Darth Vader has some of the most emotionally charged scenes in Star Wars canon, whether it be the various animated series, the live-action offerings, or the comics that Dinsey has been publishing with Marvel. The 2020 Darth Vader series, which received a lot of praise from fans and critics alike, holds one such moment that the franchise would be a fool to not bring over to live action.
However, trends, when it comes to Star Wars, have proven that if anything, this moment might be wiped from canon. Instead, the focus would probably be on some plot point that would rather cater to the pandering that Star Wars has decided to be party to.
Darth Vader remains one of the most tragic figures in Star Wars canon, with his story not only focusing on the tragic fate of his wife, Padmé but also on the fact that he lost everything that was important to him in his quest to gain more power to protect them from harm.
Shows like The Clone Wars, Rebels, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan Kenobi have given audiences some insight into the psyche of the character, but the true turmoil that the character faces comes across in Darth Vader (2020), which looks into the wider ramifications of Padme’s death and (as far as they are concerned), Anakin’s as well, on the common folk of the Republic.
Lucasfilm is unlikely to adapt the best part of Darth Vader (2020)
While Disney’s version of Star Wars has had some brilliant Darth Vader moments, one of the biggest mistakes that the media giant could have ever made was to de-canonize what is now called the ‘Legends’ section of Star Wars lore. Chock-full of some of the most tragic, heartfelt, and brilliant moments that by all rights should have been what fans got to see in live-action, was instead replaced by the new timeline that Disney ended up creating.
This puts the fate of the moment from the comics in jeopardy as well, given Disney, Lucasfilm, and Kathleen Kennedy‘s knack for bulldozing over source material while stealing from the former canon to ‘appeal’ to fans and their sensibilities.
The scene in question has Darth Vader killing a Republic loyalist, who, with his dying breath, makes it clear that his mission was in service of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, given that most of the common folk still believe that Anakin died fighting for the Republic.
Now, there are plenty of reasons to adapt this scene from the comics in any one of the shows that Disney could air on its streaming service. However, given its track record with those shows, a live-action offering in theatres would be much more likely.
Although Disney might be looking to move away from the Skywalker Saga with the numerous projects that it currently has in development, Vader might get his time to shine as the protagonist of a film. Despite his popularity and the brilliance with which the scene is executed in the comics, it is unlikely that Vader is going to get a chance to have the spotlight under Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership in a manner that is true to his character, or to the scene in the comics
Should future installments of Star Wars leave the EU alone?
A lot of shows that Disney has been putting out, like The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and The Acolyte, have found a lot of their plot points in the Legends timeline that Disney wiped out when it acquired Star Wars. Given that it charted out not only the past but also the future of the characters, Disney might have felt the need to wipe it all clean to be able to tell a story that fans would feel drawn to.
However, given the distance that fans have felt from the IP, it could be assumed that there has been a push from behind the scenes to take up some parts from the EU and make it canon.
This has not been able to please fans like the franchise expected, given that despite having a good chunk of lore taken from the EU, shows like The Acolyte and The Book of Boba Fett failed to impress fans. This might be an indication that Star Wars needs to focus on telling a good story that is canon-compliant, instead of trying to reinvent what Star Wars tries to do with its narrative, setting, and characters.
Perhaps stepping away from the Skywalker Saga, as it has promised, might be the way forward for the franchise. Ideally, the universe could look towards the future, rather than making prequel after prequel. This would not only give Disney a fresh start in the franchise, but Star Wars would also not have to deal with constant reminders of its blunders with the Sequel Trilogy.
With the likes of Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Tony Gilroy over at Lucasfilm, the House of Mouse has more than enough creatives that would be able to make a lot of original content for Star Wars. These creators will be able to focus on the themes and ideas that are prevalent in the franchise, without having to necessarily tie it up with existing storylines, as they have shown with shows like The Mandalorian (which has managed to carve out a lot without having to tie itself up with the mainline Skywalker Saga, save some exceptions), and Andor.
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