George Lucas’ Sequel Trilogy Plans Would’ve Meant Anakin Wasn’t the Chosen One After All

by

The Star Wars prequels brought up the idea of the “Chosen One,” an old Jedi belief about a person meant to restore balance to the Force. This felt like an unusual, almost religious addition to the Star Wars story, even including elements similar to a virgin birth, and fans weren’t sure what to make of it. Ultimately, George Lucas decided not to fully explain the prophecy. In fact, the final prequel film, Revenge of the Sith, hinted that the prophecy might have been understood incorrectly all along.

Even after 26 years since The Phantom Menace, it’s still unclear what George Lucas intended with the idea of the Chosen One and the balance of the Force. Things get even more complicated when you consider his original plans for the sequel trilogy, detailed in Paul Duncan’s The Star Wars Archives: Episode I-III 1999-2005. These plans would have actually meant that Anakin Skywalker wasn’t the Chosen One, contrary to what we see in the films.

Lucas Originally Planned Leia To Become the Chosen One

George Lucas had many ideas for how to continue the Star Wars saga, and he even wrote scripts before selling Lucasfilm to Disney, hoping to make the studio more valuable and secure a deal similar to the one Pixar had. A new book by Paul Duncan details some of Lucas’s original sequel concepts, ideas he developed well before Disney’s Bob Iger started the process of buying Star Wars. In these early plans, the galaxy was at peace but facing a new threat: a criminal organization led by Darth Maul and his apprentice, Darth Talon.

For me, the planned conclusion to the trilogy is what truly excites me. George Lucas’ vision would have wrapped things up beautifully, bringing a sense of hope and finally defeating the darkness. Best of all, it would have revealed who the Chosen One really was – a reveal I think would have been incredibly satisfying!

By the conclusion of the original trilogy, Luke was intended to have largely restored the Jedi Order, and the New Republic would have been revitalized. Leia Organa was planned to become the Supreme Chancellor, essentially leading the entire government, which would have ultimately positioned her as the story’s central hero – the ‘Chosen One’.

Anakin’s Children Fulfilled His Destiny

This helps us understand what Lucas meant when he talked about the Chosen One and the balance of the Force. Originally, Lucas believed the Force was balanced when the light side won. While Star Wars later shifted towards a concept of balance needing both light and darkness – like yin and yang – that wasn’t part of his initial plan for the sequels. He imagined a future where darkness was removed from power and the light side prevailed. According to Lucas, the dark side inherently creates imbalance, and true balance can only be achieved when it’s defeated.

This implies that Anakin didn’t fully achieve his purpose by simply killing Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. While a crucial step towards ending the darkness across the galaxy, the Emperor’s death didn’t dismantle his entire system. The resulting chaos after the Empire fell would inevitably create opportunities for new, sinister forces to emerge. True fulfillment of the Chosen One’s destiny wouldn’t happen until lasting peace was restored to the galaxy.

Ultimately, Lucas envisioned the prophecy of the Chosen One being realized through Luke and Leia. They both inherited the task of restoring balance to the Force, becoming the new hope for the galaxy. Luke focused on rebuilding the Jedi Order in a way that was true to its original purpose, while Leia, as a galactic leader, ushered in an era of peace and prosperity. Although the Chosen One’s destiny wasn’t directly fulfilled by Anakin himself, it was achieved through the combined efforts of his children, bringing balance to the Force in a new way.

How This Affects Disney’s Sequel Trilogy

George Lucas’s plans for a sequel trilogy never materialized, and hints in The Clone Wars suggest he started rethinking his ideas about the Force. A particularly ambitious storyline involving powerful beings called the Mortis Gods – created by Lucas – seems to indicate a shift towards a more balanced, opposing-forces concept. However, these original plans aren’t just interesting history; they offer a glimpse into the sequels Disney eventually made. Comparing them shows that some criticisms of the Disney sequels might be exaggerated, while others point to real issues.

Some fans disliked the sequel movies because the return of the First Order felt like it undermined Anakin Skywalker’s triumph in Return of the Jedi. This criticism was amplified by Palpatine’s reappearance in The Rise of Skywalker, as it made his defeat feel meaningless. However, George Lucas never intended Return of the Jedi to be the ultimate, final victory over evil. He saw it as an important step in a larger, ongoing struggle, acknowledging that the dark side remained strong and the Force was still unstable. We’ve been looking at the original trilogy with the wrong idea, assuming a complete victory when Lucas didn’t present one.

However, Lucas’ planned sequels would have seen Luke and Leia – the children of Anakin Skywalker – directly fulfill the prophecy of the Chosen One. The Disney sequels, instead, focused on Rey as the new hero. Both Luke and Leia met tragic ends: Luke sacrificed himself in The Last Jedi, and Leia died while helping her son find redemption in The Rise of Skywalker. Furthermore, Luke’s Jedi Order and the New Republic that Leia worked so hard to build were both destroyed. This makes the Disney sequels much darker than Lucas’ original vision, leaving Rey as the sole inheritor of Luke and Leia’s legacy.

The ending of The Rise of Skywalker established Rey as a continuation of the Skywalker lineage, adopting the name herself. This connected her to the idea of the Chosen One and the quest for balance in the galaxy. While less direct than George Lucas’s original plans, it effectively weaves Rey’s story into Anakin Skywalker’s, framing the entire saga as the fulfillment of his destiny over multiple generations.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/star-wars-is-finally-listening-to-george-lucas-biggest-force-awakens-criticism/embed/#

Read More

2026-01-01 18:41