Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith has become one of Star Wars’ most beloved movies, and these 11 changes that have taken place in the 19 years since the movie’s release have made the iconic prequel trilogy movie even better. Although the prequels at first received considerable criticism, they are now considered some of Star Wars’ best movies, Revenge of the Sith in particular. In fact, among Star Wars movies and TV shows, Revenge of the Sith stands out as one of the most important in terms of the Star Wars timeline.
In part, this is due to Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side and tragic transformation into Darth Vader. However, multiple key events take place in Revenge of the Sith, including Order 66, the fall of the Republic, and the rise of the Empire. While those events were exciting enough at the time, they have since been fleshed out considerably in newer Star Wars movies and shows, making Revenge of the Sith only better with time. These 11 changes and updates are the absolute best among them.
One of the biggest and longest-lasting criticisms of Revenge of the Sith has been how quickly Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side. Although he had exhibited a number of warning signs, including his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, it’s true that in Revenge of the Sith, the turn does seem rather sudden. For one, Anakin had only just gone to tell Mace Windu that Palpatine was secretly a Sith lord; it seems odd that his allegiances would shift so quickly.
However, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, revealed how much more detailed this fall really was. Unlike the depiction in Revenge of the Sith alone, Anakin’s fall included a number of small moments, all of which eroded his trust in the Jedi. While, yes, fears of Padmé dying and annoyance at not being granted the rank of master had an impact, The Clone Wars revealed that this turn happened incrementally rather than all at once.
Although Princess Leia’s iconic “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope” message in A New Hope was touching, it was a bit confusing, even after Revenge of the Sith. It wasn’t clear why Leia had sought Obi-Wan’s help in particular or how she even knew about him. At the end of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan went with Luke, not Leia, and it didn’t seem to be the case that the two interacted again before A New Hope.
However, Obi-Wan Kenobi fleshed this out beautifully, with Obi-Wan needing to set out on a mission to save the young Princess Leia after she had been abducted. This added so much depth not only to Revenge of the Sith but also to A New Hope and healed some of the pain still lingering from Anakin’s fall and Padmé’s death. In fact, Obi-Wan even told Leia about her parents at the end of the show, which was an incredibly emotional moment.
One of the best additions to the Star Wars franchise has undoubtedly been Ahsoka Tano. Introduced in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, Ahsoka was shockingly revealed to be Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan. This came as a surprise to viewers, as no mention of a Padawan had been made in the movies. However, this change in The Clone Wars was a brilliant move on Star Wars’ part.
Throughout The Clone Wars show, Ahsoka proved to be exactly what Anakin needed. She challenged him by having many of the same flaws he did, and she also represented yet another attachment that contributed to his fall to the dark side. Moreover, when Ahsoka eventually left the Jedi Order because they had kicked her out when she was falsely accused of murder, Anakin’s faith in the Jedi was seriously shaken. Arguably, it never recovered.
Although Padmé’s death was absolutely tragic in Revenge of the Sith, the implications of her death weren’t as evident in the movie as they have come to be in the years since. In fact, Padmé, and her death, were in some ways the birth of the Rebellion. For one, a deleted scene from Revenge of the Sith showed Padmé’s early involvement in the alliance that was forming to oppose Palpatine and his newfound position and power.
For another, though, Star Wars comics have since revealed that Padmé’s death spurred on a resistance perhaps even greater than the one being built in the deleted scene. In light of her tragic death, a number of Padmé’s handmaidens, including her most treasured friend, Sabé, established a group called the Amidalans. The objective of this group was the hunt down the person responsible for Padmé’s death, who they ultimately (correctly) identified to be Darth Vader. This formed yet another sect of the Rebellion that collectively fought against the Empire.
In addition to making the significance of Padmé’s death more apparent, newer Star Wars movies and shows have also brought to light how much Padmé accomplished and how much influence she had. The Clone Wars in particular revealed considerably more detail about Padmé’s involvement in the Clone Wars and her work as a senator. While she was important in Revenge of the Sith, her political roles were perhaps a bit downplayed.
In fact, not only had Padmé served as Queen of Naboo and ultimately Senator of Naboo, but she also worked tirelessly to bring justice and safety to everyone in the galaxy. While that could sound grandiose, Padmé was revealed to be one of very few people on either side of the Clone Wars who made an effort to ameliorate the damage being done. Padmé even worked alongside Separatists at one point in an attempt to bring an end to the war.
One of the most painful moments in Revenge of the Sith and, indeed, in all of Star Wars, is the battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar. While this fight was sad for a number of reasons, one of which being the brutal damage done to Anakin after his limbs were cut off and he caught on fire, the saddest was the destruction of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s relationship. Although Anakin and Obi-Wan had tense moments throughout Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, they were, as Obi-Wan said, brothers.
While Revenge of the Sith saw their relationship come to an end, it didn’t necessarily feel like closure. Instead, Obi-Wan left Anakin to die, and Anakin spewed hate at him. For nearly two decades, this seemed to be their last encounter prior to their final face-off in A New Hope. However, the Obi-Wan Kenobi show incredibly revealed that the two had multiple other encounters, culminating in a beautiful scene in which Obi-Wan apologized to Anakin and Anakin told Obi-Wan he wasn’t a result of his failure.
Following Revenge of the Sith, it seemed unlikely many Jedi other than Obi-Wan and Yoda had survived the massacre of the Jedi. However, Star Wars shows have since revealed multiple survivors of Order 66, some of them on the light side, and some on the dark. In Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Star Wars Rebels, Kanan Jarrus, previously known as Caleb Dume, was revealed to be one such Jedi. Kanan even went on to take Ezra Bridger, a young Force-sensitive boy, on as a Padawan, thereby continuing the Jedi.
Audiences were also relieved to see Ahsoka survived Order 66 in The Clone Wars, as her position as Anakin’s Padawan had made her future seem bleak. The Mandalorian also revealed that both Grogu and Kelleran Beq, the Jedi who rescued him, survived Order 66, and Reva Sevander, who ultimately became an Inquisitor, was introduced as another survivor in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ultimately, each new survivor revealed is a thrilling reflection of the inability of Order 66 to completely eradicate the Jedi.
One of the funniest lines in Revenge of the Sith came when Anakin and Obi-Wan were brought face-to-face with General Grievous, one of the highest-ranking members of the Separatist army. After Grievous told Anakin he expected him to be older, Anakin sarcastically retorted, “General Grievous… you’re shorter than I expected.” However, both lines required The Clone Wars to make sure the two never met. After all, both insults implied that this was their first time ever seeing each other, although they knew about each other.
This no doubt proved much more challenging than it did in Revenge of the Sith, as The Clone Wars was a deep-dive into the Clone Wars era, much of which centered on Anakin’s and Grievous’ activities at the time. Moreover, it’s difficult to imagine how the two could have avoided crossing paths given their prominence on each side of the war. However, somehow, The Clone Wars pulled it off, safeguarding this excellent comeback from Anakin.
Order 66 was plenty brutal in Revenge of the Sith, particularly the scene in which Anakin walked into the room with the scared younglings and ignited his lightsaber. However, even in that gruesome scene, much of the horror was left to the imagination. Obi-Wan Kenobi, in contrast, depicted Order 66 in much greater detail, even showing younglings being cut down on screen.
While this mainly served to reinforce how dark this attack had been, it was an essential move for Star Wars to make. Because Anakin’s worst crimes had been done off-screen, it was easier to accept his redemption arc and even forget how truly evil he had become. This scene in Obi-Wan Kenobi was the perfect reminder that, before he was redeemed by his son Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader was truly a vicious Sith Lord.