10 Things You Didn't Know About Anakin Skywalker
What went into making Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, how he got that scar, and much more.
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00:00 Ever wondered what went into making that iconic lightsaber?
00:03 Found yourself pondering how he got that scar?
00:06 Well, as the man himself once put it, this is where the fun begins.
00:10 I'm Gareth from What Culture Star Wars and with the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series
00:14 set to reintroduce us to a certain fallen Jedi, here are 10 things you didn't know
00:19 about Anakin Skywalker.
00:21 10.
00:22 His name very nearly belonged to his son You've likely already stumbled upon the fact
00:26 that George Lucas' first steps into this now-global juggernaut of a galaxy far, far
00:30 away involved a fair few ideas that ultimately weren't deemed suitable for the finished
00:35 article.
00:36 Among them was the surname originally gifted to the farm boy who would become Lucas'
00:40 main protagonist for his original trilogy.
00:43 And while most are aware that Luke Skywalker was initially set to be known as Young Starkiller
00:47 in the early stages of A New Hope's development, many aren't as clued up as to what his original
00:52 first name would have been.
00:54 The first draft of the Star Wars had a young Anakin Starkiller chucking it out with Darth
00:59 Vader, with that youngster being the 16-year-old son of a legendary warrior.
01:04 Lucas would clearly keep elements of Anakin when it came time to shift the character towards
01:08 the Luke we know and love today.
01:10 But it is interesting to note that the previous first name of Vader once belonged to his eventual
01:14 son years before it was officially incorporated into Star Wars lore, albeit with a slightly
01:20 altered spelling.
01:21 9.
01:22 Anakin Skywalker was his first lightsaber at 12 years of age
01:24 Joining the Jedi game at a relatively late stage, Anakin Skywalker had a bit of catching
01:29 up to do when it came to his overall training.
01:31 But the Force-sensitive prodigy still managed to get up to speed at a rather rapid pace,
01:36 and even managed to forge his first sacred tool of the Jedi by the age of 12.
01:40 With most younglings pulling off this feat between the ages of 8 to 13, this once again
01:44 meant that Anakin showed remarkable prowess and skill with the Force despite his lack
01:49 of experience in comparison to his contemporaries.
01:52 According to the novel Jedi Quest Path to the Truth, the realising of his first lightsaber
01:56 came on the back of himself and Obi-Wan Kenobi travelling to Ilum to forge the weapon.
02:01 When there, young Skywalker proceeded to meditate before dispatching spectres of Darth Maul
02:06 and a slaver.
02:07 Once he was done kicking ghostly ass, his saber was fully formed in front of him, balanced
02:12 ideally towards his own personal needs.
02:15 It was said to be heavy-hilted and rigid, enhancing his exceptional strength before
02:19 it was destroyed in Attack of the Clones.
02:22 So much for that then.
02:23 8.
02:24 Why his lightsaber was that colour Keeping with Lil' Ernie's trusty weapon
02:27 of choice in his Jedi days, the reason behind his iconic blade being the colour it ultimately
02:33 was, wasn't just a case of George Lucas closing his eyes and slamming his finger onto
02:37 a colour palette at random.
02:38 Far from it.
02:39 Skywalker's colour of unmistakable blue over the course of the original, prequel and
02:43 sequel trilogies, was the result of the Jedi himself's meditation throughout the aforementioned
02:47 creation of the blade on Ilum.
02:49 It's during this process that a youngling's personality and relationship with the Force
02:53 is imbued into the weapon, leading to its eventual colour being a reflection of said
02:58 imprint.
02:59 In Anakin's case, his eventual weapon wound up landing the Jedi in the Guardian class,
03:03 a group known for their blue sabres generally.
03:06 This shade represented the more physical side of the world, and the users of these lightsabers
03:10 were said to have been more gifted when it came to athleticism and duelling.
03:14 Meaning Anakin fit the class like a glove over a mechanical hand.
03:18 7.
03:19 He almost left the Jedi Order at 12 years old
03:21 Jumping back into the earlier years of Anakin's Jedi training now, and to a moment that would
03:25 actually foreshadow an act that would change the galaxy forever.
03:29 With much of the youngster's life being somewhat decided for him throughout his training
03:33 years, his early exchanges with Chancellor Palpatine - particularly a trip to the sub-levels
03:37 of Coruscant - eventually led to a few seeds of doubt being planted into the youngling's
03:42 mind.
03:43 Before long, Anakin felt that he was fed up with the way his life was panning out, and
03:47 confronted his master Obi-Wan about the prospect of turning his back on the Jedi Order.
03:52 In this moment, Anakin went as far as to hold out his lightsaber and tell his master, "This
03:56 doesn't have to be forever.
03:57 I can always come back."
03:59 To which Kenobi responded by trying to get the Chosen One to reconsider.
04:03 In the end, another of the pair's many adventures inevitably forced him back into the fold.
04:07 Anakin saw him take up his Jedi weapon once again, but the seeds were very much planted
04:11 from a young age for his eventual fall.
04:14 6.
04:15 Where That Scar Came From Away from the mainline prequel episodes
04:18 that saw Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen's portrayals of the man who would be Vader,
04:23 Anakin Skywalker experienced a rather gripping rivalry with another apprentice of sorts,
04:27 both in comic books and throughout the animated Clone Wars TV saga.
04:31 And it's during one of his many skirmishes with one Asajj Ventress that this Chosen One
04:36 wound up with one of his most iconic physical traits.
04:39 That being his distinct facial scar down the right side of his mug.
04:43 Coming in the comic book by the name of Republic Dreadnought of Rendili, a trip back down to
04:47 the lower levels of Coruscant to listen to a message from his beloved Padme would lead
04:52 to Anakin being ambushed by the Pale Assassin.
04:54 Nudging Skywalker into an enforced rage, Ventress would prove too great a match for the Jedi
04:59 and skilfully managed to carve the cut into his face.
05:03 Adding further insult to injury, the Dathomirian would then leave with a quip involving her
05:07 confessing that she could have killed Anakin there and then, but simply chose not to because
05:12 she wanted him to know that she could first.
05:15 What a son of a gun.
05:16 5.
05:17 He's a Master of Multiple Dueling Styles As already alluded to, Anakin Skywalker was
05:22 very much famed for his ability with a lightsaber, going on to become one of the most decorated
05:26 and respected generals the Republic had to offer in the Clone Wars.
05:30 So it likely comes as little surprise to discover that Obi-Wan's brother from another mother
05:34 was actually well-versed in a number of lightsaber combat forms.
05:38 With there being seven forms in total, Anakin clearly saw the advantage in brushing up on
05:42 as many as possible before taking on everything from droids to Dark Lords of the Sith.
05:46 And it was because of this dedication to perfecting his blade craft that he ultimately ended up
05:51 becoming somewhat of a master of multiple styles.
05:54 Form 4 aka Aturu, a style known for being aggressive and using force-assisted attacks,
06:00 and Form 5, Shien and Gemso, a style suited to attacks from a distance and blade-on-blade
06:05 combat, are just a few of the ways Skywalker opted to get the job done with his lightsaber
06:09 in hand.
06:10 It was also said that Anakin actually bested many a Jedi Knight who claimed to be masters
06:14 of each of the seven forms over the course of his rise.
06:18 In short, he was bloody good with a blade.
06:20 4.
06:21 He has the power to tame beasts Adding to the impressive toolkit of this
06:24 Jedi legend, a little trick that was also frequently utilised by his former master actually
06:30 appeared to be passed on to the one-time Jedi Knight in the midst of his training.
06:34 After spending his years as a youngling and padawan trying and often failing to tame many
06:38 a beast beside Obi-Wan Kenobi, sometimes even being forced to cut down the creatures as
06:42 a last resort, the penny clearly dropped for Anakin by the time of Attack of the Clones,
06:47 as Skywalker was able to successfully calm down and later ride a reek in the midst of
06:51 the Battle of Geonosis.
06:53 The first one, that is.
06:54 This wouldn't be the first or last time said beast-taming skill would be seen in the
06:58 Star Wars universe, though.
06:59 With everyone from Darth Bane to Qui-Gon Jinn showing off their mastery of animal whispering
07:04 over the years, too.
07:06 3.
07:07 Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale nearly played him
07:09 Since taking our planet by storm with his original trilogy, just about every actor known
07:14 to mankind has been doing everything in their power to become part of George Lucas' galaxy
07:18 far, far away.
07:20 So when the time came to finally have the mighty Anakin Skywalker strut his stuff as
07:24 an adult on the live-action stage, pretty much every rising star in the industry was
07:28 in line to play Obi-Wan's Padawan in the prequels.
07:31 Among this star-studded roster were the likes of Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio.
07:36 While Leo would ultimately pass up on the chance to swing a blue blade about for a few
07:39 blockbuster offerings, Bale was said to have been Lucas' first choice for the part.
07:44 But it just wasn't meant to be, and instead Hayden Christensen would make his own divisive
07:48 mark not exactly aided by Lucas' dodgy dialogue on the prequels.
07:52 Thankfully, the star looked set to revisit the role once more in the upcoming Obi-Wan
07:55 Kenobi Disney+ series, and will no doubt be out to prove his many vocal critics wrong
08:00 through his long-awaited Skywalker/Vader comeback.
08:03 2.
08:04 DROID WEDDING GIFTS Wedding gifts are a tradition not just respected
08:07 in our universe, but in the intergalactic world of Star Wars too.
08:11 You love to see it.
08:12 Yet in the case of Anakin Skywalker, his lack of possessions in general thanks to his Jedi
08:16 lifestyle meant that he didn't exactly have a whole lot to offer in terms of impressive
08:20 gifts on his secret wedding day.
08:22 He did, however, possess a certain droid that he just so happened to build with his
08:26 own two hands before one of them got cut off.
08:30 So Anakin decided to give Padme Amidala C-3PO on the day of their wedding, with his now-wife
08:35 returning the favour by handing him possession of a faithful astromech known as R2-D2.
08:40 This largely explains why R2 rarely leaves Anakin's side throughout the Clone Wars
08:44 and Revenge of the Sith, and why 3PO spends increasingly less time with his creator as
08:48 the series unfolds.
08:50 So next time you're in need of a last-minute wedding present, why not hand the happy couple
08:53 or your soon-to-be spouse a trusty protocol droid or astromech and let the good times
08:58 roll?
08:59 Or not, you do you.
09:00 1.
09:01 THE PREQUEL VILLAINS ALL RELATE TO HIS OWN FALL
09:03 While you'd be forgiven for assuming that a great many of the arrivals that made their
09:07 presence known in the prequel trilogy were merely pumped into the Star Wars universe
09:11 as a way of shifting colourful toys, in reality George Lucas actually appeared to use Episode
09:16 1, 2 and 3's key villains as a way to highlight the various stages of his central figure's
09:21 fall into the dark side.
09:23 In Darth Maul, you have a Sith acolyte consumed by rage and aggression, traits shared by Skywalker.
09:29 Count Dooku pretty much mirrors Anakin's own eventual fate as a fallen Jedi who becomes
09:33 Darth Sidious' apprentice, and General Grievous' appearance acts as a subtle piece of foreshadowing
09:38 for the cyborg future that is right around the corner for Skywalker on the back of his
09:42 fateful duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar.
09:45 Combine all three together and you have the tragic equation needed to create arguably
09:49 the most destructive, captivating and recognisable big bad pop culture has ever known.
09:54 And that's our list!
09:56 Know any other things most folks didn't know about Anakin Skywalker?
09:59 Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
10:02 to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're there.
10:05 Also if you like this kind of thing then head on over to whatculture.com and find some more
10:08 incredible videos just like the one this article that yours truly wrote is based on.
10:12 I've been Gareth from What Culture Star Wars, thank you very much for clicking on this video
10:16 today, may the force be with you and I'll see you very, very soon.