10 Things You Didn't Know About Anakin Skywalker

WhatCulture

What went into making Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, how he got that scar, and much more.

Transcript

00:00 Ever wondered what went into making that iconic lightsaber?

00:03 Found yourself pondering how he got that scar?

00:06 Well, as the man himself once put it, this is where the fun begins.

00:10 I'm Gareth from What Culture Star Wars and with the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series

00:14 set to reintroduce us to a certain fallen Jedi, here are 10 things you didn't know

00:19 about Anakin Skywalker.

00:21 10.

00:22 His name very nearly belonged to his son You've likely already stumbled upon the fact

00:26 that George Lucas' first steps into this now-global juggernaut of a galaxy far, far

00:30 away involved a fair few ideas that ultimately weren't deemed suitable for the finished

00:35 article.

00:36 Among them was the surname originally gifted to the farm boy who would become Lucas'

00:40 main protagonist for his original trilogy.

00:43 And while most are aware that Luke Skywalker was initially set to be known as Young Starkiller

00:47 in the early stages of A New Hope's development, many aren't as clued up as to what his original

00:52 first name would have been.

00:54 The first draft of the Star Wars had a young Anakin Starkiller chucking it out with Darth

00:59 Vader, with that youngster being the 16-year-old son of a legendary warrior.

01:04 Lucas would clearly keep elements of Anakin when it came time to shift the character towards

01:08 the Luke we know and love today.

01:10 But it is interesting to note that the previous first name of Vader once belonged to his eventual

01:14 son years before it was officially incorporated into Star Wars lore, albeit with a slightly

01:20 altered spelling.

01:21 9.

01:22 Anakin Skywalker was his first lightsaber at 12 years of age

01:24 Joining the Jedi game at a relatively late stage, Anakin Skywalker had a bit of catching

01:29 up to do when it came to his overall training.

01:31 But the Force-sensitive prodigy still managed to get up to speed at a rather rapid pace,

01:36 and even managed to forge his first sacred tool of the Jedi by the age of 12.

01:40 With most younglings pulling off this feat between the ages of 8 to 13, this once again

01:44 meant that Anakin showed remarkable prowess and skill with the Force despite his lack

01:49 of experience in comparison to his contemporaries.

01:52 According to the novel Jedi Quest Path to the Truth, the realising of his first lightsaber

01:56 came on the back of himself and Obi-Wan Kenobi travelling to Ilum to forge the weapon.

02:01 When there, young Skywalker proceeded to meditate before dispatching spectres of Darth Maul

02:06 and a slaver.

02:07 Once he was done kicking ghostly ass, his saber was fully formed in front of him, balanced

02:12 ideally towards his own personal needs.

02:15 It was said to be heavy-hilted and rigid, enhancing his exceptional strength before

02:19 it was destroyed in Attack of the Clones.

02:22 So much for that then.

02:23 8.

02:24 Why his lightsaber was that colour Keeping with Lil' Ernie's trusty weapon

02:27 of choice in his Jedi days, the reason behind his iconic blade being the colour it ultimately

02:33 was, wasn't just a case of George Lucas closing his eyes and slamming his finger onto

02:37 a colour palette at random.

02:38 Far from it.

02:39 Skywalker's colour of unmistakable blue over the course of the original, prequel and

02:43 sequel trilogies, was the result of the Jedi himself's meditation throughout the aforementioned

02:47 creation of the blade on Ilum.

02:49 It's during this process that a youngling's personality and relationship with the Force

02:53 is imbued into the weapon, leading to its eventual colour being a reflection of said

02:58 imprint.

02:59 In Anakin's case, his eventual weapon wound up landing the Jedi in the Guardian class,

03:03 a group known for their blue sabres generally.

03:06 This shade represented the more physical side of the world, and the users of these lightsabers

03:10 were said to have been more gifted when it came to athleticism and duelling.

03:14 Meaning Anakin fit the class like a glove over a mechanical hand.

03:18 7.

03:19 He almost left the Jedi Order at 12 years old

03:21 Jumping back into the earlier years of Anakin's Jedi training now, and to a moment that would

03:25 actually foreshadow an act that would change the galaxy forever.

03:29 With much of the youngster's life being somewhat decided for him throughout his training

03:33 years, his early exchanges with Chancellor Palpatine - particularly a trip to the sub-levels

03:37 of Coruscant - eventually led to a few seeds of doubt being planted into the youngling's

03:42 mind.

03:43 Before long, Anakin felt that he was fed up with the way his life was panning out, and

03:47 confronted his master Obi-Wan about the prospect of turning his back on the Jedi Order.

03:52 In this moment, Anakin went as far as to hold out his lightsaber and tell his master, "This

03:56 doesn't have to be forever.

03:57 I can always come back."

03:59 To which Kenobi responded by trying to get the Chosen One to reconsider.

04:03 In the end, another of the pair's many adventures inevitably forced him back into the fold.

04:07 Anakin saw him take up his Jedi weapon once again, but the seeds were very much planted

04:11 from a young age for his eventual fall.

04:14 6.

04:15 Where That Scar Came From Away from the mainline prequel episodes

04:18 that saw Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen's portrayals of the man who would be Vader,

04:23 Anakin Skywalker experienced a rather gripping rivalry with another apprentice of sorts,

04:27 both in comic books and throughout the animated Clone Wars TV saga.

04:31 And it's during one of his many skirmishes with one Asajj Ventress that this Chosen One

04:36 wound up with one of his most iconic physical traits.

04:39 That being his distinct facial scar down the right side of his mug.

04:43 Coming in the comic book by the name of Republic Dreadnought of Rendili, a trip back down to

04:47 the lower levels of Coruscant to listen to a message from his beloved Padme would lead

04:52 to Anakin being ambushed by the Pale Assassin.

04:54 Nudging Skywalker into an enforced rage, Ventress would prove too great a match for the Jedi

04:59 and skilfully managed to carve the cut into his face.

05:03 Adding further insult to injury, the Dathomirian would then leave with a quip involving her

05:07 confessing that she could have killed Anakin there and then, but simply chose not to because

05:12 she wanted him to know that she could first.

05:15 What a son of a gun.

05:16 5.

05:17 He's a Master of Multiple Dueling Styles As already alluded to, Anakin Skywalker was

05:22 very much famed for his ability with a lightsaber, going on to become one of the most decorated

05:26 and respected generals the Republic had to offer in the Clone Wars.

05:30 So it likely comes as little surprise to discover that Obi-Wan's brother from another mother

05:34 was actually well-versed in a number of lightsaber combat forms.

05:38 With there being seven forms in total, Anakin clearly saw the advantage in brushing up on

05:42 as many as possible before taking on everything from droids to Dark Lords of the Sith.

05:46 And it was because of this dedication to perfecting his blade craft that he ultimately ended up

05:51 becoming somewhat of a master of multiple styles.

05:54 Form 4 aka Aturu, a style known for being aggressive and using force-assisted attacks,

06:00 and Form 5, Shien and Gemso, a style suited to attacks from a distance and blade-on-blade

06:05 combat, are just a few of the ways Skywalker opted to get the job done with his lightsaber

06:09 in hand.

06:10 It was also said that Anakin actually bested many a Jedi Knight who claimed to be masters

06:14 of each of the seven forms over the course of his rise.

06:18 In short, he was bloody good with a blade.

06:20 4.

06:21 He has the power to tame beasts Adding to the impressive toolkit of this

06:24 Jedi legend, a little trick that was also frequently utilised by his former master actually

06:30 appeared to be passed on to the one-time Jedi Knight in the midst of his training.

06:34 After spending his years as a youngling and padawan trying and often failing to tame many

06:38 a beast beside Obi-Wan Kenobi, sometimes even being forced to cut down the creatures as

06:42 a last resort, the penny clearly dropped for Anakin by the time of Attack of the Clones,

06:47 as Skywalker was able to successfully calm down and later ride a reek in the midst of

06:51 the Battle of Geonosis.

06:53 The first one, that is.

06:54 This wouldn't be the first or last time said beast-taming skill would be seen in the

06:58 Star Wars universe, though.

06:59 With everyone from Darth Bane to Qui-Gon Jinn showing off their mastery of animal whispering

07:04 over the years, too.

07:06 3.

07:07 Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale nearly played him

07:09 Since taking our planet by storm with his original trilogy, just about every actor known

07:14 to mankind has been doing everything in their power to become part of George Lucas' galaxy

07:18 far, far away.

07:20 So when the time came to finally have the mighty Anakin Skywalker strut his stuff as

07:24 an adult on the live-action stage, pretty much every rising star in the industry was

07:28 in line to play Obi-Wan's Padawan in the prequels.

07:31 Among this star-studded roster were the likes of Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio.

07:36 While Leo would ultimately pass up on the chance to swing a blue blade about for a few

07:39 blockbuster offerings, Bale was said to have been Lucas' first choice for the part.

07:44 But it just wasn't meant to be, and instead Hayden Christensen would make his own divisive

07:48 mark not exactly aided by Lucas' dodgy dialogue on the prequels.

07:52 Thankfully, the star looked set to revisit the role once more in the upcoming Obi-Wan

07:55 Kenobi Disney+ series, and will no doubt be out to prove his many vocal critics wrong

08:00 through his long-awaited Skywalker/Vader comeback.

08:03 2.

08:04 DROID WEDDING GIFTS Wedding gifts are a tradition not just respected

08:07 in our universe, but in the intergalactic world of Star Wars too.

08:11 You love to see it.

08:12 Yet in the case of Anakin Skywalker, his lack of possessions in general thanks to his Jedi

08:16 lifestyle meant that he didn't exactly have a whole lot to offer in terms of impressive

08:20 gifts on his secret wedding day.

08:22 He did, however, possess a certain droid that he just so happened to build with his

08:26 own two hands before one of them got cut off.

08:30 So Anakin decided to give Padme Amidala C-3PO on the day of their wedding, with his now-wife

08:35 returning the favour by handing him possession of a faithful astromech known as R2-D2.

08:40 This largely explains why R2 rarely leaves Anakin's side throughout the Clone Wars

08:44 and Revenge of the Sith, and why 3PO spends increasingly less time with his creator as

08:48 the series unfolds.

08:50 So next time you're in need of a last-minute wedding present, why not hand the happy couple

08:53 or your soon-to-be spouse a trusty protocol droid or astromech and let the good times

08:58 roll?

08:59 Or not, you do you.

09:00 1.

09:01 THE PREQUEL VILLAINS ALL RELATE TO HIS OWN FALL

09:03 While you'd be forgiven for assuming that a great many of the arrivals that made their

09:07 presence known in the prequel trilogy were merely pumped into the Star Wars universe

09:11 as a way of shifting colourful toys, in reality George Lucas actually appeared to use Episode

09:16 1, 2 and 3's key villains as a way to highlight the various stages of his central figure's

09:21 fall into the dark side.

09:23 In Darth Maul, you have a Sith acolyte consumed by rage and aggression, traits shared by Skywalker.

09:29 Count Dooku pretty much mirrors Anakin's own eventual fate as a fallen Jedi who becomes

09:33 Darth Sidious' apprentice, and General Grievous' appearance acts as a subtle piece of foreshadowing

09:38 for the cyborg future that is right around the corner for Skywalker on the back of his

09:42 fateful duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar.

09:45 Combine all three together and you have the tragic equation needed to create arguably

09:49 the most destructive, captivating and recognisable big bad pop culture has ever known.

09:54 And that's our list!

09:56 Know any other things most folks didn't know about Anakin Skywalker?

09:59 Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget

10:02 to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're there.

10:05 Also if you like this kind of thing then head on over to whatculture.com and find some more

10:08 incredible videos just like the one this article that yours truly wrote is based on.

10:12 I've been Gareth from What Culture Star Wars, thank you very much for clicking on this video

10:16 today, may the force be with you and I'll see you very, very soon.

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