ST The Legacy of Darth Vader / Skywalker family secret?

"Vader betrayed and murdered your father".

 

I do bet that's the way Luke would go. He totally signed on to that line of thought in spite of his initial anger about being 'lied' to ... "then my father is truly dead."

I am thinking Luke being off in the boondocks may turn out to be the equivalent of Germans hiding in post-WWII war Argentina, even though he didn't do anything wrong. Of course people would have a clue, at least about Vader and Luke. They carried lightsabers, and there were still old people in the galaxy who would know what those things were.

 

I was just replying to another thread, where someone commented that most people blamed the Moffs for the faults of the Empire. I commented that people seemed pretty jubilant at the end of ROTJ about the deaths of Vader and Palpatine. Or Ani and Sheev, if you will.

It got me thinking - if it somehow got out that Leia and Luke were the children of Vader, would that render them outcasts?

After all, I can imagine there's a lot of people in the galaxy that have suffered through Vader's doings in one way or another. Of course, logically you could say they didn't even know themselves until late in the game, but then, not everyone will look at it so forgivingly.

I'd be interested if anyone could tie this theory with what we know about the state of the galaxy following the trailer.

 

I personally don't think the Galaxy will know the history of the Skywalker line. At the end of ROTJ, only Luke and Leia knew Vader's true identity so for the safety of their families and themselves it be wise to keep quiet.

Also, since the Empire kept referring to Vader as Vader, I thought anyone except for the Emperor knew as well.

 

i have a feeling they'll be in a powerful position.

 

I agree with Kraven, the galaxy at large will not have known of Luke and Leia's lineage unless they themselves reveal it, which I cant see happening.

 

but if one their children (?) does... that could throw things into a precarious light.

 

I can't see the Galaxy as a whole knowing and accepting Luke and Leia's lineage, unless the Galaxy is now populated solely with Noghri. If they do then I would see them as being outcasts. However, it seems like it is something that is kept secret. However, the secret coming out could end up being a major plot point.

 

Thread merge

 

I'm not even sure that Luke or Leia would want to tell their potential children that Anakin was Darth Vader. I could see a situation where, if the subject of Anakin Skywalker ever came up, Luke would focus on the positives. "He was a good man who died a noble death" and all that, and Leia might not want to talk about him at all. I wouldn't be surprised, if Rey turns out to be Luke's daughter or niece, if there's a big "reveal" scene and Luke finally comes clean.

 

With all this talk of Luke and Leia facing down Vader hate I'm just wondering, just how would they be put in a situation where their parentage would come up? I mean, do they have press conferences in the Star Wars universe? The way I figure it, it's a "didn't ask, didn't tell" policy with the Skywalker clan. No one thinks to ask, so Luke and Leia being Vader's kids is a non-starter issue. Let's face it: Leia's planet blew up and Luke's childhood home and guardians got torched. Even Biggs bit the big one. The Empire did a pretty good job of erasing their pasts. I can't recall perfectly, but I don't think Bail Organa was privy to the fact that Vader = Anakin. Did he even know Anakin was the father of Padme's kids? It's never really stated in the movies. Pretty much everyone who knew the Vader connection took the fact to their graves. All that's left is Luke, Leia, and Han.

Now, as for Vader's legacy, I feel that the Big Three will have come to some kind of terms with this already but the next generation now have to wrestle with it. It would be interesting if one of Anakin's grandchildren had visions of the past like he did about the future. It would be hard to fight the dark side when you keep seeing your grandfather being burned on Mustafar.

 

Given that Padme's kids are supposed to be the last best hope of the Jedi - and Yoda and Ben talk openly about their importance in front of him - I would expect that he knows that their father was Anakin.

The EU certainly had him know that - as well as that Anakin was Vader.

 

But would Bail just think Obi-Wan and Yoda felt they were Force sensitive?

 

Bump for the recent rumor that Vader might make an appearance, beyond the charred helmet, of some kind in the film.

People often talk about the need for a villain who connects the trilogies, which mystifies me when we have the legacy of Vader that ties things up quite aptly.

In other words, Vader's legacy is the best way to connect the trilogies, not some resurrected Sith Lord who's never been on screen before.

This legacy seems as though it will play out primarily through Kylo Ren, but there's also the chance that Rey will have something to do with it as well -- either to end it, or possibly be tempted to join Kylo in its resurgence.

 

Totally agree.

 

IMHO, the reason for Luke going into hiding is the wider galaxy finding out he was the son of Darth Vader; but, nobody is aware of Leia's relations to Luke and her actual biological father.

 

Sith have no legacy. Their existence is an abomination, and even a redeemed Sith Lord that abandons the Dark Side leaves no legacy of his former self. Once the evil and atrocities stop, the galaxy moves on, happy to be rid of the oppression.
The only significant effect Vader's existence will have on the galaxy is on Luke's desire to train Jedi. Unless he were to do it in secret, which is not his style, he would be met with a lot of resistance from the leaders of the Republic, who would rightly be cautious about any potential future Sith being trained to use their powers.
And when it doesn't go well (Kylo), Luke would be ostracized.

 

Isn't there some evidence based on MSW stuff that Luke is still revered as a legendary hero? I do think that the lineage of Luke and Leia might be the Galaxy's best kept secret. A secret Kylo Ren could also be interested in maintaining. Luke (and Leia, assuming Luke made good on his father's dying wish), with knowledge of Vader's last minute reversion to the light side, could be a threat to whatever image and legacy Ren is trying to maintain of Vader's within the First Order. So you have an intriguing noble lie in play: Luke and Leia say nothing of Vader's reversion in order to conceal their heritage--they say Luke simply killed Vader and the Emperor, the Galaxy's two biggest bad guys--all the while this "lie" gives life to the First Order which has at its core the image of Vader as a legendary icon of evil.

 

Me too. This is it. This is the real connective tissue. It's beautifully simple. I think they've been very astute in summing up the entire saga in arguably it's two most iconic images: Vader and the Bespin saber. Just these two images tell the audience everything they need to know about this movie's connection with the saga's past.

 

It's nothing really new people have suggested Vader tying everything for a long time and with concept art and Teaser #2 of Vader's remains you would expect that Vader's legacy will play a part in the ST.

maybe Vader's helmet is Vader's legacy and the Bespin saber is Anakin's legacy and yes I know the Bespin saber was used for murder but that was done by Vader not Anakin.

 

Great points. Dra--- , you postulated in your original post if Anakin's role as Chosen One would be altered in the ST?

Starting a debate at this point is meaningless until we find out what kind of villains are present.

I will mention that when Yoda goes to the little Force world with those drama faced chicks, one of them blurts out that (referring to Yoda), "He will train the one that will save the *universe*." Interesting choice of words from a now canonical series. We all know Yoda trained Luke - not Anakin. Besides, Anakin was already trained as a Jedi Knight when these events take place.

It is possible that because of Anakin's dark detour, he didn't complete his purpose / mission. Add in the fact that Vader's presence made more of an impact on the GFFA than Michael Jackson at the Motown 25th Anniversary Special; and we have all sorts of story telling direction. I also liked your thoughts on Vader's enemies having an ax to grind with his legacy.

 

Sith have no legacy? I highly doubt that will pan out. Vader clearly has a legacy.

 

Maybe the true identity of Vader is known by The First Order somehow? And that possibly ties into Luke being some kind of fugitive perhaps? Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father?? Imagine what the galaxies perception of Luke will be if that has been revealed?

 

Why? Must we always assume the very worst?