This shocking 23-year-old George Lucas quote describing one ofStar Wars’most significant Sithnot only changes the Sith but also affectsAnakin Skywalker/Darth Vader’sfall to the dark side. Although the Sith have been fleshed out considerably over the decades, they’ve been a staple inStar Warsmovies and TV showssince the beginning.
This began with Darth Vader inA New Hope(although the Sith were hardly defined at the time), but, since then, Darth Sidious, Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku, Darth Maul, and many others have been added to the list ofStar Wars’most powerful Sith.
With those additions have come myriad updates to and explanations of how the Sith work inStar Wars, such asthe Sith Rule of Two. However,one little-known George Lucas commentary from 23 years ago reveals something that totally changes the Sith inStar Warsand affects Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side as well.
George Lucas Didn’t Plan For Sith To Be Fallen Jedi
Some of the biggest Sith inStar Warsbegan as Jedi, including Darth Vader himself. In fact, since the original trilogy, Sith beginning as Jedi and ultimately falling to the dark side has become something of a staple in the franchise. While this does not extend to all Sith—such as Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious—it is relatively common.
Yet,this surprising George Lucas quote from 23 years ago reveals that this was not the original intention for Sith Lords inStar Wars. Rather, per this Tumblr post bydavid-talks-sw, while speaking on the commentary track forStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Lucas explained:
“Dooku is kind of the fallen Jedi… who was converted to the dark side… because the other Sith lord didn’t have time to start from scratch. And so we can see that that’s where this is going to lead… which is that it is possible for a Jedi to be converted. It is possible for a Jedi to want to become more powerful and control things.”
This quote shockingly suggests that, originally, George Lucas saw Count Dooku as something of an anomaly because he was a fallen Jedi who had turned to the dark side and become a Sith Lord. What is particularly interesting about this quote is the sense in which Lucas saw this as antithetical to the way of the Jedi.
Specifically, in this quote,Lucas talks about the fact that the Jedi are capable of wanting power and control as though that is something entirely unnatural and out of the ordinary. This is a significant shift from how the Jedi and the Sith are ultimately presented, especially inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
In that movie, and several TV shows since, such asStar Wars: The Clone Wars, this desire for power and control, along with emotions like anger, are shown essentially as something the Jedi have to actively fight against. What feels especially significant about this quote is the sense in which it elucidates some of the confusion from the prequels.
As just one example,this explanation completely explains why the Jedi refused to listen to Padmé inAttack of the Cloneswhen she suspected Count Dooku of being behind the attempt on her life. When Mace Windu told her that it was impossible because that wasn’t in Dooku’s nature, he fully believed that because of this concept.
This Quote Explains Why The Jedi Failed To Help Anakin
In addition to this George Lucas quote providing insight into why the Jedi were so blind to the issues with Count Dooku,this can help to explain why they failed to act in response to Anakin’s increasingly concerning behavior. It was clear, from the outside, that Anakin was headed down an extremely troubling path, including inAttack of the Clones.
Yet, the Jedi, especially the Jedi Council and even Master Yoda himself, failed to satisfactorily respond to these issues. This was particularly true in the case of Yoda sensing anger and pain surrounding Anakin inAttack of the Clones(which, unbeknownst to Yoda, was because Anakin had just slaughtered a village of Tusken Raiders) and never following up on it.
Anakin similarly came to Yoda with evident stress and pain about his nightmares, and, although Yoda gave Anakin the advice expected from a Jedi Master, it did little to help. That has always been a frustrating and even bewildering aspect of the prequels and Anakin’s fall to the dark side, but it finally makes sense.
The truth is,the Jedi found it unfathomable that Anakin could really be falling to the dark side and at risk of becoming a Sith. Yes, they’d had concerns about Anakin from the beginning, but, based on this quote, it would be unthinkable that he would really fall, especially given Dooku already seemed like an anomaly who had.
It’s worth noting, there are myriad ways in which this doesn’t hold up, both inthe canonStar Warstimelineand in Legends. Many Jedi have become Sith at this point, and that was the case even when the prequels were coming out. Yet, from Lucas' perspective, this is something the Jedi would have struggled to truly see coming.
From Lucas' perspective, this is something the Jedi would have struggled to truly see coming.
Palpatine’s True Genius Lay In Redefining The Sith
This Explains Why Palpatine’s Plot Was So Effective
If we run with Lucas' logic,this explains why Palpatine’s plan throughout the prequel trilogy was so successful. That is, in this line of thinking, Palpatine weaponized the Jedi’s belief that it was highly unlikely for Jedi to fall to the dark side and become Sith Lords.
Palpatine weaponized the Jedi’s belief that it was highly unlikely for Jedi to fall to the dark side and become Sith Lords.
Given it’s always seemed odd that the Jedi were duped right under their noses by a powerful Sith Lord, this quote explains yet another confusing aspect of the prequels. WhileStar Warshas since shown thatAnakin Skywalker/Darth Vaderis far from the only Jedi to become a Sith, it’s surprisingly true that this wasn’t George Lucas' original plan.
