From "The Annotated Screenplays": The Origins of Darth Vader, Anakin Starkiller, and Luke's Father

I'm aware that this has been discussed in other threads, for example Binary_Sunset's "The Force's Portrayal Worsens..." and, over on the AOTC forum, Go-Mer-Tonic's "Whose Saga is this?". But to my knowledge, there is no single thread dealing with an exploration into the precise origins of George Lucas' creation of the character of Darth Vader. The main question at hand, then, is this:

"As of the final (fourth) draft of STAR WARS (now known as Episode IV: A NEW HOPE) did George Lucas know that Luke's (as yet unnamed) father and Darth Vader were one and the same man?"

The best evidence for an answer of "NO!" is that the first draft of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, written by Leigh Brackett, contains no reference to this rather important information. The contention that Lucas "didn't tell Leigh everything, because he wanted to see what she would come up with on her own" (by Scudder) holds little water, as it would be senseless to hire a well-known author to write a sequel to the biggest money-making motion picture of all time (as of 1978), and not inform the writer of what is arguably the most important plot point in the entire story.

Similarly, the argument that "Lucas knew this was a huge bombshell and that it could possibly break the movie if it got out, so he kept the information under very tight wraps" (by Durwood) is without merit, as this secrecy, however extreme, would obviously not extend to a writer hired to pen the film.

The second best evidence that Lucas did not "know" Vader was Luke's father, until after the original film came out, is that in all of the notes and early drafts of STAR WARS, written by Lucas in the early to mid 70s, there is not a single reference to this fact. Since this material was not published until the late 80s--well after the Vader-as-father revelation had been made public--there is, again, no reason that secrecy can be supposed.

The third best evidence is that, in the aforementioned drafts (published under the title "The Annotated Screenplays"), Anakin Starkiller is a wholly distinct character from Darth Vader, though both exist and operate in the same time-frame.

My conclusion, then, is that it was not until the writing of ESB, during sessions with Lawrence Kasdan (following the death of Leigh Brackett), that the idea of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker's father as the same man, was struck upon by Lucas, or Kasdan, or Irvin Kershner.

Have fun ripping me to pieces!

 

Another clear indicator of this is that in the early planning stages of ESB, Lucas was aparrently toying with the idea of Luke's father appearing to him as a ghost much like Obi-Wan does.

I'm not sure where that particular piece of information comes from, though. If anyone else can back me up by pointing out the source it would be appreciated.

Great idea for a thread, by the way.

 

Hmm. Well, if you read the Journal of the Making of the Empire Strikes Back book, many of the main actors refer to Star Wars in James Bond style series manner. This would make your thoughts make more sense to me.

Intresting idea for a thread.

 

If GL didn't originally plan on Darth Vader being Anakin Skywalker, then what would the first half of the saga be about since at the time he was making ANH he knew it was the fourth in the series (or so I've heard)?

 

Well, for one thing keep in mind that when "Star Wars" was made no one expected it to be the kind of blockbuster success that it was. Lucas hoped that at best the film would break even. So at that point there was little hope that there would ever even be a sequel, let alone prequels.

Even once it became clear that Lucas would be able to continue the story, any prequels that would eventually be made would likely have been about Luke Skywalker's father no matter who he turned out to be. After all, "Star Wars" had laid the groundwork of a story where Luke's father is betrayed and murdered by a young Jedi named Darth Vader. Sounds like good prequel material to me.

 

Does it really matter? Like someone said above, he knew that Luke's father would play a big role, or else he wouldn't have spent half of ANH talking about Luke's father. He probably did have an idea about Anakin being Vader at the time. Remember, changes are always made to the scripts, he could've easily said "just make sure you put Luke and Vader together in a lightsaber battle at the end of the movie", and avoided telling anyone about the father revelation.

 

You brought up some good points AgentCoop, but I find it hard to fathom that 3 movies would be devoted to a guy that is just killed off half way through the saga(although they could bring him back in spirit form for what became ESB, it would be too ackward if he never appeared in ANH and then suddenly appeared in the next movie).
Besides, the betrayal and murder sound like it could all happen in one movie, so what about the other two?

 

I have two revisions to my original post. One is that "The Annotated Screenplays," compiled and edited by Laurent Bouzereau, was published not in the late 80s, but in 1997, the year the Special Editions were released. This further destroys the argument for "secrecy" as an explanation for the various notes and drafts not referring to Darth Vader as Luke's father, since by 1997, the revelation was well-known by virtually everyone on Earth. Thus there would be no reason to suppress the information, or to publish an incomplete record of Lucas' writings.

The second is that, in the notes and drafts, "Anakin" is spelled "Annikin." More on him in my next post. Stay tuned for a shocker.

 

I guess "Annikin" looks too girly.

If the annotated screenplays weren't published until 1997 then there might be some conspiracy for continuity purposes. Deep down, we all know GL's been making most of it up as he goes along, he just tells us differently in interviews.

 

I will now prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that as of January 1, 1976, in the third draft of what would become "STAR WARS Episode IV: A New Hope", Darth Vader was a distinct character, wholly separate from Annikin Starkiller, his brothers Deak and Luke Starkiller, and their father Kane Starkiller, but existing in the same time frame as the others, so that no confusion whatsoever may be drawn between the characters.

Exhibit A: From Page 12 of "TAS" by Laurent Bouzereau. "In the rough draft Darth Vader is introduced during a scene on Alderaan ... a relatively minor character ... a tall, grim-looking general .... In the second draft and all subsequent screenplays Lord Darth Vader became the character we all know from the film. In that same draft ... Deak Starkiller ... makes a suicidal attempt to kill the [Galactic Ruler's] troopers with his lasersword and laserpistol and suddenly is confronted by Darth Vader. The Dark Lord raises his arms, and every object that is not bolted down is picked up by an invisible force and hurled at Deak, who protects himself with an invisible shield. Vader and Starkiller have a duel ...."

I submit the above to show that Vader is the character we know from the film, and not just a villain with the same name. Further exhibits forthcoming.

 

Exhibit B: From Pages 26-27 of "TAS" by Laurent Bouzereau. "The idea of a three-dimensional hologram message first appeared in the second draft; the message is from Deak Starkiller to his brother, Luke: 'Whippersnapper, I didn't make it ... I'm sorry. The forces of the Bogan [the dark side] have become strong and deadly ... I am lost. Father is in grave danger. He needs you and he needs the Kiber Crystal [which intensifies the Force]. You must find a way to get to Ogana Major on your own. He is waiting for you there. Be careful, though. Ogana Major is under siege by the Imperial Legions of Alderaan. You must hurry, for the force of the Ashla [the good side] grows weak, and I don't know how much longer Father can hold out. The enemy has constructed a powerful weapon to use against him. Warn Uncle."

I submit the preceding to show that, even as Darth Vader is shown elsewhere as a villain, Deak and Luke's father is referred to as a living character, able to use the good side of the Force, and who is waiting for his sons to rescue him on another planet.

 

In a book called "Not of this Earth", (Which also has a reverse section on Tekwar) it is interesting to note that Darth Vader started out as a General(Literally General Darth Vader, which means at first "Darth" was his name and not a title) and his partner was a Black Knight of the Sith named Prince Valorum.
It notes that this was in the first rough draft screenplay in May 1974.

Great thread btw vortigern

 

Exhibit C: From Page 33 of "TAS" by Bouzereau. "In the third draft ... Luke ... tells Ben that he knows his *Diary of the Clone Wars* by heart and that he is the son of Annikin Starkiller."

I submit the preceding to show that Luke's father is Annikin, who in Exhibit D, below, is shown to be a different character from Darth Vader, but living contemporarily with him.

Exhibit D: From Pages 7-8 of "TAS" by Bouzereau. [In] the rough and first drafts ... the story starts with young Annikin Starkiller spotting a spacecraft orbiting the fourth moon of Utupau, where he is hiding with Kane, his father, and Deak, his ten-year old brother. Annikin is sixteen and is described as tall and heavyset. Annikin rushes back into the shabby hut where he lives with his father and brother. Kane is one of the last Jedi warriors and is hiding with his two sons from a rival sect, the Knights of Sith. Kane is a large, burly man 'wearing the distinctive robes of a Jedi' and has been imparting his knowledge to the two boys .... Kane and his two sons go check out the Sith spacecraft that Annikin spotted; Kane walks toward it, leaving the boys behind. Suddenly, a Sith warrior dressed in black robes and wearing a face mask, an outfit that would later become Darth Vader's, appears behind the two boys and kills Deak with a long lasersword. Annikin pulls out his lasersword, 'which creates an eerie red glow,' and fights the enemy. Kane comes to the rescue and kills the Sith warrior with his sword .... Kane is dying; except for his head and right arm, his body has been replaced by electronic components ...."

This shows that Annikin is distinct from Vader. Kane, Annikin's father, has cybernetic parts reminiscent of Darth Vader's, but he is clearly a "good guy" and fights against an unnamed Sith warrior who looks just like Vader.

 

Exhbit E: From Page 36 of "TAS" by Bouzereau. "In the second draft, after he has listened to the message from his brother Deak to find their father, Luke Starkiller visits his mother's grave. Before he leaves, he tells his twin [younger] brothers about their family history and heritage: Long before the Empire, a holy man called 'the Skywalker' became aware of a powerful energy field that he believed influenced the destiny of all living creatures: the Force of Others. The Force has two halves: Ashla, the good, and Bogan the paraforce of evil. He entrusted his secret to his twelve children, who passed on the knowledge to their children; they became known as 'The Jedi Bendu of the Ashla.' But as the Republic spread throughout the galaxy, the Great Senate became corrupt and the Jedi warriors tried to purge it. They were denounced as traitors and executed: The Empire was born. During one of his lessons a 'Padawan-Jedi' named Darklighter came to know the Bogan. He joined Sith pirates, and together they became the Emperor's bodyguards. They hunted the remaining Jedi warriors; with each death, the Bogan grew stronger. Luke tells his brothers that their father is one of the Jedi survivors, and he must bring him a small diamond called 'the Kiber Crystal," the only thing that can intensify the Ashla, although in the hands of the 'Sith' warriors it could intensify the Bogan as well."

I submit the above to show that Luke Starkiller's father is a wholly different character from Darklighter, the Padawan-Jedi who betrayed the Jedi and hunted them to extinction.

 

Exhibit F: From Page 86 of "TAS" by Bouzereau. "In the second draft ... [Luke puts the Kiber Crystal] in Deak's hands. Suddenly Deak transmits a thought to Luke, revealing that their father is on the fourth moon of Yavin."

This shows that Luke's father Annikin really is alive, and cannot be some deception by Deak, as the vision is transmitted by the Ashla-intensifying Kiber Crystal.

Exhibit G: From Page 89 of "TAS" by Bouzereau. "In the second draft ... after the briefing in the war room with General Dodonna we meet the Starkiller, Deak and Luke's father, a wizened old man with long silver hair and beard and gray-blue eyes. 'He is a large man shriveled by an incalculable number of years.' ... The Starkiller explains to Luke that Deak has the Bogan (the dark side) in him .... The Starkiller also tells his son that his training is not complete ...."

The above proves once and for all that Luke Starkiller's father is a wholly distinct character from Darth Vader, who lives contemporaneously with Vader, and therefore cannot be the man who later became Vader.

 

My post from the thread that this conversation originated in:

"The way I understand it from Lucas's quotes is that he had it planned for Luke's father to be some sort of dark mystery, and important to casting doubt on Luke's destiny.. The details weren't all there, but he knew that the father would be important, and not a simple freighter pilot... I think that idea coincided with his musings on what Vader's story could be, and how Vader would have come to know the Emperor, etc. and the two questions answered each other. From everything Lucas has said, the idea of Vader being Luke's father started to gel somewhere around the time that the story of ANH was reaching a finalized form.

"As for the first draft of Empire being so different from the final product.. That proves nothing about what Lucas did and didn't have planned, because a) he didn't tell Leigh everything, because he wanted to see what she would come up with on her own, and b) He has said repeatedly that her first script effort turned out to be nothing like what he wanted because it was early in the development of the film and he hadn't communicated all of his ideas to her well.. Basically, that draft wasn't what Lucas wanted at the time that it was written, so it can't actually be seen as a reflection of his intentions at the time."

I'd re-emphasize that using those drafts of the screenplay as evidence of Lucas's intentions holds no water, because he has said that those screenplays were nothing like he wanted or asked for, and even if they were, it's VERY plausible that he wouldn't tell the author about Vader's identity, because he wanted it kept secret, and it was to occur at the end of the film as a complete surprise. It also doesn't make much difference what the name Anakin was attached to in the early screenplays.. Originally a Dia-Noga was a Jedi term, and it ended up being used for the trash compactor monster... This doesn't prove when Lucas did or did not think of a trash compactor monster, though.

Anyway, whenever certain details occured to Lucas, we know that from very early on Luke's father was to be very important and to probably be central to the beckstory if it ever got filmed.. The decision to make that story one and the same with the Vader story doesn't change the core idea that goes to the origin of Luke's character, way back in '75 or '76. So give Lucas some credit, says I.

 

Vortigern, you raise many good points, and you present your argument persuasively.

There is one piece of evidence tha you have not yet commented upon, and I would like your input. In ANH, when Luke asks Ben, "How did my father die?", Ben shifts his eyes back and forth, as if he is VERY uncomfortable with Luke asking this question. As if he is LYING. When watching this, it is very easy to believe that Lucas told Sir Alec, "look VERY nervous while you are saying this next line, as if you are lying." This scene has always been strong evidence to me htat Lucas knew that Vader was Luke's father from the time of ANH.

I'd appreciate your comments.

Tom

 

I believe you're putting too much emphasis on whether Lucas knew from the beginning that Vader was Luke's father. It doesn't matter. It seems obvious from watching the first film that Lucas did not yet come up with the idea of Vader being Luke's father when he was making it (and certainly not that Leia was his sister). But so what? Some Lucas critics scream, "See? He was making it up as he went along!" My response is, duh, that is what writers do! When the first film became such a huge hit, Lucas knew he could make not just one sequel but a series (or saga). He also realized that Vader had become a classic icon and that Luke confronting the man who killed his father would be the focal point of the series. Making Vader his father is a brilliant move to add more drama to that confrontation. In making that one decision Lucas laid the groundwork for every film that followed, including the prequels.

As for Ben's reaction when he tells Luke about how his father died, don't read too much into SIr Alec's performance. Remember, Luke had alwasy been told that his father was a navigator on a starship who had died without much fanfare. Ben was simply breaking some pretty painful and shocking news to Luke -- his father was murdered. If Lucas had known at that point that Vader and Anikin were the same person, he would have tipped his hand a little more or had Ben been a little more vague with the dialogue.

But, again, it doesn't matter. My only complaint is that Lucas doesn't fess up to it. Frankly, I don't understand his reluctance. Ranther than trying to make people believe he had it all in his head from the beginning, he could simply say that after he made the first film he expanded upon what he had created to make an entire series. It doesn't make his any less talented in my book.

 

I think when writing any story you have many ideas from the start, some you use some you dont. Maybe he had the Anakin/Vader thing in the back of his mind, along with a bunch of other twists and turns. No one can say he didnt think of it from the start, because they have no proof, only Lucas knows for sure.

 

I'm sure Vortigern99 is getting to this but, another thing to point out is that Vader is killed off in multiple drafts of the script, both aboard the Death Star and in his tie fighter.

 

Vortigern99,

Great thread! I'm with you 100%!

Lady S.

 

Scudder:
"[Lucas] has said that those screenplays were nothing like he wanted or asked for, and even if they were, it's VERY plausible that he wouldn't tell the author about Vader's identity, because he wanted it kept secret, and it was to occur at the end of the film as a complete surprise."

When you say "those screenplays," I'm assuming you mean the first draft of ESB by Leigh Brackett, which is the only one she wrote before she died. In the second draft, handwritten by Lucas himself in April 1978, the idea of Vader being Luke's father first appears. But why keep it from the writer who has been hired to to turn in a screenplay? Secrecy cannot possibly an explanation: she's been hired to write it, why not tell her everything?

Kasdan says: "When we started to work on EMPIRE, George said Darth was Luke's father. I thought that was really cool. Writing their confrontation was difficult because the language had to be on the nose."

I believe Kasdan, and it has never been my contention that he came up with the "Vader=father" idea. That notion is clearly present in the handwritten second draft by George Lucas himself.

But why would Lucas would withhold this information from Brackett, but not from Kasdan? Why keep such a huge secret from the first writer of the film? Lucas has this to say:

"I didn't discuss the notion of Vader being Luke's father with Leigh Brackett. At that point I wasn't sure if I was going to include it in the script or reveal it in the third episode. I was going back and forth, and rather than confuse things for Leigh, I decided to keep the whole issue out of the mix. I figured I would add it later on."

OK, fair enough. Either you believe the guy, or you don't. To me it doesn't make sense, but there you go.

Thus, Brackett's ignorance of this salient plot point is not the best evidence after all. But we still have the early drafts of STAR WARS to show us that at no time prior to April 1978--almost a year after the release of "Episode IV"--did Lucas envision Darth Vader as Luke Skywalker's father. See Exhibits A-F, in the posts above.

 

Gentillian:

"In ANH, when Luke asks Ben, 'How did my father die?', Ben shifts his eyes back and forth, as if he is VERY uncomfortable with Luke asking this question. As if he is LYING. When watching this, it is very easy to believe that Lucas told Sir Alec, 'look VERY nervous while you are saying this next line, as if you are lying.' This scene has always been strong evidence to me htat Lucas knew that Vader was Luke's father from the time of ANH."

My contention is that it only SEEMS like Kenobi is lying, after the fact. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. If it's so obvious that Ben was lying in ANH, why was the world shocked when the revelation came out in ESB? Why did thousands of moviegoers worldwide refuse to believe Vader, insisting that HE was the real liar? Why did the question remain open for three years, with debates raging in the pages of Cinefantastique and other sci-fi rags?

Gentillian, I believe the truth is that Ben was simply uncomfortable telling Luke about his father's death, since it was his own pupil--Darth Vader, who turned to evil under Kenobi's tutelage--who murdered Skywalker. Ben feels somewhat responsible, and this would easily account for the shifty-eyed glance he gives before launching into the story.

 

"Making Vader his father is a brilliant move to add more drama to that confrontation. In making that one decision Lucas laid the groundwork for every film that followed, including the prequels."

DarthToeJam (great name!), I wholeheartedly agree. Please don't get the wrong idea, that I'm attempting to discredit Lucas or undermine his achievements as an artist, a creator, a storyteller, a filmmaker, or a genius. His work is brilliant and has shaped my life in ways that are probably indescribable. Yet as an artist/storyteller, I'm interested in the creative process, and I am fascinated by this mystery. That is where my interest lies, and that is the sole purpose of this thread: to determine when Darth Vader was conceived by Lucas as Luke's father. Based on the evidence presented above, my conclusion is that it was in April 1978, after Brackett had died but before Kasdan had been brought in for revsisions.

 

I seem to remember an interview where Lucas was talking about Luke, Leia and Vader.
He said something to the effect that when ESB came around he was not sure he wanted to go through with Vader being Luke's father. Then he said that was the original story, so they stuck with it.

BUT, I don't think by "Original story" he meant before ANH. I do think he did not really have it planned before ANH that Vader would be the father.

Also, Leia was not going to be Luke's sister. Lucas was going to introduce a new character as Luke's sister. It is possible that the idea of them being siblings came first and then the idea of a new character came second, but either way it sounds like GL was sort of playing it by ear as to what he really wanted to do.