It goes without saying that many Jedi lost their lives during the course of Episode III. Palpatine and his dreadful Order 66 saw to that. Let’s discuss the deleted or modified deaths of some of the more prominent Jedi. Read More
Tag: Revenge of the Sith
The Rescue and the Transformation
It’s true that Anakin Skywalker technically became Darth Vader before he was so badly disfigured on Mustafar, but most people associate Vader with the black suit. That final transformation took place after Palpatine’s search and rescue mission was a success. Vader was rebuilt, and the rest was cinematic history.
Jedi Master Yoda
A lead Council member, instructor, and a fierce yet reluctant fighter, Master Yoda went toe to toe with the most formidable of opponents. Unfortunately, Episode III saw him retreating into exile to bide his time until an opportunity arose to set things right. Let’s take a look at some of Yoda’s deleted shots and scenes.
Meanwhile, Back on Coruscant…
Episode III turned out to be one of the most galaxy-spanning films of the series, mostly due to the fact that the Clone Wars were still happening. Meanwhile, the puppet master and phantom menace himself, the soon to be Emperor Palpatine, was cementing his place of power on Coruscant, the heart of the galaxy.
Utapau
The history of the planet Utapau goes all the way back to George Lucas’ original drafts of the first Star Wars film. Fans like myself were very pleased to see the planet finally make it into a film after all those years. It went through many phases of development, but ended up as a green and swampy planet where some important events take place.
To Mustafar and Back
Much like Tatooine, Mustafar was a seemingly insignificant planet, yet it would become the location of galaxy-defining events. Drenched in deep reds and molten imagery, it provided the rich, hell-like backdrop needed for Anakin’s final fall into darkness.
The Politics of Rebellion
One of the subplots that was almost entirely removed from the film has to do with the beginnings of the Rebellion. The seeds of that organization started by Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Padmé Amidala, and a secret group of other senators were originally supposed to be planted in this film.
Rescuing Palpatine
You have to hand it to Palpatine. Organizing his own capture and rescue was a stroke of evil genius. Poor Dooku probably thought so too until he had two lightsabers crisscrossing his neckline. What we saw in the finished film was a trimmed down version of his rescue.
Review/Commentary: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
It’s what long time Star Wars fans like myself have looked forward to since the 1980s. It’s what younger fans have looked forward to since experiencing the first two prequels. It’s the culmination of nearly 30 years of hard work and dedication by George Lucas and his various crews and companies. It’s the end of an era and the bittersweet farewell to Star Wars on the silver screen (as far as we know). It is Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and it is good. In this review/commentary I will tell you my thoughts on the film but I will also address some of the common concerns about Episode III based on reviews I’ve seen and fan gripes I’ve heard. Some are understandable but there are some with which I disagree.
Review: Revenge of the Sith Novelization
It’s become clear that Star Wars has almost become a genre unto itself. There’s drama, romance, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, non-fiction—and then there’s Star Wars. It’s hard to just drop it under Sci-Fi because it’s more of a dramatic space opera than a futuristic fantasy book. That said, the Star Wars brand demands its own classification and one has to embrace a certain stylistic approach to write within that universe. This approach was created by George Lucas but ultimately expanded to include outside influences. All these styles combined make up this Star Wars genre and Matthew Stover’s adaptation of Revenge of the Sith quite handsomely takes them all and puts forth a cohesive and compelling novel which bridges many gaps in the saga’s timelines.