PT How would you have taken the character of Anakin Skywalker?

Or at least, what should he have been in episode i, instead of some 8 year old tart on Tatooine.

Would you rather had be a:

1. a young, aspiring pilot on a ship, transporting goods across the galaxy (perhaps co-piloted by Owen Lars)?

2. still a slave on a planet (preferably not Taooine), but have him about eighteen, an orphan, and actually treated as a slave (beatings, poor food, chains, etc).

or. . .

3. perhaps start him off already as a Jedi Knight under the republic, and have him already partners with Obi-Wan (or have them meet later on on some sort of mission).

If not one of those three, then what you have exclusively prefered to see?

 

Number but not 18 closer to 14 like in one of the earlier drafts of tpm before they added qui gon and it was obi wan who found him.

 

Not while Liam Neeson was in the picture.

Just like Palpatine. Savvy guy.

Sorry, it was obligatory.

 

I think I would have made Anakin around 12 or 13 in TPM, but other than I wouldn't change much else.

 

I'd probably have just gone with the third option to be honest.

 

Since it is stated Anakin was a slave I'd be all for actually *showing* that. War too SW is way too pristine. Though I'd likewise prefer an older Ani.

 

I would have had Hayden play him in all 3 films. Nothing against Jake but I feel like that would let us get to be more familiar with Anakin during his time as a Jedi (as TCW allowed us to do), like we did with Luke in the OT. But I really wouldn't change any of the character arcs/etc that Lucas wrote for him, it's just too good.

 

I would have preferred to see some 8 year old tart on Tatooine

 

More emphasis on "a man chooses, a slave obeys."

 

i think i would have left him that way. Lucas originally had him older, but decided a younger kid would have more seperation anxiety, and i agree.

 

I think that would depend on circumstances. Age isn't always such a great factor as many make it.

 

Obi-Wan would find Anakin.

 

Should have been a noble warrior, a grown man, who betrayed and murdered his friends because of the temptations of the dark side of the force. Someone who made a tragic error -- what the Greeks called hamartia -- that lead to his dramatic downfall. Exactly like it was written in the originals.

Instead he was depicted as a youth, a whiner, a pervert, a brat ... I mean there were no redeeming qualities about him whatsoever. He didn't even come across as a man.

His portrayal was partly the cause of bad acting, and mostly the cause of terribly written scripts.

 

Instead of being a child slave, Anakin would be a young, skilled teenage pod-racer whom Qui-Gon hires to win the race. During the Battle of Naboo, Anakin uses his skills to fight alongside Pamde to retake the palace.

In the heat of battle, he saves her life by using his force-heightened reflexes, and she subsequently saves him as well. Because of this experience, they develop feelings for each other.

When Obi-Wan takes Anakin as his apprentice, per Qui-Gon's request, the two say farewell. Neither chooses to accept their feelings because they assume they will never see each other again.

 

I would have started with Anakin being 17 or 18 years old and living with his mother somewhere in the outer rim. He is already a well established pod racer and considered to be the best there is. I would have put him in some predicament where he is not a slave but basically stuck in a forced contract with a Hutt (someone other than Jabba). Obi Wan would be older as well and Qui-Gon would be his former Master with Obi being a full Jedi by now. Anakin would be shown to have a tough life and is starting to manifest some force abilities due to his tendency to anger quickly. Rather than say he had a virgin birth and is a product of the Force I think I would just go with him having the highest known midichlorian count ever leave the question of his father rather ambiguous.

 

He's good the way he is .

 

I also think he's alright the way he is, but if given my choice, I'd have just had him be a little bit older-maybe 12. And maybe treated more harshly as a slave. I like the idea of him coming from that upbringing and environment, lending to his ambitious, independant and short-tempered nature.

I had actually hoped that we'd have seen Anakin turn to the darkside already by the end of Episode II, and III is all about what he does to help Sidious take control, and he ends up in his mechanical suit about halfway thru the movie. That is actually what I thought would be the case all up until I saw AOTC...

 

I think it's entirely credible that he could be all of those things -- ambitious, independent, and short-tempered -- without having suffered actual beatings, been deprived of food and water, etc.

The Anakin of Episode I is still a creature in bondage.

A creature who is aware (all too aware) of being in bondage.

A creature who understands the transient nature of his slavery; acknowledging early on the threat of being won and lost over high-speed races that he himself participates in.

A creature with a somewhat cynical appraisal of his own worth ("wouldn't have lasted this long anyways if I wasn't so good at building things" >> and watch as he later tries to build an Empire).

A creature who sees the danger in escaping ("any attempt to escape and they blow you up") and endeavours to circumvent the problem (in reference to his slave device: "I've been working on a scanner to try and locate mine").

A creature who practices deception to survive (in reference to his podracer: "Watto doesn't know I've built it"), a creature who challenges others to come clean ("You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?" >> after biding his time to pose the question).

A creature who gives Jar Jar dirty looks, a creature with a deadly rivalry with Sebulba, who he calls a "slimeball".

A creature who gets laughed at by most of his friends, but proves them wrong (good for the ego; or, indeed, bad for the ego).

A creature who is presently stuck where he is, but gets angry about being perceived as only a slave ("I'm a person and my name is Anakin"), and longs to leave to forge his own destiny ("I'm a pilot, you know, and someday I'm gonna fly away from this place"; looking at the stars: "I wanna be the first one to see 'em all").

A creature who doesn't even see the point in the dumb questions fielded to him by the most venerable Jedi in the galaxy ("What has that got to do with anything?").

And so forth.

Quite a complex character is this Anakin Skywalker -- at every stage of his life, methinks.

 

Nah, I think it was handled good.

Although they could have developed his transition to DS better in Ep III. Other than that I am fine with what Lucas did.

 

I think I'm maybe one of those few fans who think Anakin Skywalker's character was actually pretty well done. Sure, he's not perfect, but that's kinda the whole point of the PT trilogy.

I would've kept everything pretty much the same; a slave on Tatooine, being concieved by the force, a talented but unexperienced pilot....everything. Well, everything except being like 9, just because I personally find child actors pretty annoying. Even Jake Loyd, who was probably the best we could've gotten for a young boy playing a future DV. I would've rathered Anakin be about 14, still boyish in nature and with spirit of adventure, but not a "yipee" "that's wizard!" annoying kid. Then in AOTC he'd actually be Anakin in ROTS age, and in ROTS he'd be few precious years older that would really separate him from boy and man. I'd have more faith believing Anakin was an experienced and skilled warrior if he wasn't younger than I am right now.

As for Qui Gon finding him vs Obi Wan, I'm impartial to both. Obi Wan finding him would've been a nice touch to the story, as it would've been Obi wanting to train Anakin, believing in him, etc.... but I also kinda like Qui Gon's addition to TPM. He kinda embodies what all Jedi should aspire to be, and fully believes in Anakin yet is tragically cut down before he can truly begin to train Anakin. It gives us the line in the animated CW show "and as for wisdom, you are no Qui Gon Jinn!" which shows Anakin does lack respect for Obi Wan and makes him betrayal slightly more believable. Finally, it leaves us fans with the question of "would have things been different if Qui Gon trained Anakin?"

 

I would have had Anakin as a typical Jedi who, through the underground movement led by Palpatine, grew increasingly more distrustful of the Jedi. He would be swayed slowly with promises of a prominent position in the new regime and eventually become so blinded with a list for power, he turns on the Jedi and with the new powerful leadership, hunts and kills the Jedi and leaders.

 

What he should have been is what he is. I'm not pretentious enough to claim that I know a character better than the guy who created it.

 

You could have stopped right there.

That would be pretty crappy -- in my opinion -- and misses pretty much every theme Lucas was going for.

Anakin is atypical. And the Jedi fail to take proper account of that. Anakin's development is stymied and and he never becomes a member of the tribe.

That's kinda what a tragedy is: when there is poor communication, weak understanding, coldness and distancing, mounting distrust, and faults on all sides.

 

Noting in the OT suggests Vader was a special Jedi. He was a great star fighter and a cunning warrior, but he was never described as heads and shoulders above anyone else. A compelling character's fall from grace makes it tragic, not because he was a superjedi.