Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

"The long night has begun..."

- Novelization of the film

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the third episode of the Star Wars film series, but the sixth to be produced. It was released on Thursday, May 19, 2005, and premiered (out of competition) on the 2005 Cannes Festival May 15th. The film was generally positively received by critics, especially in comparison to the two previous prequels. It broke several box office records in its opening week, and went on to earn over US$800 million worldwide, making it one of the top grossing movies of 2005.

Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxywide battle against the Separatists. The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic reveals his true nature as a Sith Lord as he unveils a plot to rule the galaxy by transforming the Republic into a Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become Darth Sidious's new apprentice&mdash;Darth Vader. The Jedi are all but eliminated with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy is Anakin's own offspring – the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.

As the final film to be released in the series, it bridges the gap between the original trilogy and prequel trilogy of the Star Wars epic.

Battle over Coruscant
"This is where the fun begins!"

- Anakin Skywalker

It is three years (16:5:19 ) after the events of Attack of the Clones. The Galactic Republic is in the midst of an epic war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems under the leadership of the Sith Lord, Count Dooku. The Confederacy's cyborg military leader, General Grievous of the Separatist Droid Army has infiltrated Coruscant and captured Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate.

As the Droid Army attempts to escape Coruscant, a massive space battle erupts, into which race Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, leading a mission to rescue the Chancellor. The Jedi fight through the Separatist armada. In the process, Obi-Wan's interceptor is damaged by buzz droids and his astromech, R4-P17, is destroyed. Anakin attempts to shoot the droids off, though succeeds only in blasting apart the wing of his former Master's vessel. Obi-Wan tells Anakin to hold his fire as he's not helping. Anakin agrees it was a bad idea. Obi-Wan tells Anakin to go on and rescue the Chancellor, but Anakin says he won't leave without Obi-Wan. Anakin uses his fighter to knock some of the buzz droids off Obi-Wan's fighter, but one manages to crawl onto Anakin's ship although it is quickly disabled by R2-D2. As they approach Grievous's flagship, Obi-Wan reminds Anakin their shields are still up and so Anakin breaks formation and attacks a shield generator, knocking out the shields on the docking bay of the ship and the two Jedi crash land into the hangar of the Trade Federation Cruiser Invisible Hand, the Separatist flagship just as the protective doors close, sealing the atmosphere in the ship.

Anakin and Obi-Wan make their way through the flagship, fighting through an army of droids. Meanwhile, R2-D2 aids them from the hangar bay while simultaneously fending off a pair of super battle droids.

Rescuing the chancellor
"I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate. You have anger. But you don't use them."

- Dooku to Anakin Skywalker

The Jedi reach the General's Quarters, finding the captive Chancellor Palpatine. They are confronted by Dooku himself, and a lightsaber battle ensues. During the battle, Obi-Wan is rendered unconscious when Dooku uses the Force to hold him in mid-air before hurling him against a railing.

Anakin continues the battle, winning the duel by giving in to his anger, cutting off Dooku's hands and taking the Sith Lord's lightsaber. With Dooku on his knees, Anakin scissors the lightsabers to Dooku's neck, and, with encouragement from Palpatine, beheads the helpless Count.

An explosion occurs deep in the ship, brought on by the attack of the Venator-class Star Destroyer Guarlara, causing the Invisible Hand to begin an uncontrolled descent into Coruscant. Despite Palpatine's persuasions that he should leave him, Anakin carries the unconscious Obi-Wan on his back, and maneuvers through the ship with the Chancellor. Obi-Wan later regains consciousness.

Confronting Grievous
"That wasn't much of a rescue."

- General Grievous to Obi-Wan Kenobi

After Grievous has the bridge crew regain control of his flagship by firing the emergency booster engines, he makes certain the two Jedi and their ward are captured. Having fallen foul of a ray shield trap, the three are brought to the bridge under custody, but R2 successfully creates a distraction, allowing the Jedi to retrieve their lightsabers and break free.

Grievous then sends his powerful IG-100 MagnaGuards after the Jedi. Obi-Wan quickly beheads IG-101 with his blade, but the droid continues the fight, forcing Obi-Wan to slice the warrior apart before it deactivates. Anakin finishes off IG-102 and destroys the battle droids attempting to drag Palpatine from the bridge. The Jedi close in on Grievous, though the wily General smashes a window with his fallen guard's electrostaff, and is swept outside. Using a tow cable, Grievous latches himself to the ship and heads for the escape pods. Launching all other escape capsules, Grievous speeds for the safety of a Trade Federation Lucrehulk-class battleship. Once again, the flagship begins to descend in a free-fall into Coruscant, but Anakin takes the controls and pilots the ship into a hard landing, aided by emergency firespeeders, on one of Coruscant's industrial landing platforms.

Happy reunions
"Another happy landing."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

On Coruscant, Anakin is praised for his heroics. He meets secretly with Padmé Amidala, and they share a kiss in the shadows of the Republic Executive Building, keeping their love secret. She reveals to him that she is pregnant with their child. Later, Anakin awakens in a panic, covered in sweat. He reveals to Padmé that he has been dreaming about her dying in childbirth, and he vows not to let this dream come true.

Chancellor Palpatine requests Anakin's presence, and they meet in the Chancellor's office. The Senate has granted the Chancellor further emergency powers, giving him direct control of the Jedi High Council. Palpatine confides in Anakin his fear, distrust, and contempt of the Masters. He appoints Anakin to be his personal representative on the Council.

The High Council begrudgingly accepts Anakin's appointment, but does not grant him the rank of Master. Anakin reacts angrily at this perceived slight. Ignoring his outburst, the Council goes on to discuss matters concerning the war. It is decided that Anakin will be assigned to protect the Chancellor, and Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. Anakin is angry and disappointed.

Obi-Wan later tells Anakin that the Council wants Anakin to report on all the Chancellor's dealings, essentially spying on him. Anakin is confused and upset, feeling torn between two friends and loyalties. Obi-Wan himself is unhappy with the situation.

The tragedy of Darth Plagueis
"Is it possible to learn this power?" "Not from a Jedi."

- Anakin Skywalker and Palpatine

At the Galaxies Opera House in the Uscru District, Anakin joins Palpatine in watching the Mon Calamari Ballet performing Squid Lake. Palpatine tells Anakin that their Clone Intelligence units have located General Grievous and that he's hiding in the Utapau system. Anakin is excited that they may finally be able to capture Grievous and end the war. Palpatine tells Anakin that he'd question the competence of the Jedi Council if they don't send him for the mission. Then wanting Anakin to sit down, he tells his aides with him in the box to leave them. With only Palpatine and Anakin (and two red guards at the door) left in the box, Palpatine continues to seduce Anakin to the dark side, making him mistrust the Jedi by telling him that the Order wishes to overthrow the Republic and that if he has suspected it, Anakin must surely have sensed it. Anakin confirms that the Jedi don't trust him, a fact that Palpatine expands to include the Senate, the Republic and democracy as a whole. Anakin tells Palpatine that his trust in the Jedi has been shaken and Palpatine deduces that the Council wants Anakin to spy on him and that it makes Anakin feel dishonest. Palpatine takes Anakin back to some of the early political lessons Palpatine tried to teach him, about how all those who gain power are afraid to lose it and that includes the Jedi. But Anakin tries to defend the Jedi by saying they use their powers for good. But according to Palpatine good is only a point of view, noting that in almost every conceivable manner, including a quest for greater power, the Sith and the Jedi are exactly alike. Anakin compares them by saying that the Sith depend on their passions for their strength and they only think of themselves whereas the Jedi are selfless, thinking only of others. After a brief pause in their conversation, Palpatine asks if Anakin has ever heard the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise and Anakin says he hasn't. This does not surprise Palpatine as he calls it a story the Jedi wouldn't tell him. Palpatine describes Darth Plagueis as a Dark Lord of the Sith who was so powerful and wise that he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life, having such power and knowledge of the dark side that he could use it to save people he cared about from death, a statement which gets Anakin's attention (which was Palpatine's desire) and Palpatine describes the dark side of the Force as a pathway to many abilities considered by some to be unnatural. When Anakin asks what happened to Darth Plagueis, Palpatine finishes the story by telling Anakin that Plagueis became so powerful that all he feared was losing his power which he eventually did. Unfortunately for Plagueis, he taught his apprentice all he knew and then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. (The Sith apprentice in the story, as implied by the film and explicitly stated in various Expanded Universe sources, is Palpatine himself). Palpatine notes the irony of how Plagueis could keep others from dying, but not himself. When Anakin asks if it is possible to learn the power to stop death, Palpatine simply replies, "Not from a Jedi," further alienating Anakin from the Jedi Order.

"A master is needed with more experience." "I concur. Master Kenobi should go."

- Yoda and Ki-Adi-Mundi

Later, in a meeting with the Jedi Council, Anakin relays the information about Grievous, explaining that a partial message was intercepted in a diplomatic packet from the Chairman of Utapau. Yoda says they should act quickly and decisively on this information. When Anakin expresses his interest in going at Palpatine's request, Mace Windu harshly tells him that the Council will decide who goes and not the Chancellor. Yoda believes that a Master with more experience is needed to confront, and defeat, Grievous. Ki-Adi-Mundi agrees and nominates Obi-Wan to go. With the nomination agreed on, the Council adjourns and Obi-Wan prepares to go to Utapau.

Obi-Wan vs. Grievous
"Army or not, you must realize&hellip; you are doomed!" "Oh, I don't think so."

- Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi

Anakin walks Obi-Wan to his star destroyer before he leaves. Anakin still believes he'd be needed on Utapau, and while Obi-Wan agrees, he also notes it might just be a wild Bantha chase. Anakin stops Obi-Wan and tells him that he knows he's disappointed Obi-Wan and that he's not been acting very grateful for the training he received. Anakin tells him he's just been so frustrated with the Council lately, but that he does apologize. Obi-Wan calls Anakin strong and wise and tells Anakin he's very proud of him and while Obi-Wan trained him since Anakin was a boy, he calls Anakin a far greater Jedi than Obi-Wan could hope to be. But Obi-Wan encourages Anakin to be patient and that it won't be long before the Council makes Anakin a Jedi Master. The two bid each other farewell and Obi-Wan leaves for Utapau. Little do they know that this is the last time they'll see each other as fellow Jedi and friends...

Obi-Wan arrives in Pau City on Utapau, and begins his search for General Grievous, riding a varactyl named Boga. He finds Grievous on the Tenth Level, and the two engage in personal combat, with Grievous using four lightsabers at once. Obi-Wan quickly cuts off two of the General's hands, helping to even out the odds a little. During the battle, the Third Systems Army arrives under the command of CC-2224 (Cody). Obi-Wan manages to catch Grievous off guard and uses the Force to push the fiendish droid general into the ceiling. Grievous drops his remaining two lightsabers and attempts to flee on his wheel bike, while Obi-Wan pursues on Boga. During the chase, Obi-Wan drops his lightsaber, which Commander Cody happens to find during the fighting.

On Coruscant, Anakin tells Palpatine that General Grievous has been found on Utapau. Anakin insists he should be on Utapau as well. Their conversation shifts to Palpatine's knowledge of the Force, and it is revealed that he is the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. Upon realizing this, Anakin ignites his lightsaber and threatens to kill Palpatine, but then decides to expose him to the Jedi Council. He is still concerned with saving his wife, and believes only Palpatine's knowledge, learned from the late Darth Plagueis, will ensure this.

Obi-Wan continues to chase General Grievous on Utapau. He catches up with the General, and jumps onto his wheel bike. Using Grievous's electrostaff, he manages to destabilize the speeder, and it goes into a spin. Both Obi-Wan and Grievous are thrown off as the speeder topples over the edge of Grievous's secret landing platform. Grievous then draws his Grievance Striker blaster, though it is knocked from his hand by Obi-Wan, now wielding the electrostaff. He knocks Grievous down, and a brawl ensues, during which Kenobi tears open the General's stomach plates, revealing his living organs. Enraged, Grievous picks up the helpless Jedi and throws him over the edge. Obi-Wan manages to hang on, and uses the Force to retrieve the General's blaster, and fires at Grievous's organs. He hits, and they burst into flames. Grievous falls to the floor, dead.

Sidious Revealed
"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you're under arrest, Chancellor." "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"

- Mace Windu and Palpatine

Anakin returns to the Jedi Temple and approaches Mace Windu, who tells Anakin that they have just been informed that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous and so they are going to go to the Senate to ensure that Chancellor Palpatine gives back his emergency powers. But Anakin stops Windu and tells him that Palpatine won't give up his power. Anakin tells Mace that he's learned a terrible truth and that he thinks that Palpatine is a Sith Lord, a statement which shocks Mace and stops him dead in his tracks. Anakin confirms what he just said and says he believes Palpatine is the one they have been looking for. When Mace asks how Anakin knows this, he tells Mace that Palpatine knows the ways of the Force and has been trained to use the dark side and that he is absolutely sure. Mace says their worst fears have now been realized and that if the Jedi Order is to survive, they must move quickly. Anakin warns Windu that Palpatine is very powerful and they'll need his help to arrest Palpatine, but Windu urges him to stay out of it as he senses much fear in Anakin and it could cloud his judgment. Mace says that if what Anakin says is true then Anakin will have gained his trust but for now, he wants Anakin to wait in the Council Chambers till he returns. Masters Windu, Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin board a gunship and head to Palpatine's office.

Sitting in the Council Chambers, remembering Palpatine's promise of stopping death and the dreams of Padmé dying in childbirth, Anakin ruminates over his decision. Finally, he leaves and rushes after the four Jedi.

Mace Windu and the three other Jedi Masters arrive at Chancellor Palpatine's office and declare their intent to have the Chancellor arrested in the name of the Republic. Palpatine screams in rage, pulling a lightsaber out of his sleeve and lunging towards the Jedi. Agen Kolar is distracted and gets stabbed through his stomach. Almost immediately Palpatine turns and slices Saesee Tiin's torso, and a few seconds later, with more effort from Sidious, followed by Kit Fisto, killed by a slash across the gut. Only Mace Windu remains, alone against the Dark Lord.

Rise, Lord Vader
"The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth&hellip; Vader."

- Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker

Palpatine and Mace continue the fight, leading out of the Chancellor's antechamber and into the office proper. Meanwhile, Anakin arrives at the scene just as Windu disarms Palpatine, both combatants balancing on the edge of the large window shattered during the duel. As Mace threatens Palpatine, the Sith unleashes a torrent of Force lightning. However, Mace deflects it with his blade, casting much of the energy back into Palpatine's body. He becomes disfigured and ends his assault, claiming he is too weak to fight. As Mace is deciding to make the choice to kill Palpatine, Anakin enters, and claims Palpatine must stand trial. Anakin is finally forced to choose between the Jedi Order or Padmé. As Mace is about to deliver the killing blow, Anakin makes his choice, intervenes and cuts off Mace's hand. Palpatine, cackling with glee, blasts the shocked Mace out of the window, and to his death hundreds of stories below.

Anakin is horrified by his actions, yet he knows now there is no turning back. He pledges allegiance to Palpatine, in return for the Dark Lord's power. Palpatine takes Anakin as his Sith apprentice, bestowing upon him the Sith name Darth Vader. Palpatine then gives Vader his first assignment: to launch an assault on the Jedi Temple, ensuring the so-called Jedi Rebellion is squashed.

Vader invades the Temple at the head of the 501st Legion. Vader brutally makes his way through the Temple, striking down every Jedi that crosses his path, including swordsmaster Cin Drallig and even a clan of Younglings hiding out in the Council Chamber.

Order 66
"It will be done, My Lord."

- Commander Gree to Palpatine

Meanwhile, from his office, Palpatine broadcasts a command to the many clone trooper commanders spread throughout the galaxy; to execute Order 66, an action that effectively sets into motion the Great Jedi Purge and the Galactic Civil War.

Across the galaxy, clone troopers turn against their Jedi Generals. As this happens, Yoda feels everyone who is dying, literally. On Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi is flung off a cliff by a blast from an All Terrain Tactical Enforcer but Boga is killed; on Mygeeto, Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi is gunned down by CC-1138 and the Galactic Marines; on the lush, tropical planet of Felucia, Jedi Knight Aayla Secura is slain by CC-5052 and his 327th Star Corps; on Cato Neimoidia, Plo Koon's Jedi starfighter is shot down upon by ARC-170 starfighters, sending it smashing into a clone staging area; and on Saleucami, Stass Allie's 74-Z speeder bike is destroyed by CC-8826 and his wingman, riding BARC speeders. On Kashyyyk, Yoda is overlooking the ongoing battle as Commander Gree receives the order. He and his lieutenant attempt to sneak up to Yoda, but the aged Master senses their deceit and beheads both clones with a slash of his lightsaber.

Senator Bail Organa arrives at the flaming Temple to witness the slaughter of a young Padawan named Zett Jukassa, by a squad of troopers led by Commander Appo. Organa, horrified, flees the scene and departs Coruscant in Tantive IV, in an attempt to make contact with any surviving Jedi.

Both Obi-Wan and Yoda survive Order 66, and are picked up by Senator Organa, having evaded pursuit. The Jedi decide to return to Coruscant to recalibrate the Jedi beacon calling for all Jedi to return to Coruscant, and into Palpatine's trap. Instead, Kenobi hopes to warn any surviving Jedi to stay away from the Temple.

Following the raid on the Jedi Temple, Vader returns to Padmé at the Senate Apartment Complex, from where the smoke rising from the wrecked Temple can be seen. He tells her the Jedi have tried to take over the Republic, and there are traitors in the Senate. He asks for her loyalty to the Chancellor, then tells her that he will go to the Mustafar system, where the remaining Separatists have gathered, to end the war.

Birth of the Empire
"So this is how liberty dies – with thunderous applause."

- Padmé Amidala, on the formation of the Galactic Empire

On Mustafar, Vader is greeted by Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray, but quickly begins his slaughter of the Separatist Council, trapping them in their own fortified bunker. He leaves Gunray until last, slicing the Neimoidian across the chest even as he pleads for his life. It is at this point that the first physical manifestation of the dark side in Vader begins to show itself, as his irises turn a pallid yellow, the rest of his eye taking on a bright crimson hue.

The Senate holds a special session where Palpatine tells them of the "plot of the Jedi to overthrow the Senate," but that it was foiled. Amidst thunderous applause, he informs the Senate that the surviving Jedi will be hunted down and defeated. He then states that in order to insure the security and continued stability that the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, which Palpatine describes as creating a safe and secure society. As the majority of the Senate screams their approval, Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa, who are shocked at the result, simply look around and Padmé can only remark "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause."

In the meantime, Obi-Wan and Yoda go to the Jedi Temple, slaying clone troopers and walking in disbelief through the carnage. They recalibrate the Temple's signal to warn all Jedi to keep away from the Temple. At the Temple's control center, Obi-Wan looks into the security recordings. In disbelief, he watches Vader's slaughter of the Jedi. Yoda says they have no choice but to destroy the Sith; including Vader. Obi-Wan begs Yoda to let him take the Emperor; however, Yoda refuses, stating that Obi-Wan cannot win that fight; that Obi-Wan must instead fight his former apprentice; his "brother".

Obi-Wan, seeking information on Anakin's whereabouts, arrives at Padmé's apartment. He meets Padmé and tells her that Anakin has turned to the dark side and killed the Younglings in the Jedi Temple. Despite her anguish, Padmé will not reveal where her husband has gone. Obi-Wan leaves, though not before expressing his regret to Padmé, whom he knows is carrying Anakin's child.

Later, Padmé leaves Coruscant in her star skiff, departing for Mustafar to find her husband, and the truth. Unknown to her, Obi-Wan secretly boards the ship just before it takes off.

Battle of the heroes
"You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!" "I hate you!" "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader

The star skiff lands on Mustafar, and Padmé is greeted by a smiling Vader. Padmé reveals her conversation with Obi-Wan. When she begs him to run away with her to raise their child in peace, though Vader tells Padmé that he has brought peace to the Republic, and he can overthrow Palpatine so the two of them can rule the galaxy together. Backing away in horror and sorrow, Padmé tells him he is breaking her heart and he is going down a path she cannot follow.

Vader sees Obi-Wan emerge from the star skiff. Enraged, he Force chokes his wife, thinking she brought his former Master to kill him. She loses consciousness, and Vader releases his grip on her, effectively defeating her. Obi-Wan and Vader break out into a ferocious duel.

In the Chancellor's holding office within the Senate Building, Yoda confronts Darth Sidious. They engage in an intense battle using their Force abilities. The duel brings them to the Grand Convocation Chamber, the heart of the Senate. Sidious hurls Senate pods at Yoda, and the effort to avoid them exhausts the Jedi Master. Sidious then blasts Yoda with Force Lightning, but with the last of his strength the Jedi master repels it enough to send both himself and Sidious over the pod's edge. Palpatine was able to hold on to a senate pod, while Yoda fell to the senate floor leaving only his cloak. With Bail Organa's help, Yoda flees the Senate Building, intending to go into exile.

The epic duel between Obi-Wan and Vader leads them through the Separatist stronghold on Mustafar. A missed slash from Vader's lightsaber damages a computer console, resulting in the deactivation of the bunker's shields. The duel continues as the entire facility is bombarded by lava, and both combatants ride down a lava river atop a collection arm severed from the main structure. Kenobi and Vader leap from the arm and continue their intense duel atop floating platforms.

Though on the defensive throughout the fight, Obi-Wan eventually gains the high ground by leaping to the safety of a black sand bank, and in doing so, the upper-hand. Obi-Wan warns Vader that he now holds an unassailable position, but Vader, enraged and bloodthirsty, shouts, "You underestimate my power!", and foolishly leaps up to meet his old Master. In the blink of an eye, Obi-Wan performs a lightning-fast mou kei maneuver, severing Vader's left arm and both of his legs at the knees. Vader tumbles down the embankment and rolls to a stop at the edge of the river of lava. Vader's robes ignite from contact with the lava, and his entire remaining body is set aflame, charring and horribly disfiguring him.

As Obi-Wan watches in despair, Vader, now only being kept alive by his hate, tries in vain to pull his crippled, smoking body up the embankment with his remaining mechanical hand. Obi-Wan is overcome with disgust and sadness at the pitiful fate of "The Chosen One", and is reduced nearly to tears. He angrily shouts that Anakin has failed in his life and destiny, and has hurt all those who loved him, including Obi-Wan himself. Vader, now completely helpless and consumed by his dark-side emotions, can only scream in pain and powerless rage, cursing his former friend and Master. Obi-Wan stares for a moment at the badly charred heap that was once was a powerful Jedi, then takes Anakin's lightsaber and turns away, unable to watch his former best friend die. He then leaves with the badly injured Padmé and her droids on the star skiff.

Birth and rebirth
"Obi-Wan, there is good in him. I know.. there is&hellip; still&hellip;"

- Padmé Amidala to Obi-Wan Kenobi as her final words.

Darth Sidious arrives at Mustafar with a group of shock troopers led by Commander Thire. They rescue Darth Vader from the edge of death using a stasis-pod and Sith medicines held in Sidious's shuttle.

On the isolated asteroid Polis Massa, Yoda meditates and hears the spirit voice of Qui-Gon Jinn. The voice tells him that there is a way to merge with the Force and retain consciousness after death. In order to learn this power, Yoda declares himself an apprentice to the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn.

Obi-Wan arrives at Polis Massa with Padmé, who is given emergency medical treatment by the facility's droids. She is dying, having lost the will to live. The medical droids work to save her babies&mdash;she has twins, much to the surprise of Bail Organa, Obi-Wan, and Yoda. A boy and a girl are born. In her last few dying breaths, Padmé gives them the names "Luke" and "Leia."

As his children are born, Vader is placed into his life-support suit. At the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center on Coruscant, Vader is given new legs, a new arm, mechanized lungs, and other "replacement parts". He is dressed in black armor, a face mask is sealed tightly, and his helmet is fitted. Darth Vader begins to breathe through his mask. Most, if not the entire surgery is carried out in true dark-side form, with Vader wide-awake and apparently unanesthesized, leaving him moaning, screaming, and writhing in excruciating agony.

With Padmé's final breath, she maintains that there is still good in Anakin. She dies still believing in the man she once loved, before his violent acts against the Jedi Order and the Separatist Council.

Vader is raised to a standing position at the EmPal SuRecon Center, his surgery complete. Vader begins to speak through his voice amplifier to Darth Sidious, asking about Padmé. Darth Sidious, seeking to cut Vader's last tie to his old life and permanently cement the Dark Side in his heart, lies to Vader, telling him that he accidentally killed his wife while Force Choking her on the landing dock. His last shred of hope and love now gone, Vader cries "Nooo!", and unleashes a powerful involuntary Force Scream of rage, shame, and grief, shattering the droids and equipment.

A New Hope
"Hidden, safe, the children must be kept."

- Yoda

Onboard Tantive IV, docked at Naboo, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa sit at a conference table. They agree to keep Padmé appearing pregnant, thus faking the children's deaths. For their own safety, Luke and Leia will be split up in hopes that the Sith would not sense their presence. Leia will be adopted by Bail Organa and Luke would be sent to his father's step family on Tatooine. Obi-Wan and Yoda will watch and wait until the time is ready for the Skywalker children to do their part. Yoda tells Obi-Wan to study the technique Qui-Gon learned to achieve immortality.

Bail Organa leaves R2-D2 and C-3PO in the care of Captain Raymus Antilles of the Tantive IV. He orders a memory wipe of the talkative protocol droid.

On Naboo, Padmé's funeral takes place in a solemn ceremony in Theed. Her hands clasp the japor snippet given to her by Anakin following his departure from Tatooine some thirteen years previous. To protect her children, her body appears to still be pregnant.

Yoda heads to Dagobah to begin his self-imposed exile, which he partly owes as penance for his failure to defeat Sidious.

On the bridge of a gray-hulled Venator-class Star Destroyer, Vader, the Emperor, and Governor Wilhuff Tarkin oversee the construction of a certain moon-sized battle station.

On Alderaan, the infant Leia is brought by Bail Organa to his wife, Queen Breha.

On Tatooine, Obi-Wan brings Luke Skywalker to his new family: his uncle, Owen, and his aunt, Beru. Obi-Wan leaves on an eopie, heading to his exile in the Jundland Wastes. Owen and Beru, holding the infant Luke, look out to the horizon and watch the setting of Tatooine's twin suns.

Cast

 * Obi-Wan Kenobi .... Ewan McGregor
 * Padmé Amidala .... Natalie Portman
 * Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader .... Hayden Christensen
 * Supreme Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious .... Ian McDiarmid
 * Mace Windu .... Samuel L. Jackson
 * Senator Bail Organa .... Jimmy Smits
 * Yoda .... Frank Oz
 * C-3PO .... Anthony Daniels
 * Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus .... Christopher Lee
 * Queen Apailana .... Keisha Castle-Hughes
 * Ki-Adi-Mundi/Nute Gunray .... Silas Carson
 * Captain Typho .... Jay Laga'aia
 * Tion Medon .... Bruce Spence
 * Governor Tarkin .... Wayne Pygram
 * Commander Cody .... Temuera Morrison
 * Mas Amedda .... David Bowers
 * Sio Bibble .... Oliver Ford Davies
 * Jar Jar Binks .... Ahmed Best
 * Captain Antilles .... Rohan Nichol
 * Captain Colton .... Jeremy Bulloch
 * Terr Taneel .... Amanda Lucas
 * R2-D2 .... Kenny Baker
 * Plo Koon .... Matt Sloan
 * Chewbacca ....Peter Mayhew
 * Breha Organa .... Rebecca Jackson Mendoza
 * Luminara Unduli .... Fay David (uncredited)
 * Owen Lars .... Joel Edgerton
 * Beru Lars .... Bonnie Maree Piesse
 * Zett Jukassa .... Jett Lucas
 * Agen Kolar .... Tux Akindoyeni
 * Senator Orn Free Taa .... Matt Rowan
 * Saesee Tiin .... Kenji Oates
 * Kit Fisto .... Ben Cooke (uncredited)
 * Aayla Secura .... Amy Allen
 * Clone Trooper .... Bodie Taylor
 * Ruwee Naberrie .... Graeme Blundell
 * Jobal Naberrie .... Trisha Noble
 * Sola Naberrie .... Claudia Karvan
 * Ryoo Naberrie .... Keria Wingate
 * Pooja Naberrie .... Hayley Mooy
 * Sly Moore .... Sandy Finlay
 * Chi Eekway .... Katie Lucas
 * Mon Mothma .... Genevieve O'Reilly
 * Fang Zar .... Warren Owens
 * Malé-Dee .... Kee Chan
 * Nee Alavar .... Rena Owen
 * Giddean Danu .... Christopher Kirby
 * General Grievous ....Matthew Wood (voice)
 * Moteé .... Kristy Wright
 * Whie .... Coinneach Alexander
 * Cin Drallig .... Nick Gillard (uncredited)
 * Bene .... Mousy McCallum
 * Cellheim Anujo .... T.V. Moore & Dean Mitchell (uncredited)
 * Tarfful .... Michael Kingma
 * Bana Breemu .... Bai Ling
 * Mas Amedda .... Jerome Blake
 * Bultar Swan .... Mimi Daraphet
 * Meena Tills .... Paul Davies
 * Ellé .... Chantal Freer
 * Janu Godalhi .... Pablo Hidalgo
 * Darth Vader .... James Earl Jones (voice) (uncredited)
 * Barriss Offee .... Nalini Krishan
 * Fema Baab .... Olive Levi
 * Papanoida .... George Lucas
 * Po Nudo .... Paul Nicholson
 * Stass Allie .... Lily Nyamwasa
 * Tundra Dowmeia .... Jeremy Prestoe
 * Gilgamour .... Christopher Rodriguez
 * Shaak Ti .... Orli Shoshan
 * Ask Aak .... Paul Spence
 * Rune Haako .... Sandy Thompson
 * Lushros Dofine and Rute Gunnay .... Colin Ware
 * Passel Argente .... Marty Wetherill
 * Luke Skywalker .... Aidan Barton
 * Leia Organa .... Aidan Barton

George Lucas makes a cameo appearance at the Galaxies Opera House. He is the blue faced being, named Baron Papanoida, seen just outside Palpatine's private box. It marks Lucas's first and only appearance in any of the Star Wars films. His three children also play cameos: Jett as a young Jedi-in-training called Zett Jukassa at the Jedi Temple, his daughter Amanda as a senator called Terr Taneel, and Katie as blue-skinned alien senator called Chi Eekway, visible when Palpatine arrives at the Senate after being saved by the Jedi.

Much of the crew make cameos in the film, for example Nick Gillard, the stunt coordinator, plays a character named Cin Drallig (his name spelled backwards, omitting the k). Rick McCallum's daughter Mousy plays one of the Padawans killed by Darth Vader, named Bene. Visual effects supervisor John Knoll played the Coruscant fire fighter pilot. When Palpatine, Anakin, and Obi-Wan are falling down the elevator shaft in the beginning of the movie, it is John Knoll's hand that grabs the wire, not Hayden Christensen's. Also in the movie was Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in the Original Trilogy), who played Captain Jeremoch Colton, the pilot of the Rebel Blockade Runner Tantive IV. This was a speaking role. A number of Lucasfilm and ILM employees also made cameo appearances on the balconies of the Galaxies Opera House, while on the steps Anthony Daniels reprised his Episode II cameo as Dannl Faytonni.

Characters

 * 7EX
 * Ask Aak
 * Nee Alavar
 * Stass Allie
 * Mas Amedda
 * Padmé Amidala
 * Veedaaz Awmetth
 * Cellheim Anujo
 * Apailana
 * Koffi Arana
 * Fema Baab
 * Sors Bandeam
 * Bene
 * Jar Jar Binks
 * Boga
 * Ulfor Bombaasa
 * Brookish Boon
 * Braata
 * Bana Breemu
 * C-3PO
 * Tanner Cadaman
 * CC-1004 (Gree)
 * CC-1119 (Appo)
 * CC-2224 (Cody)
 * CC-4477 (Thire)
 * CC-5052 (Bly)
 * CC-8826 (Neyo)
 * Chewbacca
 * Olana Chion
 * Jeremoch Colton
 * Sweitt Concorkill
 * Neb Creip
 * CT-0000/1010 (Fox)
 * CT-307
 * CT-3423
 * CT-55/11-9009
 * CT-57/11-9048
 * Giddean Danu
 * Led Daragon
 * Davijaan
 * Opula Deget
 * Lushros Dofine
 * Dooku
 * Tundra Dowmeia
 * Ivor Drake
 * Cin Drallig
 * Pont Edisser
 * Chi Eekway
 * Ellé
 * Ejai
 * Eeusu Estornii
 * Eugroothwa
 * Lampay Fay
 * Faya
 * Dannl Faytonni
 * Kit Fisto
 * FX-6
 * G21
 * Janu Godalhi
 * Grakchawwaa
 * Ottegru Grey
 * Grievous
 * Guanta
 * Rute Gunnay
 * Nute Gunray
 * Rune Haako
 * Son Halliikeenovich
 * San Hill
 * IG-101
 * IG-102
 * Zyn Javeb
 * Greeata Jendowanian
 * Kagi
 * Coleman Kcaj
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Ki-Adi-Mundi
 * Agen Kolar
 * Plo Koon
 * Onara Kuat
 * Lachichuk
 * Shu Mai
 * Ma'kis'shaalas
 * Malé-Dee
 * Whie Malreaux
 * Koyi Mateil
 * Tion Medon
 * Merumeru
 * Corla Metonae
 * Cat Miin
 * Sly Moore
 * Moteé
 * Mon Mothma
 * Barrow Oicunn
 * Bail Organa
 * Breha Organa
 * Leia Organa
 * Palpatine
 * N. Papanoida
 * Darth Plagueis
 * Poggle the Lesser
 * Shadday Potkin
 * Tannon Praji
 * R2-D2
 * R4-G9
 * R4-P17
 * R4-P44
 * R77
 * Delva Racine
 * Sheltay Retrac
 * Horox Ryyder
 * Salporin
 * Rystáll Sant
 * Osh Scal
 * Aayla Secura
 * Silya Shessaun
 * Gem Sirrom
 * Sistros
 * Anakin Skywalker
 * Luke Skywalker
 * Orn Free Taa
 * Wat Tambor
 * Terr Taneel
 * Tarfful
 * Duke Teta
 * Shaak Ti
 * Saesee Tiin
 * Meena Tills
 * Romeo Treblanc
 * Waks Trode
 * Maneeli Tuun
 * Jikesh Valia
 * Sateen Vestwe
 * Quinlan Vos
 * Mace Windu
 * Dznori Xam
 * Selif Xam
 * Yanjon
 * Solipo Yeb
 * Yoda
 * Fang Zar
 * Zittaasabba

Creatures

 * Bantha
 * Buzzard
 * Can-cell
 * Dactillion
 * Dagobah dwarf can-cell
 * Dagobah ground beetle
 * Eopie
 * Felucian bird
 * Felucian ground beetle
 * Fire-eyed pillbug
 * Ginntho
 * Gualaar
 * Mustafar lava flea
 * Nos monster
 * Varactyl

Droid models

 * 2-1B surgical droid
 * 3PO-series protocol droid
 * BD-3000 luxury droid
 * B1 battle droid
 * B2 super battle droid
 * Chroon-Tan B-Machine
 * CLL-M2 ordnance lifter
 * DD-13 medical assistant droid
 * Droid tri-fighter
 * DSD1 dwarf spider droid
 * FA-4 pilot droid
 * FA-5 valet droid
 * FX-6 medical assistant droid
 * GH-7 medical droid
 * HL-444 hover loader
 * Heavy Missile Platform
 * IG-100 MagnaGuard
 * IW-37 pincer loader
 * LM-432 crab droid
 * MSE-4 mouse droid
 * Mustafar panning droid
 * NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer
 * Octuptarra combat tri-droid
 * OG-9 homing spider droid
 * OOM command battle droid
 * OOM pilot battle droid
 * OOM security battle droid
 * Pistoeka sabotage droid
 * Prowler 1000 exploration droid
 * Q7-series astromech droid
 * Q-series Droideka
 * R2-series astromech droid
 * R4-series astromech droid
 * R4-P-series astromech droid
 * SRT autonomous short-range transport
 * Tri-droid
 * Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droid, Mark I

Events

 * Clone Wars
 * Battle of Coruscant
 * Battle of Kashyyyk
 * Outer Rim Sieges
 * Battle of Boz Pity
 * Battle of Felucia
 * Battle of Mygeeto
 * Battle of Utapau
 * Siege of Saleucami
 * First Battle of Cato Neimoidia
 * Mission to Mustafar
 * Mission to Utapau
 * Second Battle of Cato Neimoidia
 * Great Jedi Purge
 * Duel on Mustafar
 * Duel in the Senate
 * Order 66
 * Operation: Knightfall

Languages

 * Binary
 * Galactic Basic Standard
 * Shyriiwook

Locations

 * Colonies
 * Cato Neimoidia
 * Core Worlds
 * Alderaan Sector
 * Alderaan system
 * Alderaan
 * Aldera
 * Aldera Royal Palace
 * Coruscant Sector
 * Coruscant system
 * Coruscant
 * Galactic City
 * Senate District
 * Ambassadorial Sector
 * 500 Republica
 * Senate Apartment Complex
 * Legislative Borough
 * Senate Plaza
 * Senate Building
 * Temple Precinct
 * Jedi Temple
 * Uscru Entertainment District
 * Galaxies Opera House
 * Mid Rim
 * Boz Pity
 * Mytaranor Sector
 * Kashyyyk system
 * Kashyyyk
 * Wawaatt Archipelago
 * Kachirho
 * Chommell Sector
 * Naboo system
 * Naboo
 * Theed
 * Outer Rim Territories
 * Felucia system
 * Felucia
 * Mustafar system
 * Jestefad
 * Mustafar
 * Fralideja
 * Klegger Corp Mining Facility
 * Separatist Council Conference Room
 * Separatist Council War Room
 * Mygeeto system
 * Mygeeto
 * Saleucami system
 * Saleucami
 * Sluis Sector
 * Dagobah system
 * Dagobah
 * Arkanis Sector
 * Tatoo system
 * Tatooine
 * Lars' homestead
 * Tarabba Sector
 * Utapau system
 * Utapau
 * Pau City
 * Tenth Level
 * Utapau 7
 * Wild Space
 * Subterrel Sector
 * Polis Massa
 * Polis Massa Base
 * Polis Massan medical facility

Organizations and titles

 * 212th Attack Battalion
 * 41st Elite Legion
 * 501st Legion
 * 91st Reconnaissance Corps
 * Baron
 * Clone trooper
 * Clone trooper commander
 * Clone trooper pilot
 * Commerce Guild
 * Confederacy of Independent Systems
 * Corporate Alliance
 * Coruscant Rescue Ops
 * Count
 * Dark Lord of the Sith
 * Duke
 * Fire Team Three
 * Galactic Empire
 * Galactic Republic
 * Galactic Senate
 * Grand Army of the Republic
 * Grand Master
 * Jedi
 * Jedi High Council
 * Jedi Knight
 * Jedi Master
 * Jedi Order
 * Imperial Navy
 * Open Circle Fleet
 * Order of the Sith Lords
 * Red Guard
 * Republic Navy
 * Senate Guard
 * Separatist Council
 * Separatist Droid Army
 * Separatist Navy
 * Sith
 * Stormtrooper
 * Supreme Chancellor
 * Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies

Sentient species

 * Aleena
 * Anx
 * Aqualish
 * Bith
 * Cerean
 * Chagrian
 * Geonosian
 * Gossam
 * Gran
 * Gungan
 * Human
 * Iktotchi
 * Ishi Tib
 * Kaleesh
 * Kallidahin
 * Kel Dor
 * Koorivar
 * Korun
 * Lorrdian
 * Mon Calamari
 * Muun
 * Mustafarian
 * Mygeetan
 * Nautolan
 * Neimoidian
 * Nikto
 * Ongree
 * Pacithhip
 * Pau'an
 * Rodian
 * Quarren
 * Sarrish
 * Shi'ido
 * Skakoan
 * Sullustan
 * Swokes Swokes
 * Sy Myrthian
 * Theelin
 * Togruta
 * Twi'lek
 * Umbaran
 * Unknown tridactyl species
 * Utai
 * Vurk
 * Wroonian
 * Wookiee
 * Zabrak
 * Zeuolin

Vehicles and vessels

 * 74-Z speeder bike
 * Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter
 * Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighter
 * All Terrain Attack Pod
 * All Terrain Open Transport
 * All Terrain Recon Transport
 * All Terrain Tactical Enforcer
 * Armored Assault Tank
 * BARC speeder
 * Belbullab-22 starfighter
 * Soulless One
 * Coruscant air bus
 * CR70 corvette
 * Tantive IV
 * DC0052 intergalactic airspeeder
 * Death Star I
 * Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor
 * E3-standard starship lifeboat
 * EasyRide passenger airspeeder
 * Emergency firespeeder
 * Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor
 * Firefighter's platform
 * Free Dac escape pod
 * Heavy Assault Vehicle/wheeled A6 Juggernaut
 * High-Altitude Entry Transport-221
 * Homemade evacuation pod
 * J-Type Naboo star skiff
 * Jedi shuttlebus
 * Infantry Support Platform
 * Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry
 * Lucrehulk-class battleship
 * Lucrehulk-class Core Ship
 * Unlimited Projection
 * Mankvim-814 light interceptor
 * Medical capsule
 * Multi-Troop Transport
 * Munificent-class star frigate
 * Mustafarian lava skimmer
 * N-1 starfighter
 * Oevvaor jet catamaran
 * Porax-38 starfighter
 * Providence-class carrier/destroyer
 * Invisible Hand
 * 3224
 * 31174
 * General's Quarters
 * Hallway 328
 * Wizard's Tower
 * Raddaugh Gnasp fluttercraft
 * Recusant-class light destroyer
 * Rian-327 airspeeder
 * Sandcrawler
 * Scoop skimmer
 * Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery-Turbolaser
 * Theta-class T-2c shuttle
 * Trade Federation troop carrier
 * Tsmeu-6 personal wheel bike
 * Unstable Terrain Artillery Transport
 * Venator-class Star Destroyer
 * Guarlara
 * Monitor
 * Ro-ti-Mundi
 * Vigiliance
 * XJ-2 airspeeder
 * YT-1300 light freighter
 * Millennium Falcon

Weapons and technology

 * A99
 * Antiox breath mask
 * Blaster
 * Binders
 * Senate Guard ceremonial blaster rifle
 * Curve-hilted lightsaber
 * Cybernetics
 * Darth Vader's armor
 * Datapad
 * DC-15A blaster rifle
 * DC-15S blaster
 * DC-17 hand blaster
 * Deflector shield
 * Discord missile
 * Electrobinoculars
 * Electrostaff
 * Elevator
 * Force pike
 * Grappling hook
 * Headset comlink
 * Holomap
 * Holoscreen
 * Holoprojector
 * Hush-98 comlink
 * Laser cannon
 * Lightsaber
 * Mechno-arm
 * Phase II clone trooper armor
 * Photoreceptor
 * Ray shield
 * Repulsorlift
 * Skakoan pressure suit
 * Stun cuffs
 * Sublight drive
 * Syluire-45 hyperspace transport ring
 * Transparisteel
 * Turbolaser

Miscellanea

 * eggs

Production
Principal photography for Revenge of the Sith took place from June 30 to September 17, 2003. Most of the filming took place at Fox Studio, Sydney. Additional studio photography was filmed at Shepperton Studios and an Elstree Film Studio booth in the UK. There is a short end sequence shot at Chott El Jerid in Tunisia. Second unit filming was at Grindelwald in Switzerland, Guilin in China, Phuket in Thailand, and Mount Etna in Italy.

Release and box office performance
Revenge of the Sith premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) on May 15, 2005. It was released in most other countries on May 19. It was predicted that the premiere of Revenge of the Sith would cost the US economy approximately $627 million USD because of employees who would take the day off or report in sick.

A copy of the movie leaked into p2p file sharing networks just hours after opening in theaters. The movie was a time-stamped workprint, along with a much higher fidelity Internal Xvid rip version nearly a month later (although it was still pre-telecined and was flawed with vibrations and frame-skips) suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening. It is widely spread and available in popular p2p networks.



The film earned an estimated $16.5 million from 2,900 midnight screenings in North America upon its release. In total, it earned a record $50 million on its opening day. Sith has since been bumped to the second highest grossing opening day. The film that beat Sith was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which earned $55 million on its opening day. Pirates eclipsing Sith's records would become a trend except for two specific records.

Revenge of the Sith broke another couple records on its opening day, including:
 * Midnight screenings. Previously held by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which earned $8 million from 2,100 midnight screenings.
 * Thursday gross. Previously held by The Matrix Reloaded with $37.5 million.

Sith added $33.5 million on the second day from 3,661 theaters. At $83.5 million in two days, the movie was the highest grossing two-day movie, well on its way to becoming the highest three-day grossing movie in history.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith crossed $100 million and tied Spider-Man and The Matrix Reloaded as the only movies at the time to make $100 million in three days. Being that Sith grossed the highest amount in the three day period, it was given the number one rank as "fastest movie to $100 million." This record would also be broken by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which would reach the $100 million mark in just two days.

Revenge of the Sith totaled $158.5 million in its first four day period, surpassing the previous four day record held by The Matrix Reloaded ($134.3 million) and making it the second highest grossing movie of 2005 after just four days in release (Hitch, $177.6 million). The four day total by Sith is one of the records that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest did not beat. The four day gross was beaten in 2007, by Spider-Man 3. Sith, however, It would still hold the five day record for another three years until The Dark Knight would beat it.

The movie was so popular in the UK, that in the second week of release Revenge of the Sith sold more tickets than the next twenty movies released would combined.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released in over 100 countries. As of October 21, 2005, the movie had grossed $380,270,577 in the US and $469,727,028 Internationally, giving it a total of $849,997,605 worldwide.

(All box office information from Box Office Mojo)

Critical reaction
The critical reaction to Revenge of the Sith was very enthusiastic receiving mostly very positive reviews, especially in comparison to the last two prequels. Many critics have noted that they view it to be the best of the prequels, and some but few critics said the same as they did about earlier prequels.


 * Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times recommends the movie because he claims it to be a successful entertainment, with its point being the visuals, imagination, story, and action. This is contrary to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, where Roger Ebert claimed the point of the movie to be the dialogue and love scenes, which he wrote were flat and banal.
 * Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times hailed it as the best since Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
 * A.O. Scott of the New York Times hailed it as even better than A New Hope.

While many critics noted George Lucas's continued weakness with dialogue, Hayden Christensen's depiction of a more mature Anakin Skywalker and his slow descent to the dark side was praised, and Ian McDiarmid's talents and performance as Palpatine and the Emperor received raving reviews. Various critics have made note that they feel that the actors did a better job in general; though they, like in earlier prequels, have been displeased with Natalie Portman's performance.

Ratings
Due to its dark undertones and violent nature, Revenge of the Sith is the first and only Star Wars film to receive a PG-13 rating from the MPAA. All previously released films in the series were rated PG. In contrast, A New Hope was originally rated G, but its rating was deliberately pushed up in order to attract a broader audience.

This is a listing of existing ratings for the film:

Political connotations
Since early viewings, many have stated that there is a critique of President George W. Bush in the film. Examples cited included Darth Vader's line to Obi-Wan Kenobi "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy!", mirroring a quote Bush made after the September 11, 2001 attacks "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists." However, Vader also had a similar line in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Kenobi's reply is an accusation that "Only a Sith deals in absolutes." Some observers have commented that this line of dialogue seems like a none-too-subtle political jab at Bush, since in fact, it is not the Sith, but Jedi who deal in absolutes; the light and dark sides of the Force and Kenobi's line seems forced in that way. The sentence "Only a Sith deals in absolutes," is itself an absolute. However, the key word to keep in mind is the word deal. This Sith only "deal" with joining the dark side or death (ex. Episode VI dialogue between the Emperor and Luke Skywalker). The Jedi, though absolute in their beliefs, do not "deal" with the "join us or die" idea.

The anti-Bush connotation goes one step further in the novelization, with Mace Windu speaking saying that the new laws decrease liberty in the name of security, but he doesn't feel safer (not so long after the PATRIOT Act was voted). Additionally, Palpatine's speech before the Senate in the novel includes the line, "It is morning in the Republic!", which may be a play on one of Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign slogans, "It's morning in America."

But in interviews, George Lucas said that Bush was no influence in writing the movie. Rather, he wrote the basic story outline in the 1970s during the Vietnam War, thinking of President Richard Nixon. He stated at Cannes, "The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable." Lucas added that in more general terms, his story represents how any democracy can turn into a dictatorship with the consent of the people, like Caesar Augustus and Napoleon I of France. It could also be likened to how democratic freedom can be taken away using fear, much like Adolf Hitler or Hirohito. A line given by Senator Amidala upon Chancellor Palpatine's reorganization of the Republic as the First Galactic Empire reflects Lucas's observation: "So this is how liberty dies&mdash;with thunderous applause."

In addition, the Jedi attempting to assassinate Palpatine is similar to Plutarch's account of the assassination of Julius Caesar. In both cases, the assassins attack because they fear the politician has or will have too much power for a republic to function properly. However, Caesar was unsuccessful in defending himself, and there was no premeditation on the Jedi's part on killing the Chancellor.

Death Star I
In the DVD commentary for Revenge of the Sith, Lucas makes an offhand comment regarding the Death Star seen in the final moments of the film. He explains that it was the exact same one as seen in A New Hope, and goes on to say that it would be "a bit of a stretch," but explains that due to "union disputes and supply problems," it took 19 years to build. However, Kevin J. Anderson's novels Jedi Search and Champions of the Force explain that a prototype Death Star was built in preparation for the construction of the first Death Star in A New Hope. These conflicting accounts were retconned in The New Essential Chronology, which stated that the latter was a testbed prototype for the superlaser to be installed on the former.

In addition, the Chronology also makes mention of the fact that in order to ensure protection from sabotage, the construction site was moved to various locations throughout the nineteen-year gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, indicating that there were various attempts by unknown persons to disable or even destroy the massive battle station, and theory supported by a line from A New Hope where Vader proclaims that "There will be no one to stop us this time" in regard to the Death Star and its plans. Such events, however, have yet to be chronicled, but they soon will be thanks to the upcoming TV series and the Force Unleashed video game.

Trivia



 * This is the only Star Wars film in which the opening crawl has an exclamation point in it. ("War!")
 * There are no words emphasized by all-caps in the opening crawl of any of the odd-numbered movies.
 * Famous characters from the original trilogy that made their first chronological appearance in this movie include Mon Mothma, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and Darth Vader (though Vader did appear as a vision to his alter-ego Anakin Skywalker in "Chapter 24" of the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series).
 * Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO and R2-D2 are the only characters to appear in all six Star Wars films. The droids are the only two played by the same actors in all six (Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker respectively).
 * Revenge of the Sith features the longest opening continuing shot in the entire Star Wars saga (over two minutes long).
 * There are markings on Anakin's and Obi-Wan's starfighter counting the number of kills he scored, a reference to World War II, where pilots often placed markings on their planes to personalize them. This echoes the frequent references to World War II in the Clone Wars TV series.
 * In the scene where Invisible Hand is side by side with the Guarlara, firing on each other, one of the clones aboard the Republic ship emits a classic "Wilhelm scream".
 * Composer John Williams added to his opening score an homage to composer Joel McNeely's work from the score to "Shadows of the Empire". It can be heard briefly during the battle scene over Coruscant.
 * General Grievous's breathing problems in this film are caused by his brief encounter with Mace Windu in "Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2005). Mace Windu "Force-crushed" Grievous as the General was making off with Palpatine, crushing the cyborg's chest panel. John Knoll even acknowledges and points out this fact in the Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary. The audio effects for the coughing were taken from George Lucas, who had a cough during principal photography.
 * In a deleted scene, Shaak Ti speaks and says "I'm sorry Master Kenobi, I've failed" (referring to what she says to Mace Windu in Star Wars: Clone Wars Chapter 25) before being killed by General Grievous.
 * After returning Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to Coruscant, Obi-Wan tells Anakin "...that business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't, doesn't count." This was going to be a running gag throughout the film, but all subsequent uses were eventually cut. The event itself is seen in Labyrinth of Evil.
 * Jar Jar Binks appears in this film, but has only one line of dialogue; when he nearly bumps into Orn Free Taa who mutters "watch it," to which Binks barely audibly replies "Excuse me". The line appears to be the same recording used in The Phantom Menace, when Jar Jar excuses himself after burping.
 * In the first scene between Anakin and Padmé, Padmé has her hair styled in the famous Princess Leia Danish buns over her ears.
 * This is the only film in the Star Wars Saga in which a dream is literally depicted on camera, although Luke's vision is shown in The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Yoda rubs his head while deep in thought during his gunship ride to the clone staging area. George Lucas requested this of the animators as an homage to Takashi Shimura's signature gesture in Shichinin no Samurai (1954).
 * George Lucas's daughters, who make cameos at the opera house, refused to be in the scene unless their father was in the scene with them. Lucas stands on screen left talking with his youngest daughter, and his oldest daughter is in center screen, talking to her boyfriend. (DVD audio commentary).
 * Although parts of Revenge of the Sith were filmed in Thailand, the Lucas spelling of Utapau is a Romanized spelling of a Thai military base in Sattahip, Thailand within 50 miles of Bangkok. In the film, Yoda pronounces the word differently than Anakin (in a later scene where the Jedi Council is voting where Yoda is in a hologram); Anakin's pronunciation of Utapau in the film is the correct pronunciation by Thai nationals and tourists.
 * The limestone mountains depicting Kashyyyk were filmed in Phuket, Thailand (which was later damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami). One of the planets&mdash;Utapau&mdash;is named after a coastal city in Thailand within 50 miles of Bangkok. Lucas originally intended this name for Tatooine.
 * Throughout the Palpatine/Mace fight, Palpatine's hilt periodically switches to Anakin's saber hilt. The reason for this is revealed in one of the documentaries on Disc 2, where Ian McDiarmid is seen using the Anakin lightsaber prop while rehearsing the scenes. Further revelations in The Making of Revenge of the Sith show that the scene originally had Anakin present, with Palpatine using the Force to borrow Anakin's lightsaber to duel. It never occurred to the effects crew that they hadn't inserted the correct hilt during post-production. Incidentally, an action figure of Palpatine was also produced holding a blue lightsaber, but later corrected to red (the hilt remains incorrect).
 * Episode III is the only movie in which Palpatine doesn't wear the same outfit throughout the entire movie.
 * In the two shots where the Wookiees roar just before their battle, Boga's distinctive call can be heard.
 * This is the only film where someone is not almost eaten by a creature, although a deleted scene was to have featured Obi-Wan encountering a nos monster.
 * As confirmed by the DVD-ROM commentary, during the scene in which Yoda departs Kashyyyk and wishes farewell to Chewbacca and Tarfful, Tarfful's growls are actually Attichitcuk's growls from The Star Wars Holiday Special.
 * The airspeeder flown by Senator Bail Organa is based on the revolutionary, but ill-fated, 1948 Tucker Torpedo automobile. In addition to owning one of the 51 Torpedoes built, George Lucas executive produced the 1988 biopic, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, starring Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker, and directed by Lucas' old friend, director Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola also owns a Tucker Torpedo. The prop was a redressed version of the XJ-6 airspeeder flown by Anakin in Attack of the Clones.
 * This is the only Star Wars film that shows the inside of Darth Vader's mask. It is seen from Anakin's point-of-view when the mask is first fitted to him. The mask's eyes appear to be made of a transparent red material, with embedded HUD-type displays, harking back to the red-hued eyes of the original Vader mask in A New Hope. Subsequent versions removed the red eyes.
 * The Darth Vader costume used in the film was created specifically to fit Hayden Christensen, rather than use the old one from the original trilogy. The new costume featured shoe lifts and a muscle suit. It also required Christensen (who is six-foot-one or 1.85 meters, while David Prowse is six-foot-seven or 2 meters) to look through the mouthpiece of the helmet The helmet is also the first totally symmetrical helmet constructed for Vader in the saga.
 * In a wide shot of Darth Vader's half-done operated body and a claw with his mask moving closer to put the mask on near the end of the film, it is apparent that he doesn't have his voice amplifier piece or his neck plating on, but after the shot with the mask lowering, the neck plate is attached.
 * This was the first Star Wars film in which Anakin Skywalker and the suited Darth Vader were played by the same actor in the same film. In all of the other films, the two characters were played by at least two different people.
 * One of the scenes deleted from the film was Yoda's arrival on Dagobah. Even though it didn't make it into the film, it is available on the bonus disc of the Revenge of the Sith DVD as one of the deleted scenes.
 * The final scene on Tatooine, where Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers the infant Luke to his aunt and uncle, is often referred to as the "Harry Potter scene." Composer John Williams included a small 11-tone musical cue in the scene reminiscent of his score for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). It can be heard when Obi-Wan arrives at Owen and Beru's house.
 * The first disc of the DVD contains an easter egg of Yoda dancing. This is known as the Hip hop Yoda music video.
 * Playwright Tom Stoppard reportedly did an uncredited re-write or dialogue polish on the script. Hayden Christensen confirmed this in an interview for Playboy magazine, stating that Stoppard had rewritten George Lucas's dialogue to give it a more "Human" dimension.
 * Bai Ling filmed minor scenes for the film playing the role of Senator Bana Breemu, but her role was cut during editing. She claimed that this was because she posed for the June 2005 issue of Playboy magazine, whose appearance on newsstands coincided with the movie's May release, but George Lucas denied this, stating that the cut had been made more than a year earlier, and that he had cut out his own daughter's scenes as well.
 * Revenge of the Sith has the world record for most visual effects shots in a single film&mdash;over 3,500.
 * On the call sheets, Natalie Portman was listed as "Debbie Gibson."
 * Ewan McGregor's stunt double was Nash Edgerton (the brother of Joel Edgerton, who plays Owen Lars). Coincidentally, the Return of the Jedi novelization erroneously refers to Obi-Wan Kenobi as Owen's brother.
 * Grauman's Chinese Theatre a traditional venue for the Star Wars films is not showing it this year. However, a line of people have stood there for more than a month hoping to convince someone to change this. So far, this Star Wars Line has been unsuccessful.
 * Palpatine's line, "I am the Senate," may be a take off from a quote by King Louis XIV of France: "I am the state."
 * Gary Oldman was originally supposed to provide the voice of General Grievous, but he backed out after learning the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actor's Guild, of which he is a member.
 * George Lucas confirmed in an interview that Steven Spielberg tinkered with several action sequences in RotS. This happened when a project of his fell through and he had some spare time. Lucas sent over an animatics artist to assist him. It is rumored that the scenes he worked on included the Yoda/Sidious battle and a part of the Mustafar duel.
 * Natalie Portman showed off her newly-shaven head (for her part in the film V for Vendetta) at the premieres of the film. George Lucas was not put off by her new look and playfully rubbed her shorn head.
 * Three of the film's actors (Tux Akindoyeni/Agen Kolar, Wayne Pygram/Governor Tarkin and Duncan Young/the voice of General Grievous, during production) also appeared on the TV series Farscape, which coincidentally had nearly been cancelled at the end of its first season when the stages it was being filmed on were needed for another production: Attack of the Clones.
 * Lucas stated that in an early draft of the script, a young Han Solo was to have a cameo in the film. Solo was to appear on Kashyyyk, where he aided the Jedi in tracking down Grievous.
 * Not a single suit of clone armor was created for the film. Every piece of armor that appears on screen is computer generated.
 * Some believe that Orodruin (Mount Doom) from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings can be seen during the duel on Mustafar.
 * Several lava explosions, seen in Mustafar at the fight scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan, were in fact real life explosions shot from Mount Etna's eruption which were later combined with computer generated effects to create the impressive and real-life atmosphere.
 * According to the filmmakers in the audio commentary, the speed in which Anakin and Obi-Wan engage their lightsaber duel on Mustafar is the speed in which the duel was filmed, and was not digitally accelerated. However, there are instances where single frames are removed to increase the velocity of particular strikes. An example of this occurs as Obi-Wan strikes down on Anakin after applying an armlock in the first half of the duel.
 * According to the page Moviemistakes.com, the Episode III was the film with the most mistakes of 2005 (143).
 * This is the only Star Wars film not to be nominated for an Academy Award for best Visual Effects. The previous two prequels lost all Oscar nominations they were nominated for as well. This makes the original trilogy the only Star Wars films to have been nominated for and awarded Oscars.
 * This film contains the most battles against Sith than any other Star Wars film. The Sith battled are: Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku), Darth Sidious (Supreme Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine), and Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker).
 * The DVD cover art is the only cover of the six films not to include a central character brandishing a lightsaber towards the viewer.
 * The scene where Amidala meets up with Anakin on Mustafar was parodied for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.
 * The original soundtrack is the only one in the prequel trilogy that does not have a shot of Tatooine as its backdrop.
 * On early discs with the DVD release, the file containing the film and the file with the bonus features were each named a variation of "CHARLOTTE," rather than something relating to the movie itself. This was done intentionally by those who created the DVD, in order to keep it a secret as to which exact DVD would be used for the main release. The more common file is called something relating to Revenge of the Sith. Copies of the film titled Charlotte are valued more than standard releases.
 * When the film was released on home video in November 2005, it was only available on DVD. This marks the first time a film in the Star Wars Saga was not available on VHS. (VHS copies were, however, sent to stores in the United Kingdom (22-10-2005) and Australia.) This has caused some backlash from fans collecting both the DVD and VHS versions, complaining that their VHS set will not be complete without Episode III.
 * On the film poster, Padmé wears an outfit that does not appear in the movie itself. However, the costume does appear in some of the deleted scenes. A different costume was used on the DVD cover, however this costume appears in the same way as on the cover only in the deleted scenes. In the movie, this costume appears with the hood down. On the |Padmé's Wardrobe site, the costume used on the poster is called the Peacock Gown, and the costume used on the DVD cover is called the Green Cut Velvet Robe. On Wookieepedia, former is called the peacock dress, and the latter is called the delegation gown.
 * On the DVD cover, Anakin's scar (the result of a lightsaber duel with Asajj Ventress in the comic Republic: Dreadnaughts of Rendilli) is not shown.
 * This is the only Star Wars film with a blue vs. blue lightsaber duel. This is also the only film where Emperor/Chancellor Palpatine wields a lightsaber. This is also the only film with a purple vs. red lightsaber duel.
 * Despite being a common element in the expanded universe, Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi are the only films that feature a Jedi using a lightsaber against a stormtrooper. In all other films, lightsabers are either used against mercenaries, bounty hunters, droids or Sith Lords.
 * The shot of Darth Vader and the 501st Legion ascending the steps to the Jedi Temple is reminiscent of the famous "Odessa Steps" sequence from The Battleship Potemkin; the only difference is in Potemkin, the Russian soldiers march down the steps.
 * During the deleted scene "Grievous Slaughters a Jedi", Obi-Wan and Anakin use their lightsabers to cut a circular hole through the floor under them. This may have been inspired by the exact same move used in Star Wars fan Kevin Smith's 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, given that George Lucas is familiar with Smith's films (based on his comments on the Attack of the Clones DVD commentary) and that Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill had roles in the film.
 * George Lucas' friend and fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who served as a second unit director on Revenge of the Sith, released an alien-oriented film later in the same years as both the original Star Wars film in 1977, and Revenge of the Sith in 2005&mdash;the films being Close Encounters of the Third Kind and War of the Worlds respectively.

References to and mirroring from other Star Wars films
Of all the films in the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith has the most references to the original trilogy.


 * The title is a reprise of an early working title of Return of the Jedi, "Revenge of the Jedi", altered by Lucas with the rationale that Jedi do not take revenge (since revenge is a path to the dark side of the Force).
 * In the start of the movie, after Obi-Wan and Anakin board the Invisible Hand, two droids come and inspect the Jedi's fighters. R2 beeps, to which one of the droids says "What's that?" and the other replies "That's nothing". This mirrors the scene in A New Hope, where Obi-Wan is disabling the tractor beam, and the stormtroopers say the exact same thing.
 * The opening scene is in space, and the camera features a Republic Star Destroyer, mirroring the openings of the original trilogy, all of which featured Imperial Star Destroyers. It also retains the theme of the prequel films to open with a Republic starship.
 * Both Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi are the third installments of their respective trilogies, and in either case are the only movie of that trilogy to feature large-scale capital-ship-on-capital-ship fighting (all other space battles feature fighters against fighters or fighters against large capital ships). The two movies are also the only ones to begin with a rescue mission (Return of the Jedi).
 * Both Anakin's and Obi-Wan's callsigns reference their family connections to the original trilogy. In the novelization, Anakin's callsign is Red Five, the same as his son Luke in A New Hope. Obi-Wan's callsign is Red Leader, which in Return of the Jedi is used by Wedge Antilles, played by Ewan McGregor's uncle Denis Lawson.
 * Clone commander Odd Ball's co-pilot gives the "Set S-foils in attack position" command to pilots of Clone Fight Squad Seven. This echoes Garven Dreis and Wedge Antilles giving similar commands in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi respectively.
 * The Duel on Mustafar, featuring Darth Vader vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi, marks the last lightsaber duel of the entire saga. Ironically, the first ever lightsaber duel in the saga is between them on the Death Star I in A New Hope. The musical track "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" contains samples of the track "Clash of the Lightsabers" from the soundtrack of The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Many vehicles and technology in the film appear to be predecessors (at least in terms of design) of their counterparts in the original trilogy. Examples include (predominantly): the ARC-170 starfighter and the T-65 X-wing starfighter; the Jedi Interceptor and the TIE Advanced x1, TIE/In starfighter and Scimitar; the V-wing starfighter and the TIE/ln starfighter and A-wing interceptor; the AT-RT and the AT-ST; and the Venator-class Star Destroyer and the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer.
 * During the Opening Space Battle, Anakin Skywalker says, "This is where the fun begins". In A New Hope, Han Solo says the same line during the escape from Tatooine.
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi says the traditional "I have a bad feeling about this" as his interceptor approaches the Invisible Hand.
 * A Skywalker is shown on a rescue mission from the start. Anakin rescues Palpatine from General Grievous (Revenge of the Sith), and Luke rescues Han from Jabba the Hutt (Return of the Jedi).
 * R2-D2 operating the elevator aboard the Invisible Hand to help Anakin and Obi-Wan mirrors his shutting down of the garbage mashers aboard the first Death Star in A New Hope to save Luke and his companions.
 * The scene where the elevator falls and Anakin has to hold on to the ledge is similar to the scene where Luke Skywalker has to hold on when he falls through an air shaft on Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back. Also when Anakin, Obi-Wan and Palpatine drop in the same scene the sound when falling is the same when Luke is dropped out.
 * Palpatine watches as his current apprentice (Dooku/Darth Vader) and his intended new apprentice (Anakin/Luke) duel to the death, while behind them can be seen a massive space fleet battle, both in this film and in Return of the Jedi.
 * In the duel aboard the Invisible Hand, Anakin kicks Dooku down off the staircase while Palpatine sits and watches. Luke does the same thing to Darth Vader in their duel aboard the second Death Star while Palpatine sits and watches.
 * When Anakin defeats Dooku, Palpatine exclaims "Good, Anakin, good!" In Return of the Jedi, when Luke overpowers Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, Palpatine laughs and exclaims "Good!" He also cries "good, good!" when Vader knocks Luke from a gantry over the throne room.
 * Anakin gets revenge on Count Dooku for severing his hand in their lightsaber duel in Attack of the Clones by responding in kind. The process is repeated by Anakin (now Darth Vader) and Luke in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
 * Anakin tells Palpatine that Obi-Wan's fate "will be the same as ours". All three characters die onboard a Death Star; Kenobi on the first incarnation, Skywalker and Palpatine on the second. Additionally, in the novel Obi-Wan muses that he'd always assumed Anakin would be with him when he died. Also, all three are killed by Darth Vader; he strikes down Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel, throws Palpatine into the bottomless pit, and by doing so seals his own fate.
 * During the rescue of Palpatine, Anakin dangles him perilously over a seemingly endless chasm, perhaps foreshadowing Palpatine's death in Return of the Jedi, while also mirroring Han Solo's dangling over the Sarlacc pit during his own rescue.
 * As Palpatine arrives at the Republic Executive Building, the Millennium Falcon can be seen approaching the docking platform. An anonymous YT-1300 freighter is seen at the Theed Spaceport at the end of the movie, just as three of these vessels are seen at the same location in Attack of the Clones.
 * Anakin Skywalker tells Padmé Amidala, "You're trembling" upon their reunion. Han Solo says the same thing to Princess Leia Organa in The Empire Strikes Back.
 * In Padmé Amidala's first appearance in this movie, her hairstyle is similar to Princess Leia Organa's hairstyle in her first appearance in A New Hope.
 * The planet name Utapau was one of Lucas's originals name for Tatooine. Also, in an early draft of The Phantom Menace, Utapau was the original name for Naboo.
 * Anakin's prophetic vision leads him on a path to the dark side. Luke's vision in The Empire Strikes Back tempts him to take a similar path, though he, unlike his father, resists the temptation.
 * Padmé Amidala tells Anakin Skywalker, "Hold me", and he embraces her for comfort. In Return of the Jedi, Princess Leia Organa tells Han Solo the same thing and he embraces her for comfort on Endor.
 * In the Galaxies Opera House, before disclosing his "distrust" of the Jedi Council, Palpatine tells his aides to "leave us" (himself and Anakin), just as he tells his Royal Guards in Return of the Jedi. (himself, Luke and Vader).
 * In convincing him that the Jedi are trying to oust him as Chancellor, Palpatine urges Anakin to "search your feelings...you know, don't you?" This mirrors The Empire Strikes Back, in which Vader convinces Luke that he is his father, urging the boy to "Search your feelings. You know it to be true".
 * Clone swamp troopers wear armor similar to that of Imperial scout troopers from Return of the Jedi. Additionally, Galactic Marine armor appears similar to that of the Imperial snowtroopers from The Empire Strikes Back.
 * In the original Star Wars script treatment, the climactic battle was between Wookiees and Imperial forces as in Revenge of the Sith. This was adapted for Return of the Jedi as the Battle of Endor between Ewoks and Imperial stormtroopers. During the Battle of Kashyyyk, a distinctive Tarzan yell can be heard, just as in Return of the Jedi, when Chewbacca and two Ewoks swing toward an AT-ST on Endor.
 * When Obi-Wan confronts General Grievous on Utapau, he says "Hello there". This is Obi-Wan's first line in A New Hope, directed at R2-D2. Grievous's response ("General Kenobi. You are a bold one") is similar to Princess Leia's words upon first meeting Darth Vader in A New Hope; "Darth Vader. Only you could be so bold".
 * Palpatine closes his eyes and tells Anakin, "I can feel your anger." Aboard the second Death Star, he says the same line, directed at Luke, in Return of the Jedi.
 * Obi-Wan hangs on over a deep pit, just before grabbing a weapon to kill an enemy, just as he did in The Phantom Menace.
 * Obi-Wan remarks that the blaster used to kill Grievous is "so uncivilized", echoing the line in A New Hope when he talks about the lightsaber being "not as random or as clumsy as a blaster...an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age".
 * When Palpatine declares "I am the Senate!", Mace Windu retorts "Not yet." On Dagobah, when Luke Skywalker declares himself a Jedi, Master Yoda retorts "Not yet". (Return of the Jedi)
 * Anakin cuts off Mace Windu's weapon hand, as Palpatine looks on, and joins the dark side. In Return of the Jedi, Luke cuts off Darth Vader's weapon hand, as Palpatine looks on, but refuses to join the dark side.
 * Yoda's response to both Order 66 and Anakin's turn to the dark side echo Obi-Wan's reaction to the destruction of Alderaan. Both Jedi sense disturbances in the Force, and have to prop themselves up or sit down to recover.
 * In the Order 66 sequence, Commander Neyo and his BARC Trooper drop back on their BARC speeders to open fire on Stass Allie on her speeder bike. This same tactic is employed by Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi to kill a scout trooper.
 * When Obi-Wan makes his rendezvous with the Tantive IV, the Soulless One enters the hangar on the vessel's underbelly. This echoes the ultimate fate of the Tantive IV itself in the opening scenes of A New Hope, where it is dragged into the belly of the Devastator.
 * Yoda says, "Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader", to persuade Obi-Wan Kenobi to duel his former apprentice. In Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan says to Luke, "Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker, and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man that was your father was destroyed."
 * Darth Vader's offer to Padmé Amidala to join him and rule the Empire mirrors his offer to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, and Count Dooku's offer to Obi-Wan Kenobi to join him and destroy the Sith in Attack of the Clones.
 * When Darth Vader arrives in the Separatist bunker on Mustafar, earlier forms of the MSE-6 droid can be seen coming into the room before him, presumably trying to flee from his presence. The MSE-6 is scared off by Chewbacca onboard the Death Star.
 * Darth Vader uses the Force to choke Padmé on Mustafar, but Obi-Wan stops him from killing her. Similarly, in A New Hope, Wilhuff Tarkin stops Vader from choking Admiral Motti to death aboard Death Star I.
 * When Darth Vader releases Padmé after choking her, Obi-Wan checks her vitality by placing his hand on her head. He does the same thing to Luke in A New Hope after the Tusken Raider attack, and Palpatine will do the same to Anakin on Mustafar.
 * When Yoda enters in the office of Palpatine to fight him, he uses the Force to disable his royal guards. In Return of the Jedi, Luke uses the same trick to disable Jabba's guards when he enters his palace.
 * Just before their duel, Palpatine says "Now you will experience the full power of the dark side" to Yoda, much as he will tell Luke that his "feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side" during the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi.
 * Obi-Wan and Vader duel in front of a window on Mustafar that bears a striking resemblance to the window seen behind Vader and Luke in their duel on Cloud City (The Empire Strikes Back).
 * The warning klaxons on Mustafar activated during Anakin and Obi-Wan's duel are the same as the warning klaxons that sound in Return of the Jedi on the second Death Star as it is being destroyed.
 * Yoda's escape through the emergency tunnels in the Senate Building is similar to Luke's fall through Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back. They both drop from a vane-studded structure, and land in vessels piloted by a member of the Organa family; Bail saves Yoda, and Leia rescues Luke.
 * In Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan tells Luke, "You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view". This mirrors words Darth Vader told to him on Mustafar, "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil." Vader in turn had been told this from Palpatine earlier in Revenge of the Sith, "Good is a point of view, Anakin."
 * At the end of Obi-Wan and Vader's duel, Obi-Wan wins because he has the high ground. Later in Return of the Jedi, during Luke and Vader's duel on the second Death Star, Luke jumps up onto a platform and instead of following him, Vader throws his lightsaber, apparently having learned from his previous error.
 * Darth Vader uses quotes in Revenge of the Sith that he would later use in the Original Trilogy but slightly altered. An example is just before he engages in his duel with Obi-Wan, he says, "Don't make me kill you." This echoes a quote in The Empire Strikes Back when he says to Luke Skywalker at the end of their duel, "Don't make me destroy you."
 * Another example of Darth Vader using similar quotes is just after Obi-Wan Kenobi takes the "high ground", and Vader shouts to him, "You underestimate my power!" This echoes a quote in Return of the Jedi, when Vader says to Luke Skywalker aboard the second Death Star, "You underestimate the power of the dark side".
 * Also, Anakin's quote of, "You underestimate my power" is the first of two Skywalker instances where that phrase is uttered. The second is in Return of the Jedi while Luke is talking to Jabba the Hutt. Both cases resulted negatively, with Anakin getting three of his limbs cut off by Obi-Wan and Luke getting dropped down Jabba's trap door.
 * Darth Vader's left arm and both legs are severed by Obi-Wan. There has been an amputation in every film, except in The Phantom Menace, where Darth Maul's body was bisected.
 * Both Anakin and Luke are given prosthetic limbs to replace those lost in duels with their patriarchs; Obi-Wan on Mustafar and Darth Vader on Bespin, respectively.
 * The blue-bladed lightsaber Anakin uses in Revenge of the Sith is the same lightsaber Obi-Wan gives to Luke in A New Hope. Luke loses that lightsaber in a duel with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Near the end of the film, Obi-Wan Kenobi observes the birth of the Skywalker twins. His physical position and facial expressions mirror, almost exactly, those of Luke Skywalker when speaking to his redeemed father in Return of the Jedi.
 * A 2-1B surgical droid operates on Vader on Coruscant. A 2-1B unit will also rehabilitate his son on Hoth and later aboard the Redemption.
 * Padmé's last words are, "There is good in him. I know, I know there is still...", referring to Darth Vader. She says it to Obi-Wan on Polis Massa, momentarily after bearing Luke and Leia. This mirrors words that Luke told Obi-Wan, Leia, and Vader in Return of the Jedi. In a scene on Dagobah, Luke says to the spirit of Obi-Wan, "There is still good in him", also referring to Vader. He later says the same to Leia on Endor. Finally, he says to Vader, "I know there is good in you. The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully".
 * The scene at the end of the movie, when Darth Vader is given his mask and helmet for the first time mirrors the end of Return of the Jedi, when Vader's mask and helmet are finally removed by Luke Skywalker, for the last time.
 * Darth Vader's cry of "Noooo!" upon learning he killed Padmé is echoed by similar cries in the other films; by Obi-Wan at Qui-Gon Jinn's defeat in The Phantom Menace; by Obi-Wan as Anakin rushes to attack Dooku in Attack of the Clones; by Luke at Obi-Wan's death in A New Hope; by Luke upon the revelation that Vader is his father in The Empire Strikes Back, and by Palpatine as he falls to his death in Return of the Jedi.
 * The first line spoken in A New Hope is "Did you hear that?" by C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), on the Tantive IV. The last line spoken in Revenge of the Sith is "Oh no!", also by C-3PO, played by the same actor, also on that ship. This gives C-3PO the distinction of speaking both the first and last words in the Star Wars film series, going by the order that the films were produced in. Also, both scenes were filmed at Elstree Studios in the UK.
 * A young Wilhuff Tarkin witnesses the early stages of the Death Star's construction at the end of the film. He will take charge of the project by the time of A New Hope. George Lucas originally intended to have Peter Cushing reprise his role as Tarkin, years after his death, through the use of stock footage and digital technology. The footage of Cushing was deemed unusable, and the idea was scrapped. Eventually, however, the film's casting director was able to find a very close look-alike, Wayne Pygram, and use a few cosmetic prosthetics to complete the illusion.
 * The final shot of Owen and Beru Lars holding Luke and looking into the Tatooine twin sunset mirrors a similar scene with Luke in A New Hope (as well as a similar scene of Anakin in Attack of the Clones). The music is also the same in all three cases ("Binary Sunset", or "the Force Theme"). Tatooine is also the last planet seen before the end credits. In A New Hope, it is the first planet seen following the opening crawl.
 * As with the Original trilogy, the first and last episodes of the Prequel trilogy were released on the same day, 6 years apart. The only difference is that for the Prequel trilogy, the day is May 19 and for the Original trilogy, the day is May 25.
 * Onboard the Invisible Hand, Obi-Wan and Anakin are confronted by two destroyer droids when they are about to enter the elevator. This resembles a scene at the beginning of The Phantom Menace, where Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are trying to enter the bridge on the Trade Federation flagship, and are confronted by destroyer droids in a similar manner. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were unable to get the door open in time, though, and were forced to flee when the destroyer droids arrived, while Obi-Wan and Anakin simply entered the elevator while parrying the blaster bolts.
 * Before Anakin and Obi-Wan make it onto the Invisible hand, Obi-Wan informs Anakin that the shields are still up. It is at this point that Anakin flips over Obi-Wan's starfighter and fires at the shield generator, a manuever that Anakin performed during the second lap of the podrace to get around an aggressive opponent in the Phantom Menace.
 * Every single second of the film contains some sort of CGI or special effect, even the scenes inside sets contained background matte paintings or color effects. This is the only Star Wars film to hold this claim. Also, not a single shot of anything at all that is real appears until more than three minutes in.

References in Expanded Universe novels
Novels and comic books released since 2005 feature references to Revenge of the Sith. These are significant novel references to the film:


 * In Dark Nest III: The Swarm War, the Skywalker family saga comes in full circle as Luke watches a hologram of Darth Vader Force-choking Padmé, as well as his and Leia's birth.
 * In Revenge of the Sith, Mace Windu attempted to arrest and then kill Palpatine but Anakin stepped in and effectively helped Palpatine kill Windu, and then Anakin pledged his allegiance to Palpatine and the Sith. In the Legacy of the Force series, Nelani Dinn attempted to arrest and then kill Sith Lady Lumiya, but Jacen Solo stepped in and killed Dinn, and then Jacen pledged his allegiance to Lumiya and the Sith. This shows that Jacen Solo's destiny is connected to that of his maternal grandfather Darth Vader.
 * In Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines, Jacen Solo flow-walked back to the time Revenge of the Sith takes place to understand his maternal grandfather's (Darth Vader) motives for his actions, in order to ensure that his reasons for joining the Sith were not selfish. While flow-walking, he went to the Raid on the Jedi Temple. It is possible he may have been seen by a member of the 501st.

Deleted scenes
There are six deleted scenes included with Disk 2 of the DVD and are as follows:
 * Deleted due to time constraints, and because the story was changed that Grievous left Shaak Ti on Coruscant alive, and she didn't die.
 * The death of Shaak Ti by General Grievous onboard the Invisible Hand


 * Deleted because they took away from the central plot of Anakin Skywalker
 * The First Meeting of the Rebel Alliance
 * The Second Meeting of the Rebel Alliance
 * The Presentation of the Delegation of 2,000 to Palpatine


 * Deleted due to time constraints and the point was already known
 * Mace Windu senses the destruction of the Jedi Order


 * Deleted for fear it would clutter up the endings instead of making it just "father, mother, and the kids"
 * Yoda lands on Dagobah
 * Rick McCallum is quoted as saying that this was the biggest loss for him to the film and he hopes to see it on a future edition.

Not all deleted scenes are included on the DVD Bonus Disk. Here are a few more scenes cut from the movie but not released to the public.
 * Obi-Wan visits Senator Amidala to discuss Anakin, and tell her that he knows of her marriage. This scene features in the script, novel and comic book adaptation of the film, albeit differing slightly in each.
 * Obi-Wan selects Boga from the other varactyls. An animatic of this scene was put on starwars.com in November 2007.
 * The Deaths of Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee; note, this scene was never shot.
 * The Order 66 "death" of Quinlan Vos; note, this scene was never shot.
 * Another death of Shaak Ti, elaborated in the novelization: Ti is stabbed in the back by Darth Vader during his raid on the Jedi Temple while she is meditating. She asks Anakin what happened to Windu, Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin. Skywalker replies by stabbing her in the back (a similar death of Shaak Ti appeared in LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game).
 * Obi-Wan eluding the Nos monster, a natural predator of Utapau, after falling into the sinkhole on Utapau.
 * Talk scenes between Aayla Secura and Bly, and Plo Koon and Jag.
 * An ambush scene by Yoda, Tarfful, and Chewbacca. A Clone Walker passes by a lake. Tarfful is lying dead on Wookiee boat. The clone stares at him for a moment and a furry creature covered in mud all over comes out of the water on to the boat. The clone asks the creature if anything is there. "Wookiee good, eat Wookiee." replies the creature. The clone decides it is just a native Kashyyyk creature and decides to leave. Immediately, Chewbacca jumps out of the water and pulls the clone underwater killing him. Then Tarfful wakes up and the creature reveals itself to be Yoda. He tells the Wookiees to give him a second to bathe. Yoda jumps into the water and scrubs all the mud off. Yoda emerges and puts on his robes. They then continue towards the emergency escape pod.
 * A scene in which Yoda speaks to the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit. Yoda dedicates himself to Qui-Gon's teachings. This scene was featured in the novelization.

Soundtrack


The soundtrack to the film was released by Sony Classical on May 3, 2005, more than two weeks before the release of the film. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. John Williams was also composer and conductor of the score for the other five films in the Star Wars saga. A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film's theme, Battle of the Heroes, featuring footage from the film.

The soundtrack also came with a collectors' DVD, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, at no additional cost. The DVD features 16 music videos set to remastered selections of music from all six film scores, set chronologically through the saga.


 * 1) "Star Wars and The Revenge of the Sith" (7:31)
 * 2) "Anakin's Dream" (4:46)
 * 3) "Battle of the Heroes" (3:42)
 * 4) "Anakin's Betrayal" (4:03)
 * 5) "General Grievous" (4:07)
 * 6) "Palpatine's Teachings" (5:25)
 * 7) "Grievous and the Droids" (3:27)
 * 8) "Padmé's Ruminations" (3:16)
 * 9) "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" (3:57)
 * 10) "Anakin's Dark Deeds" (4:05)
 * 11) "Enter Lord Vader" (4:14)
 * 12) "The Immolation Scene" (2:41)
 * 13) "Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious" (2:49)
 * 14) "The Birth of the Twins and Padmé's Destiny" (3:37)
 * 15) "A New Hope and End Credits" (13:05)

Major musical themes

 * Star Wars Main Title
 * The Emperor's Theme
 * Battle of the Heroes
 * Force Theme

Novelization
A book version of the movie was written by Matthew Stover. The novelization includes much more dialogue than the movie. The duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin is lengthened and is much more exaggerated. It also contains many references to Expanded Universe characters such as Raith Sienar or Garm Bel Iblis, for example, and some details, like the way Shaak Ti meets her fate, and Captain Needa's appearance at the Battle of Coruscant differ from their movie counterparts. Aside from Anakin and Obi-Wan's duel, however, the final act is very compressed, especially in comparison to the opening space battle, which encompasses the first third of the book.

Video game
A video game, based on the film, was released on May 5, 2005, two weeks before the film. The game followed the movie's storyline, for the most part, integrating scenes from the movie. However, many sections of the game featured cut scenes from the movie, or entirely new scenes for the game. The style of the game was mostly lightsaber combat and fighting as Obi-Wan or Anakin. One unique and popular aspect of the game was that it included an alternate ending, which functioned as such to both the game and the movie, which involved Anakin killing Obi-Wan, instead of Obi-Wan defeating Anakin as in the movie. After the death of Obi-Wan, Anakin proceeds to kill Palpatine, and take over the galaxy.

DVD release
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released on DVD on November 1, 2005 (in Canada and the United States). The DVD is a two-disk set that has picture and sound mastered from the original digital source material. It includes a new full-length documentary as well as two featurettes, one which explores the prophecy of Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One, the other looking at the movie's stunts. The 15-part web documentary series, "Making Episode III", and a playable Xbox demo of Star Wars: Battlefront II (which was released simultaneously with the DVD) are also included in the set. A trailer which previews the DVD's features can be downloaded here.

Notable firsts

 * Unlike every other release of a Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith was released without any noticeable [upon first viewing] alterations by George Lucas from the film's digital theatrical cut. A closer inspection will reveal one change. There used to be a fading between the scene where Obi-Wan leaves Mustafar, and the scene where Vader climbs away from the lava, but this was removed from the DVD release.
 * The DVD cover art is the only cover of the six films not to include a central character brandishing a lightsaber with evident lens flare on the blade itself shining towards the viewer.
 * This release is notable because, due to marketing issues, it was the first Star Wars film (and the first major film of all time) never to be widely released on VHS (for example, it was released on VHS in Australia). This caused some backlash from fans collecting both the DVD and VHS versions, who complained that their VHS set was not complete without Episode III.
 * This was the first release not to contain a secret blooper reel of footage from filming as an easter egg. Instead it contained a rap video with a dancing Yoda and clone troopers.

DVD features (USA)


Disc 1
 * Available subtitles: English
 * Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
 * Commentary by writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett
 * Hip hop Yoda music video

Disc 2
 * Exclusive deleted scenes with introductions by George Lucas and Rick McCallum
 * "Within a Minute" documentary film about the making of the Mustafar battle
 * "The Chosen One" featurette: George Lucas traces the myth of Darth Vader through episodes 1-6
 * "It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III"
 * A 15-part collection of Lucasfilm's Web documentaries
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II trailer and Xbox game demo
 * Star Wars: Empire at War PC game trailer
 * "A Hero Falls" music video
 * Poster and print campaign
 * Trailers and TV spots
 * Production photo gallery
 * DVD-ROM content includes a free trial of Hyperspace

Bonus discs
Wal-Mart stores included an exclusive bonus disc, entitled The Story of Star Wars, with some copies of Revenge of the Sith, when it arrived on DVD. As with many previous Star Wars "history" featurettes, it is hosted with newly shot footage by the droid duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO. The sticker on the cover describes it as "R2-D2 and C-3PO's chronicles of Luke and Anakin Skywalker". Presented in full frame with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound and running 1 hour in total, it was originally produced and released in 2004 as a 3-disc collection for the VideoNow Color personal video player. The DVD version contains the content from the first two discs: The Story of Anakin Skywalker and The Story of Luke Skywalker. The footage used contains no scenes from Revenge of the Sith nor does it have the changes contained in the 2004 DVD Special Edition releases.

Target stores also offered a bonus disc with the Revenge of the Sith DVD. The disc contained Star Wait, a documentary about Star Wars fans who had waited in line for Episodes II and III.

Retailer exclusive freebies
As well as the bonus DVD given away at Wal-Mart, other retail stores gave away a few collectors items. At Target, Collectors would receive a collectors coin from Revenge Of The Sith, featuring Darth Vader on the "heads" side of the coin, and the Mustafar duel on the "tails" side of the coin. A $5 gift card was also given to the buyers of the DVD. The gift card features Vader, and has lights and sound added to it. Finally from Target, a bonus CD-Rom came with the episode III soundtrack. At Best Buy, Fans who belonged to the Rewards Zone would receive a Star Wars print by the artist Shepard Fairey.

DVD cover art blooper
The DVD itself has a blooper on its cover. If you notice, on the cover of the DVD it shows Anakin with a different look. In the movie, it is shown that Anakin has a scar from the Clone Wars; however, on the cover of the DVD the scar is not visible.

Major Events
Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader

Birth of Luke Skywalker

Birth of Leia Organa Solo

Death of Mace Windu

Death of Kit Fisto

Duel on Mustafar

Death of The Republic

Yoda moves to Dagobah