George Lucas’ Darth Vader aka Anakin Skywalker is hailed as one of the most notable pop culture villains ever created. He has not only impressed the Star Wars fans for years but has also made a name among other cinephiles. While Darth Vader was portrayed as a menacing villain in the Original Trilogy, Lucas established him as a tragic hero in the Prequel Trilogy.
Although not all the fans could resonate with the thought of Darth Vader being the perfect tragic hero, George Lucas asserted that Anakin Skywalker’s tragedy was more complex than anybody could think. According to the creator of the space opera franchise, he could never even be the ultimate villain due to the internal politics of the Empire.
How did George Lucas explain Darth Vader’s tragic history?
Before becoming the evil, black-caped, cyborg Sith Lord, Anakin Skywalker was a slave boy from Tatooine who left his home and mother to become a Jedi Knight. Unfortunately, fate played a cruel role and some wrong decisions led him to fall to the Dark Side. Nonetheless, the creator, George Lucas asserted that the tragedy of Anakin is more painful.
George Lucas stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that he took a unique path to introduce the true nature of the villain. The audience did not even know what to expect under the scary black suit in the first film but eventually understood that he was also a human like us.
The first film, people didn’t even know whether there was a person there. They though he was a person there. They thought he was a monster or some kind of a robot. In the second film, it’s revealed that he’s a human being, and in the third film you find out that, yes, he’s a father and a regular person like the rest of us.
The presently 80-year-old filmmaker asserted that Darth Vader’s story was more about a “pathetic guy” who has “done a lot of horrible things in his life that he isn’t particularly proud of”. He added that the tragedy was greater than the fans understood as he was not even allowed to use his true power due to the corporate politics of the Empire.
He’s so overwhelming in that first film, but you get to the point where you say, ‘Wait a minute, if he’s so powerful, why doesn’t he run the universe?’ He even gets pushed around by the governors! They know the Emperor is the final word, so what happens is the same thing that happens in any corporation: Everybody worries about the top man, they don’t worry about his goon.
Across the entire Original Trilogy, Darth Vader obediently followed every word of Emperor Palpatine. Despite that, Darth Vader became even more memorable than Palpatine. However, George Lucas stated that the Sith Lord could never be what he was supposed to be as Obi-Wan Kenobi “screwed” his plans during the Battle of Mustafar. He ended up being another mere pawn to the Emperor as Count Dooku or Darth Maul.
Lucas explained the issue more beautifully by stating “he’s not Satan, he just goes down to the corner and gets Satan’s cigarettes.” Nevertheless, Darth Vader got a heroic ending by giving up his life to save Luke Skywalker at the end.
Did George Lucas have a fascination with villains?
Almost every fan may think that George Lucas was fascinated by several notable villains to create such a character. Shockingly, the filmmaker changed sides and stated that he was mostly impressed by the good guys.
Even though he referred to the villain in Ben-Hur and some villains in John Wayne films, he clarified that he does not remember them. Lucas added that most of his favorite films did not have strong bad guys.
I was more impressed by the good guys. But I remember the bad guy in Ben-Hur who got dragged behind the chariot. John Wayne films had a lot of bad guys, but I can’t remember any of them. Most of the movies I liked didn’t really have strong bad guys. In films like Bridge on the River Kwai and Citizen Kane, the bad guy’s the good guy.
It is incredible how George Lucas created such a memorable pop culture villain. Darth Vader or Anakin Skywalker is a timeless character who is still very much evident to ardent moviegoers and will always be one of the greatest villains ever.
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