Star Wars Finally Reveals Anakin Skywalker's Jedi Look - And His Yellow Lightsaber?
May 19, 1999, is one of the most important dates in Star Wars history, as that's when "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" premiered in theaters, launching the prequel trilogy. This year marks its 25th anniversary, with the movie returning to theaters on May 3. The film's also getting a special one-shot comic book courtesy of Marvel, titled "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #1," which is written by Greg Pak. The art is from Will Sliney and Phil Noto designed the cover art.
The comic follows events that occur before, during, and after "The Phantom Menace," told from Anakin Skywalker's point of view. This includes Anakin's dream about being a Jedi, which is only referenced in the film. The sequence sees Anakin return to Tatooine (complete with a yellow lightsaber) to free his mother from slavery. He then tells his mom about the dream, and after reminding him not to get his hopes up, she tells him, "It's a dangerous galaxy. And you're still a boy. I just want you to be safe."
With a six-hour cut of "The Phantom Menace" out there, one can't help but wonder if such a scene is in this extended version. Even if the general public never sees it, they can still enjoy this comic book that delves more into Anakin's life before he descends to the dark side.
Writer Greg Pak wanted to honor Anakin Skywalker's legacy
Typically, Sentinels wield yellow lightsabers in the Star Wars universe, so the color of Anakin's weapon in the one-shot is interesting. He uses the more common blue and green lightsabers throughout the rest of the prequel trilogy. Yellow is a bit harder to come by but can symbolize how the user has changed. Dreams can also mean more than they let on in this franchise, so perhaps Anakin is foreseeing how he would change from Jedi to Sith to back to the light side before his death.
Regardless of any hidden meaning, writer Greg Pak was astounded to play a role in Anakin's legacy. He spoke about the journey to StarWars.com: "I delved deep into the prequels when I came on board as the writer of Marvel's 'Darth Vader' comics, watching and rewatching all of them. And I found myself dazzled by the long game George Lucas was playing in laying out the tragedy of Darth Vader." The dream shows how far Anakin fell, as he had major childhood aspirations, only to succumb to the dark side's temptations.
Then again, maybe Anakin was looking even further into the future. After all, Rey (Daisy Ridley) gets a yellow lightsaber at the end of "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker" while adopting the last name of "Skywalker." Maybe he was seeing Rey redeeming the Skywalker name and continuing to be a force of good in the galaxy. Either way, fans can read the full issue once it's available for sale on May 1.