The story answers a burning question from the prequel trilogy and helps define Anakin Sky Walker’s fall to the dark side.
There are few films that have sparked as much heated debate over the years as war of stars have movies. Because of the way certain scenes were filmed, arguments arose about what happened during those scenes. And for the most part, a lot of those “did he or didn’t he?” Moments go unanswered.
But now a new one war of stars Next year’s novel will answer one of those questions. The story will shed light on one of the burning questions related to a particular scene in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clonesconfirming exactly when Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side of the Force began. It’s fitting that this story is told now, considering Hayden Christiensen’s imminent return as Anakin Skywalker Ahsoka series as well as his appearances as Darth Vader in the upcoming Obi Wan Kenobi Series.
The specific scene referenced in the novel takes place after Anakin Skywalker had a dream about his mother on Tatooine, where he dreams of her who is in pain. He travels to Tatooine to seek out his mother and learns that slaver Watto had sold her to a moisture farmer, Cliegg Lars. When he travels to the Lars ranch, he learns that she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders in one of their recent attacks.
He impetuously takes it upon himself to carry out a Jedi rescue of his mother, sneaking into the Tusken raider camp and slaughtering them all after his mother dies in his arms from the raiders’ injuries.
As the film cuts from the massacre and goes back to the Jedi Temple to focus on Master Yoda, we hear Qui-Gon Jinn’s voice saying, “Anakin! Anakin! No!” But it was never clear if Anakan had heard him during that scene, or if only Master Yoda had heard the fallen Qui-Gon’s admonition.
The upcoming Star Wars novel Queen’s hope by EK Johnston creates clarity. A new excerpt from the novel, which is the third in a trilogy centered on Padmé Amidala, was released on StarWars.com finds Padmé and Anakin on their wedding day. Before Anakin marries, he pays his respects to Qui-Gon at the shrine built on the planet to honor Qui-Gon’s sacrifice, having died there at the hands of Darth Maul years earlier. At that moment, Anakin recalls hearing and ignoring Qui-Gon’s voice on Tatooine:
“He had heard Qui-Gon’s voice in the desert, begging him to listen to his better nature and not give in to his hatred. He hadn’t been listening. At the time he had told himself he was imagining it, but he knew he was lying. If Qui-Gon was out there, Anakin kind of owed him an apology. And he would always appreciate the Master’s advice.”
“But he didn’t find anything. Anakin took a closer look. There were so many struggles in his future, but it was all for the good of the republic, for order. Maybe Qui-Gon wanted him to see that. There was always a way for him to get it right.”
This excerpt brings clarity to a scene that was very vague and helps define just how deep Anakin’s fall was. It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to justify its actions, to find a way to please its master. Star Wars: Queen’s Hope goes on sale April 5th.