How Palpatine Almost Learned Leia Was Anakin’s Daughter Before the Original Trilogy

The Empire was melting down Separatist droids, even though its own Emperor had secretly controlled their side of the war. On the surface, that sounds like Palpatine throwing away a perfectly usable army. But “Decommissioned” shows how quickly those discarded machines could become a problem for his new regime. The droids had helped him win …

Before making Anakin nine in The Phantom Menace, Lucas had considered an older boy. He chose the younger version because the goodbye needed to hurt, and the rest of the prequels shows why. Lucas Made Anakin Younger to Make One Scene More Painful During development, Lucas originally imagined Anakin as roughly twelve or thirteen. In …

After Endor, the Empire still had fleets, armies, and loyal worlds. Then Palpatine’s final orders arrived, and those same forces began destroying the people they were supposed to protect. Stranger still, the Emperor had prepared a way to survive death. Why tear down an Empire he might need when he returned? Palpatine Thought an Empire …

Yoda could listen to a different opinion and still struggle to let it change how the Jedi operated. In Claudia Gray’s Master & Apprentice, that tension becomes clear when the Council offers Qui-Gon Jinn a seat, and Yoda turns out to have voted against him. The invitation gives Qui-Gon a chance to change the Order …

Darth Vader was the last person an Imperial officer wanted to see after a failed mission. Yet among the stormtroopers sent into battle, he could inspire something close to worship. The difference makes sense when you look at what each group experienced, but their admiration also came with a brutal catch. Officers Knew What Happened …

Finn thinks he is about to die on Pasaana when he tells Rey there is something he never told her. Before he can finish, they disappear beneath the sand. They survive, but his secret somehow stays buried, even after Rey and Poe ask about it. So what was important enough to confess while dying, yet …

Darth Maul’s second blade makes a single lightsaber look like half a weapon. Yet most Jedi in the movies stick with one, even after facing opponents carrying more. The explanation starts with a simple distinction: two blades offer different options, but they don’t automatically make someone a better fighter. One Lightsaber Already Suited Most Jedi …

The jump from Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens leaves a frustrating question: how did the galaxy end up fighting another version of the Empire? The Rebels won, but the films spend little time showing what happened to the peace they built. Ahsoka season 2 has a chance to make that missing chapter …

Saving Luke Skywalker gives Darth Vader one of Star Wars’ most moving endings. It becomes harder to celebrate, though, when you remember the people he chose to destroy. In Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli’s 2017 Darth Vader comic, he sacrifices an entire city to win a lightsaber. That story raises a difficult question: does returning …

After years of waiting, Battlefront fans finally have something more concrete to talk about. EA has confirmed that DICE and Respawn Entertainment will work together on a new project, and Variety reports that it is Star Wars: Battlefront 3. The pairing is especially interesting: one studio helped build modern Battlefront, while the other made Titanfall, …