First Mention of Anakin

If memory serves me correctly, the new revised Emperor scene is now the first time we hear the name of Anakin Skywalker. He wasn't mentioned in A New Hope, right? Well then I think it's good that we only go one movie without hearing Anakin's name than two movies.

 

Yep, ESB is now the first time in the OT that Anakin's name is mentioned.

 

Well, if your going by release order, it would be RotJ.

Warrior_of_Mandalore Strikes Again!

 

Original trilogy: ROTJ, Ben's line, "He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader."

Revamped trilogy: ESB, "I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker."

I kinda preferred having it in ROTJ, but it's not a big deal. This new dialogue insinuates a little more closely (if you're really intuitive) that Vader knows more than is let on, whereas the old trilogy had no serious indication of the connection.

 

When I did the 5-film run over Christmas, you really do feel that Anakin "fades into the background" in ANH.

It's all Vader. It's not until ESB that you start getting some little bits of him coming through the Vader personna.

 

Thats because at that point, there was no Anakin (from a certain point of view). In ANH, Vader was so consumed by the Dark Side that he was completely Vader. It took seeing his son again to snap him out of it.

Warrior_of_Mandalore Strikes Again!

 

Well, that, and I don't think Lucas had quite decided Vader was to wind up being Anakin Skywalker yet. I don't think Anakin was ever completely abolished from Vader's being...even if Vader was the dominant personality, if he had truly given himself over completely to the dark side, there would be no hope of returning him to the light. I see the emperor as the definition of what it means to be utterly consumed by evil. Vader is certainly a figurehead of malevolence, but I think there was always a teeny, tiny piece of Anakin still left him. Just buried deep and unused.

Actually, I was always kinda curious why Luke never bothered to ask Ben what his father's name was until it was said later on. It would've struck me as something to ask, anyway.

 

I would think that Luke would have known his father's first name, at least-surely Owen and Beru would have told him!

Do you mean that Palpatine says, "The Son of Anakin Skywalker," instead of "Son of Skywalker?" Because the latter just sounds better.

 

ESB ORIGINAL

PALPATINE: We have a new enemy, Luke Skywalker.


ESB DVD

PALPATINE: We have a new enemy. The young rebel who destroyed the Death Star. I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.

The "Son of Skywalker" line still remains. The same spot it always was.

 

I wish the name Anakin was mentioned in ANH.

 

Well with selective hearing, Ben sounds like he says 'Ani was a good friend.'
Of course he says 'And he was a good friend,' but like I said, selective hearing

I'm glad they kept in the 'Son of Skywalker' line as it harkens back to the old Starkiller script and gives the concept an epic feel.
Speaking of Starkiller, I'm hoping beyond reason that somehow, somewhere Lucas snuck it into RotS. They managed to apply Ashla to a youngling, so all we have left of the original major unused ideas is Utapau, Aquilae, Starkiller, Bogan, and Bendu.

Maybe it will be revealed that Bendu Starkiller from Aquilae defeated Darth Bogan on Utapau and forced the Sith into hiding?

Yes, I know Utapau is a planet in RotS, but I didn't want to spoil that for the hard cores

 

Anakin Skywalker's name should only be mentioned once or twice in the OT. I like how the Emperor mentioned it. GL chose the right scene to mention it in. Of course we also hear it when Luke mentions it also on Endor.

It would be a bit too much if we heard it in A NEW HOPE. When Ben is mentioning the Jedi and Vader to Luke at his home, that would have been the perfect time to mention Anakin's name.