Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing George Lucas's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- Before Hayden Christensen was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- The incredible score for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, the final installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Set three years into the Clone Wars, the film depicts the fall of Anakin Skywalker to the dark side of the Force and his transformation into the iconic villain Darth Vader. Seduced by Chancellor Palpatine's promises of power to save his wife Padmรฉ from death in childbirth, Anakin betrays the Jedi Order, participates in the massacre of younglings at the Jedi Temple, and is ultimately defeated and horrifically burned in a volcanic duel with his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi on the planet Mustafar.
Revenge of the Sith was the darkest and most critically praised film in the prequel trilogy, as it delivered the tragic narrative that fans had anticipated since the original trilogy revealed that Vader was once a Jedi Knight. The Mustafar duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan was the longest lightsaber battle in Star Wars history, choreographed over months by stunt coordinator Nick Gillard and performed almost entirely by Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor themselves. Ian McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine, gradually revealing his Sith identity with theatrical relish, was one of the saga's most deliciously villainous turns.
John Williams's score, particularly the haunting "Anakin's Betrayal" cue that accompanies the Jedi purge, was among the composer's most emotionally devastating work. The film earned $868 million worldwide and was the only prequel to receive generally positive reviews. Its final image โ Obi-Wan delivering the infant Luke Skywalker to the Lars homestead on Tatooine as twin suns set on the horizon โ provided a perfect emotional bridge to the original 1977 film.
