Saga Character ages and length of time in the movies and the Clone Wars

I don't care much for how the ages were dealt with in the prequels.

Staring with Anakin.. I don't like him appearing at 9 in TPM, but also the age at which he became Vader. Anakin is 19 in AOTC. In ROTS he is 21. The Clone Wars lasted 3 years. Personally, I feel the story would have been better if the wars had dragged on for many more years where we start off with Anakin as a better person more like how Obi-wan described in the OT and then over the years he becomes more ruthless and Vader like. Did Vader look like a 45 year old in ROTJ?

Also Obi-wan Kenobi's age was not dealt with good in my opinion. In TPM he is 25 I believe so in ANH he would be about 56. He does not look 56 to me, he looks older. (not using tatootine suns excuse, he has a hood and shade) I think the gap should have been longer between AOTC and ROTS. (But for the wars to drag on longer it would be better if Palpatine hadn't been manipulating both sides, but instead takes advantage of the war and corruption to become Emperor. People could have been dissatisfied with the Republic and instead wanted change which Palpatine promises.

Queen Amidala could have been older too in TPM. I am not sold on a 9 year old falling for Padme who is 14 and 10 years later they get married. A mature Senator with an immature teen, don't like. I find it hard to see a 9 year old obsessing over a girl for 10 years he doesn't see. Also anyone remember the ship scene in TPM were she comforts him? Seems more like a motherly scene or big sister than a future love interest to me which is weird.

Then there is Luke and Leia. I am totally fine with Luke's age, but not Leia's. First of all I don't think they should be twins, let alone siblings. Leia seems older than Luke in ANH. She could have been older more closer to Han's age.

Also the droids. This isn't a really big deal but why are 30+ year old droids still running around the galaxy. I also don't care for the fact the parents use to have them. Wouldn't Uncle Owen recognize C3-PO?

Finally Uncle Owen and Beru. They look pretty young in AOTC, and in ANH they look like the aged badly, especially Beru. I suppose you could say it's the suns and desert, but really?

What are your thoughts?

 

In the AOTC novelization, it's noted that it's Anakin's 20th birthday, by Shmi, shortly before she's kidnapped. So he's 20 rather than 19.

Since 3PO doesn't get his gold plating till ROTS, I can see why Owen wouldn't recognise him - especially since there's lots of 3PO-type droids in the galaxy - we see another in ANH right at the start.

Also, Mark Hamill is 5 years older than Carrie Fisher - so having Leia be older than Luke would be a little odd.

 

I wasn't thinking about the actor's ages, and didn't know that, didn't know Anakin turned 20 either, but 22 is still too young for me.

For Luke and Leia I was just going off on what I saw in the movies, plus Han calls Luke kid but never Leia. She also sounds older than Luke.

 

It's true that actor age doesn't always correlate well to character age (for example, Sebastian Shaw was older than Alec Guinness). Still, at the low end of the age scale, its a good starting point.

Luke typifies the "bratty teenager" whereas Leia, already being a Senator, has grown up early. It probably shows, which is why people call Luke "kid" but not Leia.

I liked the EU's explanation for Tatooinians' premature ageing - sun and wind. Obi-Wan, in the books, deliberately sits out in the desert with his face exposed - just to maximise wear and tear on it, and improve his disguise (Kenobi novel)

 

Yes and Anakin turns 10 in TPM novel if I remember correctly. Lucas has said Anakin is ten by the end of Episode1. So Anakin & Padmè's age gap is 4 years at least(5 to 7 months) headcannon anyway.

 

Appearance isn't always about age, it's about wear and trial. Peter doesn't look 62-63 in SW but he was. Obi being about 57 and looking in his 70s or so makes perfect sense given all he's fared. Same with Anakin.

I do agree Anakin's entire fall from grace was rushed and mishandled though. Not graphic enough either.

 

Character ages seem fine to me

What's wrong with a 9 year old boy falling for a 14 year old girl? That's perfectly feasible. 14 certainly isn't mature, unless you mean mentally mature. Physical maturity is often only really gained around age 20.

Stress does age people more quickly, obviously, that's a real world fact. "You're giving me grey hairs" means more than what it sounds. Given that Obi-Wan had to live through the eradication of the Jedi Order, the "death" of his brother figure, and being forced into exile for two decades, I'd say that's a good amount of stress. As for Anakin's unmasking scene, let's not forget what dark side immersion does for your complexion. I believe at some point back in '83, it was said that Palpatine was over 100 years old (despite being 86 at the time of his death) and I'd say he looks about that. Let's not forget all the crap Anakin went through, both mentally and clearly physically

Now Luke and Leia's siblinghood is a whole different debate, so.

What's wrong with 30 some year old droids still being used? Droids can function for a very long time if they're properly maintained. 3PO has survived deconstruction at least twice. I think in the EU there was some droid that was like a few thousand years old or something? The Rakata had droids that continued functioning some 25,000 years after their construction

 

I've got this one solved.

There was some massive, galaxy-wide radiation pulse -- like a gamma ray burst, but more spread out -- that aged everyone a half-decade or more.

I blame Obi-Wan on his way to Kamino for leaving the fridge door open.

 

In the context of the SW universe, a futuristic society 25000+ years old and spanning an entire galaxy, it would take hundreds (if not thousands) of years for a new technology to hit the market and spread across the galaxy let alone become obsolete. It makes sense that something as common as droid technology wouldn't really advanced much in the period of a few decades.

 

Anakin is 23 in ROTS. Luke and Leia are 23 in ROTJ.
One of many mirror images, which I happen to like. It was designed so that Luke's journey would be eerily similar to Anakin's, with father and son making different choices along the way.
It's not something that we have to approve of, but again, I happen to like it.

 

Does anyone wonder (after Interstellar) that given the multitude of planets in the SW universe, that time is very relative for the characters? They seem to spend a whole lot of time bouncing around in hyperspace and gravity.

 

Star Wars with Interstellar physics? Talk about messy

 

19 years is a pretty long time. I think Owen and Beru look realistically older. Regarding Padme being like a sister: I think this was intentional, as Anakin has just lost his mother, he needs someone to fixate on. It also shows how immature they both are in AOTC, when they turn this small infatuation into a big romantic affair.

 

Considering the content of the OP, I believe you do.

 

I don't like how it was dealth with either. Anakin should've been a few years older, I don't necessarily agree that he should've been adolescent age in TPM as many, many other fans do... but I feel the CW should've stretched a few extra years. Anakin is 23 in ROTS, and I just don't buy that. The responsibilities they give him, the status and rank, it just seems unrealistic for a person that young, no matter how gifted.

Obi Wan def doesn't look only 56 in ANH either, He looks atleast 65. He could pass for the senior discount at the Mos Eisley Cantina for sure.

 

I don't care much for how the ages were dealt with in the prequels.​

I don't care much for = I don't like.

 

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine before he turned to evil." "The quick and easy path, as Vader did." All of this points to a young, impatient padawan becoming Vader, not an experienced knight or master.

 

"I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father".

The compromise of "young inexperienced Knight seeking to become Master early" seems reasonable. Anakin Turned To The Dark Side at the age Obi-Wan was still a Padawan, after all, with less than 3 years Knight experience, most of which was at war.

 

That doesn't sound very specific. "Jedi Knight" could mean "Jedi in general".

I'm not disagreeing there besides that I don't think there was a need for a compromise before the first Clone Wars cartoon.

 

How "graphically" can you demonstrate and internal change?

 

I think the only way you "fix" the aging of some of the characters like Obi-Wan, Vader, and the Lars is to have a longer time gap between ROTS and ANH. But, if you do that, you don't get to see the twins being born in ROTS. I think that's the main reason for the 19 year gap, otherwise it could have been longer.

 

Alec Guinness was about 62 when he played Obi-Wan. So that's a six year difference. Given the stressful life Obi-Wan's led and the harsh desert environment, I don't find it implausible in the least that he'd look six years older than he really was.

It's a weird thing to get hung up about. Sean Connery was only 12 years older than Harrison Ford when he played his father in Last Crusade. But I don't hear anyone ever crying foul about that.

 

It's the retconned age(s) of the character(s)...not the age of the actors playing them

 

Who cares? The ages are either plausible, or they aren't. If they're still plausible, who cares if they were retconned?