‘Revenge of the Sith’: 1 Thing Some ‘Star Wars’ Fans Misunderstand
The most beloved of the Star Wars prequels is Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Despite its popularity, the movie’s plot has led to some misconceptions among Star Wars fans. However, George Lucas gave an interview that will turn some heads.
‘Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’ is not a movie about celibacy
During a 2002 interview with the BBC, Lucas discussed his approach to Star Wars movies. “My primary concern is to make the two-hour movie work for the audience,” he said. “Beyond that, I’m really telling a six-part story — there’s a lot of things that have to fit in there that have to do with Episode VI and Episode IV. Even though the experience is richer if you’ve seen Episode I, you don’t need to have seen Episode I to make it work.”
Lucas cleared up a misconception that people have had for years about the storylines of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Some fans believe that the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala was taboo and kept secret because Jedi Knights like Anakin are supposed to be celibate — but that’s not true.
“Jedi Knights aren’t celibate — the thing that is forbidden is attachments — and possessive relationships,” he said. In other words, Anakin’s problem was that he grew attached to Padmé, not that he slept with her.
How Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala’s relationship changed ‘Star Wars’
In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin’s relationship with Padmé becomes very possessive. He has terrifying nightmares about her dying in childbirth. Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious is able to exploit Anakin’s attachments to Padmé by telling Anakin that, if he joins that dark side, he might be able to cheat death. This sets in motion a series of events that leads to Anakin becoming Darth Vader, the Galactic Republic getting replaced with a dictatorship, and the villains ruling the galaxy for the next 20 years or so.
Eastern mysticism in general and Buddhism in particular have inspired the Star Wars movies to some degree. Buddhism teaches that attachments — to other people, to possessions, and to our own sense of self — lead to suffering. In a way, Lucas was just dramatizing a Buddhist belief when he wrote Revenge of the Sith. Had Anakin just accepted Padmé’s impending death as something natural and inevitable, he would have been able to deal with it in a healthy way that did not lead to untold suffering and destruction.
How ‘Revenge of the Sith’ performed
Even if some fans didn’t quite understand the implications of Revenge of the Sith, the movie was still a tremendous success. Box Office Mojo reports the movie cost $113 million to produce. It earned $380,270,577 in the United States and $469,765,058 in other countries. Altogether, the film earned a massive $850,035,635 at a time when movies weren’t making billions of dollars.
Afterward, the Star Wars franchise took a bit of a break. Aside from animation, there was not another Star Wars movie until Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out 10 years later. While Lucas’ prequel films received a mixed reception, many feel that the prequels are better than the more recent Star Wars films produced by Disney.
Some aspects of Anakin and Padmé’s romance were unclear — but millions love Revenge of the Sith anyway.
