Incredible Star Wars fanart reimagines Darth Vader’s redemption ahead of Return of the Jedi’s 40th anniversary. In the original Star Wars movie, Darth Vader was essentially a two-dimensional villain with just a few lines of dialogue. However, The Empire Strikes Back reinvented the character as a nuanced, potentially tragic villain by revealing that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father. Vader’s redemption finally happened in Return of the Jedi, just a few moments before his death.
Artist D.T.HAINS Art (@d.t.hains_art) has recently shared an amazing illustration based on Darth Vader’s death in Return of the Jedi, combining original trilogy heroes with Star Wars prequel characters. The full artwork can be seen in the second image from the below gallery.
The illustration sees the spirits of Shmi Skywalker, Qui-Gonn Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, and Yoda joining Luke as Skywalker morns his fallen father. Each of those characters played a huge role in Anakin Skywalker’s life, from his birth on Tatooine to his death on the second Death Star. A significant part of Anakin Skywalker’s Star Wars story was only established after the original trilogy, but this fanart brings it all together.
Darth Vader’s Redemption Hits Harder After The Prequels
Darth Vader’s redemption was a major pop culture event during the original release of Return of the Jedi. The already iconic villain, who had killed Obi-Wan Kenobi and cut Luke Skywalker’s hand, now had died saving his son from the Emperor. However, Darth Vader’s redemption works even better after the Star Wars prequels. While the name “Anakin Skywalker” already existed in the original trilogy, Anakin Skywalker as a character did not.
Audiences had no idea what Anakin was like until Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace began to tell Darth Vader’s origin story. Despite the retcons and the canon inconsistencies, the Star Wars prequels made Darth Vader an even more complex character. Star Wars: The Clone Wars also added to Anakin Skywalker’s legacy, all of which makes Vader’s redemption even better in hindsight.
Obviously, the prequel trilogy also led to a couple of controversial decisions surrounding Anakin Skywalker’s redemption. The fact that Anakin killed children right after becoming a Sith makes the villain’s redemption more difficult to be accepted. Likewise, whether Anakin Skywalker’s Force ghost in Return of the Jedi should indeed be Hayden Christensen instead of Sebastian Lewis Shaw continues to be debated. Regardless, seeing the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy coming together in Star Wars fanarts such as this one celebrates the saga’s legacy.
