval added some gray hairs to reflect
16530-452: The extra time required for make-up and prosthetics to portray the characters. In Rebels , Sabine is known for frequently changing her hair color and style. She begins Ahsoka with long hair that Filoni wanted to start purple and transition to orange. She then cuts her hair to be short and purple. Hair designer Maria Sandoval wanted these colors to be more muted than in the animated series, but said they were still bold enough that it would be
16704-470: The fifth episode were held on September 12, the day it was released on Disney+, in ten theaters around the U.S. as well as at an event in the UK hosted by Empire . The first season of Ahsoka will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 3, 2024, with SteelBook packaging featuring art by Attila Szarka. The release includes concept art cards and several bonus featurettes: Ahsoka: Legacy , which explores
16878-483: The film and the 2008 television series The Clone Wars . David Prowse, a 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m) bodybuilder and actor, portrays Vader in the original trilogy. Prowse was originally offered the role of Chewbacca, but turned it down, as he wanted to play the villain. Bob Anderson , a former Olympic fencer, portrays Vader during lightsaber fight scenes in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of
17052-475: The films for specific moments, including the Force theme; the themes for Anakin and Darth Vader ; and both the main Star Wars fanfare and Princess Leia's theme for the C-3PO scene. They also studied the composers who inspired Williams, including Erich Wolfgang Korngold , Sergei Rachmaninoff , and Igor Stravinsky . The first theme Kevin wrote for Star Wars was Ahsoka's theme, which he had used for all of
17226-404: The final scene of the series finale, which occurs after Revenge of the Sith . He investigates the crash site of a Venator -class Star Destroyer, which was demolished during Order 66 . Finding one of Ahsoka's lightsabers among the wreckage, he assumes that his former Padawan has perished. Vader appears in the animated series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), which takes place fourteen years after
17400-416: The first Death Star alongside Sidious and Tarkin. Anakin's voice is heard briefly in the third film of the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker (2019), set 31 years after the events of Return of the Jedi . During Rey's confrontation with the resurrected Darth Sidious, she hears the voices of various deceased Jedi, including Anakin. He encourages her to return balance to the Force like he once did. In
17574-471: The first episode had 14 million views in the five days following its release, making it the most watched title on Disney+ during the week of its launch. Disney defined views as total stream time divided by runtime, which The Hollywood Reporter equated to 784 million minutes of viewing. Analytics company Samba TV , which gathers viewership data from certain Smart TVs and content providers, reported that
17748-455: The first episode was viewed by 1.2 million households over its first five days. That is on par with their estimates for the premiere of Andor 's first season, but 50 percent lower than Obi-Wan Kenobi and 29 percent lower than the third season of The Mandalorian . Whip Media calculated that Ahsoka was the second-highest original streaming series for U.S. viewership during its first two weeks of release, behind Hulu 's Only Murders in
17922-457: The first season was fully released in October, a second season was considered more likely to be Filoni's next project than the film. The next month, Filoni revealed that he was now chief creative officer at Lucasfilm and would be directly involved in the planning of future films and series. He was considering a second season of Ahsoka at that time, and Lucasfilm officially announced that Filoni
18096-468: The first season was released. Prop master Josh Roth was responsible for the lightsabers . As with the previous live-action Star Wars series, the lightsaber hilts were connected to glowing tubes to create on-set interactive lighting. Filoni felt some of the previous series had taken the lightsaber brightness too far and wanted the light levels in Ahsoka to be closer to those in the Star Wars films. He designed Ahsoka's lightsaber hilts to be slimmer than
18270-423: The first time, they see their own birth and their mother's death, as well as their father's corruption to the dark side. In Bloodlines (2006), Han and Leia's son Jacen—who has turned to the dark side—uses the Force to envision Vader slaughtering the children at the Jedi Temple. Vader also appears in a series of tongue-in-cheek children's books by Jeffrey Brown . In Brown's series, a hapless Vader sets out to be
18444-502: The first trailer for the series at Star Wars Celebration London on April 7, 2023, with additional footage and the confirmation of Mikkelsen's casting as Thrawn coming the following day. A featurette titled Master & Apprentice: A Special Look at Ahsoka , focusing on mentor-student relationships in Star Wars as well as the real-life relationship between George Lucas and Dave Filoni, was released in August. The first two episodes of
18618-484: The first two episodes of the first season. The other six episodes were released through October 3. The season received high viewership, generally positive reviews from critics, and several accolades. In January 2024, Lucasfilm confirmed that Filoni was developing a second season. After the fall of the Galactic Empire in the film Return of the Jedi (1983), former Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano joins with her own former apprentice, Sabine Wren , and other characters from
18792-424: The initial test. This was eventually reduced to an hour, which Winstead noted was a normal amount of time to get make-up applied for a series. Thrawn has blue skin and red eyes, and Mikkelsen spent two-to-three hours in make-up each day. Filoni said there was a long process selecting the correct shades of orange, green, and blue so the characters had a "sense of blood and skin". He praised the actors for committing to
18966-486: The known galaxy. For Thrawn's live-action introduction, Filoni and Favreau consulted with author Timothy Zahn , who originally created the character for the Expanded Universe (EU) novel Heir to the Empire (1991). The novel is referenced in the series when Ahsoka describes Thrawn as "the heir to the Empire". The planet that is visited in the new galaxy, Peridea, is the ancient homeworld of Morgan's people,
19140-608: The last was released in November of the same year. The series was later released for the Oculus Rift . In August 2020, all three episodes were released for PlayStation VR . Vader makes a brief appearance at the end of Jedi: Fallen Order (2019). He kills the Second Sister for her failure to secure a Jedi Holocron that could lead the Empire to a number of Force-sensitive children. He then attempts to personally take
19314-450: The line "Obi-Wan killed your father" instead of "No, I am your father." Only the director, the producers, and Mark Hamill knew the actual line, which was dubbed in later by Jones. Prowse did not know the real line until he viewed the finished film. Hayden Christensen portrays Vader in Revenge of the Sith , while Brock Peters provides his voice in the Star Wars radio series . Scott Lawrence voices Vader in video games, including
19488-446: The list for the following weeks, but remained in the top 10 for each episode. It returned to second place for the week of the finale, behind Netflix's Love Is Blind , with 575 million minutes viewed. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 86% of 266 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average score of 7.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Elevated by Rosario Dawson's strong performance in
19662-427: The main events of Rebels , but they parted ways soon after when Sabine's family were killed during the purge of Mandalore and her subsequent internal struggle reminded Ahsoka too much of Anakin. Filoni was planning this storyline by the end of Rebels , having come to feel that Sabine was more than just a Mandalorian warrior. He saw similarities between the character and Anakin, and chose to pair Sabine with Ahsoka in
19836-509: The making of the series; Path of the Apprentice , focusing on Anakin and Ahsoka; Ghosts of the Past which is about Ahsoka's allies; and Darkness Rising which is about the villains. According to Whip Media , who track viewership data for the 25 million worldwide users of their TV Time app, Ahsoka was the most anticipated new series of August 2023. Disney and Lucasfilm announced that
20010-402: The miniseries Darth Vader: Black, White & Red , an extension of a Marvel event highlighting fan-favorite characters. Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, most of the licensed Star Wars Expanded Universe material produced between 1977 and 2014 was rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise. The Legends works comprise
20184-432: The musical interactions between the themes for Baylan and Shin. The New Republic theme is more similar to Williams's style of music, and primarily has a positive sound, but the composers also included some subtle darkness to foreshadow the fall of the New Republic later in the franchise's timeline. They originally planned to have different music over the end credits of each episode, but found this to be impractical. Instead,
20358-415: The name "Darth Vader" originated. In a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone , he claimed it was a modified version of "Dark Father." On another occasion, he said it was inspired by the phrase "Dark Water". It is also possible that "Darth Vader" originated from the name of Gary Vader, a boy who went to high school with Lucas. The names of various Star Wars characters have been altered in countries outside
20532-458: The names of the antagonists that Sakhno and Stevenson play were revealed to be Shin Hati and Baylan Skoll, respectively, while several actors were announced to be reprising their roles from previous Star Wars projects: Inosanto returned as Morgan Elsbeth from The Mandalorian , Genevieve O'Reilly reprised her role as Mon Mothma from the films and the series Andor , David Tennant again voiced
20706-574: The ones that are reserved for the start of the main Star Wars films . The crawl for Ahsoka is differentiated from the films by red text and simpler formatting. The end credits sequence is inspired by the star map and its planetarium-like projections. The sequence follows a gold line as it moves between different planets and star systems from throughout the Star Wars franchise, including Lothal and Mandalore. It ends with multiple gold lines converging on Peridea. Stylized loth-wolves and purrgil are shown around Lothal and Seatos, respectively. The series
20880-470: The others, comparing them to shoto and katana , but this led to issues fitting the batteries for the interactive lighting inside the hilt. The solution for The Mandalorian was to hide the batteries in Dawson's sleeves, but this was not practical for Ahsoka considering the amount of fighting the character does throughout the series. They were able to improve the technology so the batteries would fit inside
21054-600: The purrgil (also known as "space whales") from Rebels after they made a brief appearance in the third season of The Mandalorian . New creatures introduced on Peridea include howlers, reptilian wolf-horse hybrids, and the bug-like Noti people who have shells that can be mistaken for rocks. Creatures called howlers, with a more reptilian design, previously appeared in the Star Wars: Jedi Knight EU video games. Unlike previous live-action Star Wars series, this series begins with an opening crawl similar to
21228-399: The queen of Naboo . Qui-Gon learns that Anakin was conceived without a father and can see the future. He becomes convinced that Anakin is the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who will bring balance to the Force. After winning his freedom in a podrace wager, Anakin departs the planet with Qui-Gon to be trained as a Jedi, leaving his mother behind. During the journey to Coruscant , Anakin forms
21402-564: The reveal. Later in April 2023, Wes Chatham was revealed to be appearing as Thrawn's "right-hand man", Captain Enoch. The third episode introduces Evan Whitten as Jacen Syndulla , the son of Hera and Kanan. For flashbacks to the Clone Wars in the fifth episode, Ariana Greenblatt portrays a young Ahsoka and Temuera Morrison voices Captain Rex , reprising his role as the clone troopers from
21576-617: The role in Revenge of the Sith and in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka . His performance in Revenge of the Sith garnered him a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Actor , while his portrayal of Anakin in Obi-Wan Kenobi earned him the Saturn Award for Best Guest Performance in a Streaming Series. Anakin is voiced by Mat Lucas and Frankie Ryan Manriquez in the 2003 animated micro-series Clone Wars , and
21750-413: The same Top Gun scene that Bordizzo auditioned with. He deduced that the audition was for Ezra and felt he had captured the character in his performance. Similar to Bordizzo, Esfandi was offered the role a day later based solely on his self-tape. Mena Massoud also auditioned to play Ezra after being suggested for the role by fans and being rumored to be cast as the character for over a year. Winstead
21924-463: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Anakin . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anakin&oldid=1247525021 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description
22098-491: The score, and said it would have been impossible to create the five hours of music required for the first season on his own. David Glen Russell also provided additional music. After composing more music for the franchise than any other composer, working on over 200 television episodes across more than 16 years, Kevin said it was still a challenge to balance honoring Star Wars film composer John Williams with not directly copying him. They did use some of Williams's themes from
22272-484: The script, Anakin had several reasons for turning to the dark side, including his sincere belief that the Jedi were plotting to seize control of the Republic. Although he retains this belief in the finished film, Lucas's changes emphasized his desire to rescue Padmé from death. Thus, in the theatrical version of Revenge of the Sith , Anakin falls to the dark side primarily to save Padmé. Anakin's apprentice Ahsoka Tano
22446-421: The second season was reported to be beginning late that year. By October, filming was expected to begin in 2025. At Star Wars Celebration London in April 2023, Kevin Kiner was revealed to be composing the score for Ahsoka after previously doing so for The Clone Wars , Rebels , The Bad Batch , and Tales of the Jedi . As with the animated series, Kiner collaborated with his children Sean and Deana on
22620-433: The series at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim on May 26, 2022, during a panel for Lucasfilm. Dawson appeared in full costume via video message from the series' set, before she appeared in person on May 28 at a panel for The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett . That panel included Filoni, Favreau, Bordizzo, and Chopper, and showed footage from the first three weeks of filming. Filoni, Favreau, Dawson, and Bordizzo debuted
22794-557: The series include Baylan Skoll , a former Jedi who is disillusioned with the Order and searching for a secret power; his apprentice Shin Hati , who he is teaching to be "something more" than a Jedi; and the Jedi-hunting Inquisitor Marrok. Filoni always includes wolves or references to wolves in his work because of his love for the animals, and the names Skoll and Hati are references to wolves from Norse mythology – Sköll and Hati , respectively–while Marrok
22968-461: The series premiered on Disney+ on August 22, 2023, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time . The other six episodes of the first season were released weekly on Tuesdays at that same time, until October 3. The series was originally scheduled to premiere on August 23 and be released on Wednesdays at 3 a.m. Eastern Time, but its release schedule was changed a week before it premiered. The first episode is dedicated to Stevenson who died in May 2023. Fan screenings for
23142-451: The series there are references to Anakin's eventual fall to the dark side, including visions of his future as Vader and his disillusionment with the Jedi Council after they wrongly accuse Ahsoka of bombing the Jedi Temple. While Ahsoka is later forgiven after the true culprit is found, she nonetheless chooses to leave the Jedi Order. Dooku's death at Anakin's hands during Revenge of the Sith is references by Obi Wan. Anakin appears as Vader in
23316-500: The series. Dawson, Bordizzo, and Esfandi spent months training for their lightsaber fights. Each fight was planned to further the story and character development. Filoni wanted Baylan's fighting style to be like a medieval knight, wielding his lightsaber like a claymore . Ramsey felt this suited Stevenson's physicality and differentiated him from the Jedi characters. Inosanto, the daughter and goddaughter of famous martial artists and actors Dan Inosanto and Bruce Lee , respectively,
23490-454: The series. In the fifth episode, Ahsoka is nearly killed and goes through a near-death experience in the mysterious "World Between Worlds" that was first introduced in Rebels . There, the spirit of Anakin helps Ahsoka work through her character issues. Filoni saw the World Between Worlds as a "cinematic device" that allowed him to show flashbacks to the Clone Wars for viewers who had not seen that series. However, he did not want this to become
23664-407: The shorter wig were created for Bordizza's stunt double and for scenes where Sabine is wearing her helmet. The short wig is not as short as Sabine's hair in Rebels , with Sandoval prioritizing comfort and femininity for Bordizzo. Inosanto's first scene in the series uses the same wig as The Mandalorian , but Sandoval updated the character's hair for subsequent scenes in Ahsoka . The new look combines
23838-403: The sixth episode, the Kiners originally intended to use a full rendition of his theme which is played on an organ . Filoni felt this was the wrong approach due to the character being in a different state compared to his role in Rebels . He also wanted to have a scarier introduction for viewers who did not see Rebels . Trying to match the visuals of Thrawn's dilapidated Star Destroyer and army,
24012-519: The slimmer hilts instead. The lightsaber blades for Baylan and Shin are more orange than the red that is traditionally used for Star Wars antagonists, which Filoni said was an indication that the characters are not strictly villains. Their color is based on the way Darth Vader's lightsaber would fluctuate between red and orange in some scenes of the original Star Wars films due to the older visual effects being used. Stevenson requested adjustments to Baylan's lightsaber hilt based on his understanding of
24186-753: The slow pacing and some "stiff" performances. Christensen and Inosanto were named honorable mentions for TVLine 's "Performer of the Week", for their respective performances in " Part Five: Shadow Warrior " and " Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord ". Ahsoka was awarded the Seal of Female Empowerment in Entertainment by the Critics Choice Association after receiving
24360-527: The song sound alien, before realizing that it just needed to be a "banger" with a punk rock style. Filoni encouraged them to "really go for it" with the song, and Göransson suggested that Sabine's theme be incorporated into it. The lyrics of the song are influenced by the Tagalog language , which is spoken by Kevin Kiner's wife who is from the Philippines . The vocals were provided by Sarah Tudzin from
24534-552: The star map that points to the new galaxy. Each episode's opening title card is accompanied by a different flute performance by Deana, who learned to play various flutes for the series. An alto flute is used for scenes with the howler. The orchestra was recorded on the Newman Scoring Stage at Fox Studios in Los Angeles. This was a change from the animated series, which were recorded overseas, and allowed
24708-485: The theme fit well with Dawson's more mature portrayal of Ahsoka, and they expanded on the idea as well as the Japanese influences for Ahsoka . They also brought back their themes from Rebels , including for Sabine, Hera, Ezra, and Thrawn. Filoni encouraged them not to use the themes as often as they initially wanted to because he felt the music was getting in the way of some scenes. For example, when Thrawn arrives in
24882-434: The title character, reprising her role from The Mandalorian . Natasha Liu Bordizzo , Mary Elizabeth Winstead , Ray Stevenson , Ivanna Sakhno , Diana Lee Inosanto , David Tennant , Eman Esfandi , Evan Whitten , Genevieve O'Reilly , Hayden Christensen , Ariana Greenblatt , Lars Mikkelsen , and Anthony Daniels also star. Ahsoka Tano was co-created by Filoni for the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars . Dawson
25056-422: The title role and a solid story that balances new and old elements of the Star Wars saga, Ahsoka is a must-watch for fans of the franchise." On Metacritic , the series holds a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Critics generally felt the series was a good Star Wars entry for existing fans, and praised Dawson and Stevenson. Criticism went to
25230-454: The two characters together as "a unification of Clone Wars and Rebels ", and said he would not want someone else to tell their story. The franchise expanded to live-action television with the Disney+ series The Mandalorian in 2019. Creator Jon Favreau worked with Filoni to develop the series, which is set after the fall of the Empire. When thinking of a way to reveal details about
25404-497: The two of them duel once again. As Luke regains control of his emotions, Vader senses that he has a sister, and threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not submit. Enraged, Luke overpowers Vader and severs his hand. The Emperor then betrays his apprentice by ordering Luke to kill Vader and take his place, but Luke refuses. Enraged, the Emperor begins torturing Luke with Force lightning , leading to Luke begging his father to save him. Unwilling to see his son die, Vader throws
25578-643: The voice of James Earl Jones. Vader was introduced in Star Wars (1977) as a cyborg commander serving the Galactic Empire. He and Grand Moff Tarkin have been tasked with recovering architectural plans for the Death Star battle station, which were stolen by the Rebel Alliance. Vader captures and interrogates the Rebel leader Princess Leia, who has sent the plans to Vader's former master Obi-Wan Kenobi. During Leia's rescue by Obi-Wan's allies Luke Skywalker and Han Solo , Vader strikes down his mentor in
25752-480: The works of Kurosawa with Filoni. The flashbacks to the Clone Wars in the fifth episode were filmed with smoke effects and red lights to create a more abstract feeling, which Filoni was inspired for by the Kurosawa film Kagemusha (1980). There were elements of Rebels that they wanted to replicate, including the shot-for-shot recreation of that series' epilogue for the end of the second episode. A lot of testing
25926-488: Was Beck, who he had been working with since the start of Rebels , and he also appreciated getting Favreau's advice from a perspective outside of Filoni's understanding of the characters and animated history. The series is set after Ahsoka's appearances in the second season of The Mandalorian and in The Book of Boba Fett , and takes place concurrently with the third season of The Mandalorian . It begins with Ahsoka as
26100-447: Was Filoni's first opportunity to explore these issues with the character, and he wanted to show what she feels this all means about her own potential for darkness. He also wanted to explore Ahsoka's feelings about continuing this legacy with an apprentice of her own, and the relationships between masters and apprentices became a key theme throughout the first season. Ahsoka is revealed to have taken Sabine on as her Padawan learner after
26274-410: Was being used to explain his absence in Ahsoka . Kanan was also not brought back from Rebels , because of the character's death, but an edited picture of voice actor Freddie Prinze Jr. was used as an on-set picture of Kanan. Production designers Andrew L. Jones and Doug Chiang returned from The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett , as did costume designer Shawna Trpcic who died soon after
26448-528: Was called Dart Fener ( pronounced [ˌdar(t) ˈfɛːner] ) starting with the original trilogy. In 2004, the dubbing director for the Italian-language version of Revenge of the Sith (2005) asked Italian fans to decide which name to use in the film; the Italian name was chosen. However, the name was switched to "Darth Vader" for The Force Awakens (2015). In Iceland, Darth Vader's name
26622-498: Was cast to bring her into live-action for the second season of The Mandalorian , and a spin-off series with Dawson reprising her role and Filoni set as showrunner was announced by Lucasfilm in December 2020. It serves as a continuation of the animated series Star Wars Rebels . In addition to Filoni, Jon Favreau , Kathleen Kennedy , and Colin Wilson returned from The Mandalorian as executive producers and were joined by Carrie Beck. Ahsoka premiered on August 22, 2023, with
26796-399: Was developing the season in January 2024. Following speculation and reports about the series, Filoni confirmed that Ahsoka would continue the story he established in the epilogue of Rebels . He never expected to tell this story as a spin-off from a series like The Mandalorian , and found it intimidating to actually write after thinking about it for so many years. When asked if Ahsoka
26970-524: Was done to ensure the different colored make-up and hair would show correctly on camera, especially when different colored characters are together. Principal photography began on May 9, 2022, at Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles , California . Filming took place under the working title Stormcrow , which is a reference to Gandalf the Grey from The Lord of the Rings . Production took place on
27144-507: Was dropped due to what Lucas called "unpleasant connotations" with Charles Manson , who became a "star killer" in 1969 when he murdered the well-known actress Sharon Tate. Lucas replaced the problematic name "Starkiller" with "Skywalker". The Phantom Menace introduced the possibility that Anakin could be the Chosen One of an ancient Jedi prophecy, who is destined to bring balance to the Force. Lucas stated in an interview that "Anakin
27318-419: Was effectively a fifth season of Rebels , Filoni said that was "one way of looking at it" but he also saw all of his Star Wars projects as one larger story. He said viewers did not need to watch The Clone Wars and Rebels to understand Ahsoka but he felt it would help, and he hoped Ahsoka would lead to new audiences discovering the animated series on Disney+. The first person Filoni sent each script to
27492-434: Was filmed on the second-last day of production. Esfandi, who grew a beard to portray Ezra in exile, waited until the end of the shoot and receiving confirmation that he was not needed for reshoots before shaving his beard to portray a younger Ezra. He was filmed against a green screen to be added as an old hologram that Sabine watches. Filming lasted six months and wrapped in October 2022. In March 2024, filming for
27666-463: Was finally credited in Return of the Jedi in 1983. When filming the scene in The Empire Strikes Back in which Vader confesses he is Luke's father, Prowse was given modified dialogue to read that did not exist in the script. He was known for repeatedly leaking information to the public, and the filmmakers wanted to keep Vader's revelation a secret until the film was released. Prowse was asked to read
27840-470: Was hired for The Mandalorian because of her martial arts background, specifically to fight Dawson's Ahsoka. She said there was a "long, involved fight scene" between the two characters in Ahsoka . Filming for some scenes on Peridea took place on outside stages, while the planet's landscapes were created using footage from the Coigach and Assynt areas of Scotland. The last shot of the series for Esfandi
28014-586: Was hired to direct at least one episode by April 2022, and Filoni was confirmed to be directing multiple episodes the next month. In April 2023, the series was revealed to have eight episodes, and the other directors were announced: Jennifer Getzinger , Geeta Patel , The Book of Boba Fett 's Steph Green , and The Mandalorian 's Rick Famuyiwa . Filoni said each episode would be similar in length to The Mandalorian 's episodes, though he tended to prefer longer episodes than Favreau which sometimes needed to be edited down to improve pacing. Ahsoka
28188-485: Was in Ahsoka's mind or if she was actually talking to the spirit of Anakin. He also wanted to keep the focus on Ahsoka's issues rather than Anakin's as he felt Lucas had already resolved the latter's character arc in the Star Wars films and did not want to change that. He wanted to depict Anakin as the "heroic older brother" and famous Jedi that Ahsoka once looked up to, and prioritised seeing Christensen's performance over
28362-433: Was initially reported to be a miniseries , but Disney was not listing it as such by February 2023. That April, Filoni was announced to be making a film that would serve as a culmination of the interconnected stories of The Mandalorian and its spin-offs. The film's timing would depend on future seasons of the series, including a possible second season of Ahsoka which was dependent on the first season's performance. When
28536-433: Was introduced in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars . Giving Anakin responsibility for a Padawan was meant to place the character in a role that forced him to become more cautious and responsible. It was also meant to provide him with insight about his relationship with his own master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and show how their relationship matured. Anakin's relationship with Ahsoka was seen as an essential story arc spanning both
28710-432: Was introduced to the live-action series with a brief appearance in the third season of The Mandalorian , created through motion capture and visual effects with Rebels voice actor Steve Blum reprising his role. Zeb was subsequently not included in the first season of Ahsoka . Lyvie Scott at Inverse speculated that this was due to the visual effects requirements for the character and felt his Mandalorian appearance
28884-455: Was meant to align the character with heroes from mythology in general and not specifically Jesus . After completing principal photography for Revenge of the Sith in 2003, Lucas made changes to Anakin's character by rewriting his turn to the dark side. He accomplished this through editing the principal footage and filming new scenes during pickups in London in 2004. In previous versions of
29058-414: Was not able to see him until her transformation in the fifth episode. This scene depicts the season's master and apprentices theme by featuring three generations of Jedi—Anakin, Ahsoka, and Sabine—in one shot. Rosario Dawson was confirmed to be reprising her role as Ahsoka Tano from The Mandalorian with the series' announcement in December 2020; Dawson took over from Ashley Eckstein, who voiced Ahsoka in
29232-445: Was officially announced as Sabine. The characters Hera and Chopper were also confirmed to be returning from Rebels . Bordizzo auditioned for the series with a scene from Top Gun (1986) and another scene that reminded her of Star Wars character Han Solo . Not knowing what the project was, she assumed it was related to Marvel Studios because casting director Sarah Halley Finn is also known for working with that company. Bordizzo
29406-476: Was released in November. Dawson studied acting with Hayden Christensen , who portrayed Anakin in the prequel films, and first expressed interest in playing Ahsoka in live-action after her casting was suggested by a fan in February 2017. Filoni wrote and directed the episode, which depicts Ahsoka searching for Thrawn; Filoni suggested that this is before Ahsoka joins Sabine in the epilogue of Rebels . The episode introduces Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth ,
29580-411: Was revealed to be portraying Hera at Star Wars Celebration London in April 2023, replacing Rebels voice actress Vanessa Marshall . Winstead joined the series after her husband, Ewan McGregor , reprised his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi from the prequel films in his own Disney+ series . She said it was a luxury to be able to refer to Rebels when developing her portrayal. Also at Celebration London,
29754-405: Was selected for the role, which appears as "Anakin Skywalker" in the credits. Shaw's presence on set was kept secret from all but the minimum cast and crew, and Shaw was contractually obligated not to discuss any film secrets with anyone, even his family. In the final scene of the film, Shaw portrays Anakin's Force spirit . His likeness in this scene was replaced with that of Hayden Christensen in
29928-429: Was surprised to get an offer to star in the series based directly on her self-tape audition, with no callbacks or additional audition stages; Favreau later said he preferred to streamline the casting process as much as possible following his own acting experiences. In September 2022, Eman Esfandi was cast as Ezra, who was voiced by Taylor Gray in Rebels . Esfandi was not a Star Wars fan, but felt confident that he
30102-410: Was the right person to portray Ezra and said so to his agent and manager six months before being asked to audition. He researched the character online as if Ezra was a real historical figure, and chose not to watch Rebels because he did not want to be "too hokey about trying to copy a certain physicality and mannerisms" from an animated series. Esfandi auditioned for the character, codenamed "Riz", using
30276-468: Was voiced by Dante Basco in Rebels ; Nelson Lee plays Senator Hamato Xiono , who was introduced in the animated series Star Wars Resistance voiced by Tzi Ma ; and Elden Bennett appears as Star Wars film character Admiral Ackbar . Sam Witwer , who has voiced numerous characters in various Star Wars projects , provided additional voices for the series, while Filoni provided the voice for Chopper as he did in Rebels . Rebels character Zeb
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