All 21 Star Wars Characters Who Knew That Darth Vader Was Anakin Skywalker (& How)

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As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I always found the secrecy around Darth Vader fascinating. It wasn’t just the rebels who were kept in the dark – the Empire itself didn’t fully know who he was! Palpatine loved playing his cards close to his chest, and Vader’s mysterious persona was a big part of his power. He didn’t really fit within the Empire’s usual structure, and honestly, you could see in A New Hope that a lot of the Imperial officers didn’t quite know what to make of him – even looked down on him, I think. I always imagined Vader relished reminding them who was really in charge.

Leia and Luke kept their father-son relationship with Darth Vader hidden, a decision that had serious consequences. The truth came out in the novel “Bloodline” when Leia’s political rivals found a recording made by her adoptive father, Bail Organa. This revelation abruptly ended Leia’s career in politics, and it’s notable that Ben Solo soon turned to the dark side, becoming fixated on his grandfather’s evil legacy.

Before Darth Vader’s secret was revealed to everyone, a few people found out the truth first. Here’s a list of those individuals, in the order they learned his identity.

Palpatine

Palpatine, the Sith Lord who turned Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, watched with satisfaction as Anakin became Darth Vader. He had carefully manipulated Anakin’s life, building a relationship with him from his days as a Padawan and ultimately shattering his faith in the Jedi. On Palpatine’s command, Darth Vader initiated his transformation by leading a brutal attack on the Jedi Temple.

Yoda

As soon as Yoda, the aged Jedi Master, witnessed the attack on the Jedi Temple, he realized what had happened. He had sensed Anakin’s earlier violent act – the massacre of the Tusken Raiders three years before – but hadn’t intervened. This lack of action ultimately cost the entire Jedi Order dearly.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Similar to Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi instinctively knew something terrible had happened when he learned of the attack on the Jedi Temple. However, he couldn’t accept that Anakin Skywalker was responsible until he viewed the security footage. This led to a fierce duel between them on the planet Mustafar, the first of many conflicts that would span decades. Eventually, Vader seemingly killed his former teacher aboard the Death Star.

R2-D2

It seems R2-D2’s memory wasn’t erased after the events of Revenge of the Sith. This likely means he remembered everything when he found Luke Skywalker on Tatooine almost two decades later. Interestingly, this makes several scenes from the original Star Wars trilogy a bit ironic, as it suggests R2-D2 deliberately kept important information from Luke, including the truth about Leia’s identity and their connection.

Bail Organa

Bail Organa witnessed the intense events at the end of Revenge of the Sith and subsequently adopted young Leia, who was orphaned during the Clone Wars. As shown in the novel Bloodline, Bail struggled with how to reveal Leia’s true origins and decided to create a holographic message to share the truth if he didn’t live long enough. It’s likely his wife, Breha, also knew about Anakin Skywalker’s downfall.

This gives Bail Organa’s story in the Rebel Alliance a unique angle – for nineteen years, he carried secrets that could have been fatal if revealed. It’s no surprise the character seemed so stressed in Season 2 of Andor.

Darth Maul

Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars revealed that Darth Maul, Palpatine’s old apprentice, correctly understood Palpatine’s plan. He realized Palpatine was manipulating Anakin Skywalker and intended to exploit this knowledge for his own goals. While it’s unclear if Maul ever discovered Obi-Wan Kenobi was responsible for severely wounding Darth Vader and leaving him on life support, he would have been pleased to learn it.

The Shaman of Diso

I recently read something really cool in Adam Christopher’s “Master of Evil.” Apparently, there was this Force-sensitive shaman living on a planet called Diso who actually knew he was looking at Darth Vader shortly after the Empire took over. The weird part? He had no idea what that meant, or how important it was – the Force just gave him this strange feeling without any context. It’s fascinating to think about someone sensing Vader’s power so early on without understanding the threat he posed!

Halland Goth

Halland Goth, one of Emperor Palpatine’s guards, had an advantage in discovering Darth Vader’s real identity. He was present during a crucial moment in Revenge of the Sith when Palpatine hinted at the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise. As revealed in the story “Master of Evil,” Goth ultimately worked against Vader’s interests and figured out the truth about him.

Jocasta Nu

Jocasta Nu, a Jedi librarian, survived the devastating Order 66 and dedicated herself to restoring the Jedi Order. When Darth Vader located her – she was trying to save important Jedi knowledge from the Temple – she immediately recognized him. Instead of trying to escape, Jocasta deliberately provoked Vader into killing her, ensuring the secrets he wanted remained safe.

Ferren Barr

Ferren Barr was a Jedi Padawan who managed to survive the devastating Order 66. He fled to the ocean planet Mon Cala, hoping to find safety. There, he used a hacker to access security recordings from the Jedi Temple and discovered that Anakin Skywalker was responsible for the attack. Realizing Skywalker had become Darth Vader, Ferren Barr foolishly attempted to rebuild the Jedi Order on Mon Cala, which ultimately led to his death after attracting Vader’s attention.

Reva and the Inquisitors

The Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi revealed that Reva, an Inquisitor, knew Anakin Skywalker was actually Darth Vader. As a child, she survived the attack on the Jedi Temple and had been seeking revenge ever since, but Vader was aware of her motives and deliberately manipulated her. It’s unclear if any other Inquisitors also knew Vader’s true identity.

Grand Moff Tarkin

Wilhuff Tarkin and Anakin Skywalker fought together during the Clone Wars, and Tarkin was one of the few people who genuinely admired Skywalker’s abilities. As revealed in James Luceno’s novel “Tarkin,” the Grand Moff quickly suspected there was a connection between Darth Vader and his former comrade. He wisely kept this observation to himself, but the two formed a strong alliance.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Thrawn was unique – the only alien to become a Grand Admiral, and a brilliant strategist. During the Clone Wars, he briefly worked alongside Anakin Skywalker on a remote planet and noticed Anakin’s unusually strong connection to Palpatine. As shown in Timothy Zahn’s novel, “Thrawn: Alliances,” even a short collaboration with Darth Vader was enough for Thrawn to understand the nature of their relationship.

Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka Tano, who was once Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice, didn’t fully realize Anakin had become Darth Vader until much later, during a dark period in galactic history. She felt something was wrong when Anakin turned to the dark side, but didn’t understand it until she faced Vader directly. Ezra Bridger managed to save her life by using a mysterious realm called the World Between Worlds.

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker found out the truth about Darth Vader in a very shocking moment. Darth Vader was stunned to learn the identity of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, quickly realizing it was his own son. This revelation led to the famous scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Vader revealed his shocking secret to Luke.

Sabé

Sabé first appeared in The Phantom Menace as a decoy for Queen Padmé Amidala, used to confuse enemies. After the events of the film, Sabé became Padmé’s primary secret agent, even traveling to Tatooine to try and free Anakin Skywalker’s mother, Shmi, from slavery. When Padmé died, Sabé became a rebel leader and helped establish a group known as the Amidalans.

Shortly after the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Sabé came face-to-face with Darth Vader and discovered his true identity as Anakin Skywalker. They formed a surprising alliance, but it wasn’t meant to be permanent.

Verla

Verla was the last student of Ferren Barr and spent nearly twenty years hiding from Darth Vader and his Inquisitors. Her mentor had told her who Vader really was, but it didn’t seem important at the time. Everything changed when she met Luke Skywalker soon after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke was traveling the galaxy, searching for lost Jedi knowledge, but their first encounter was difficult – Verla tried to kill him, hoping to get revenge on Vader.

Leia Organa

In Return of the Jedi, Luke revealed to Leia the truth about their father. Leia struggled to come to terms with Anakin Skywalker, especially remembering the torture she suffered at the hands of Darth Vader in A New Hope. She kept this knowledge hidden, first because she didn’t want to face it, and later because she feared it would damage her political ambitions. Sadly, she also decided not to tell her son, Ben, about his grandfather, and he discovered the truth alongside everyone else in the galaxy.

Han Solo

Shortly after their initial connection, Leia confided everything to Han, as depicted in Beth Revis’s novel, “The Princess and the Scoundrel.” Surprisingly, Han reacted to her revelations with more grace than Leia expected. It’s suggested that Leia’s choice to hide these personal details from Ben may have played a role in the increasing emotional gap that developed during their marriage.

C3-PO

While R2-D2 retained all his memories, C-3PO’s memory was actually erased after Revenge of the Sith. He later discovered Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father, but didn’t realize he’d once worked with Anakin Skywalker. It seems C-3PO only fully understood the connection between them when R2-D2 restored his memories in The Rise of Skywalker.

Baylan Skoll

A shocking reveal in Ahsoka season 1 showed that the dark Jedi Baylan Skoll knew Anakin Skywalker was actually Darth Vader. He used this information to torment Ahsoka while they fought on Seatos, nearly defeating her. How Baylan learned this major secret remains a mystery, but we might find out more in season 2 of Ahsoka.

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2025-11-18 20:18