As promised, here's my thread on how the prequels could have kept the secret that Vader was Luke's father. Buckle in, because it's going to be a long one.
So, a little backstory: years and years ago, borne out of my disappointment in the prequels and my love of the Star Wars radio dramas, I thought it would be super cool to do radio dramas of the way the prequels SHOULD have gone—my plan was three series of six half-hour episodes.
Because this is the kind of stupid idea you have when you're in your 20s daydreaming about being a writer, not pushing 40 and trying to make a living as one. (And present-day professional-podcaster me laughs at my "easy" idea to knock out three six-part radio dramas.)
Anyway, my intent was to make prequels based on what we "knew" from the original trilogy. For example, Anakin would be a navigator on a spice freighter when Obi-Wan initially encounters him, not a little kid. (Of course, those details are pretty sparse in the original trilogy.)
Disclaimer: I will likely never actually do anything with this, because what's the point? Twenty years later the prequels are established, for better or worse, and there's nothing to be gained from me writing my take. Especially since there's a lot of actual work I should do. 😬
So, the key thing for me was maintaining the reveal of Vader as Luke's father if you watched the episodes in chronological order. I'm still a little bummed that the prequels throw that—one of cinema's greatest twists—to the wind.
If Anakin's fall to the dark side had been a compelling narrative on its own, I could have seen sacrificing the reveal. But the prequels, as they were told, weren't it. (See @FaithErinHicks's magnificent thread, which is what started me down memory lane: )
So, here was how I approached it: Mid-way through the middle of the story, around Episode II, the Emperor's new apprentice, Darth Vader, appears. Where does Vader come from? It doesn't really matter: we don't know where Maul or Dooku come from either.
Seriously, dude seems to have a stack of Sith that he just dusts off whenever he needs a new one.
Anyway, Vader is doing the emperor's bidding. He's imposing and wears a mask to conceal his identity.
As this is happening, we see a parallel story of Anakin sliding to the dark side. He's broken and angry, and the Emperor plays on his vulnerability much as he actually does.
As this is happening, we see a parallel story of Anakin sliding to the dark side. He's broken and angry, and the Emperor plays on his vulnerability much as he actually does.
The siren song of "wouldn't this all be so much easier if we could *make* people do what we want?" Anakin's leading a double life: an upstanding Jedi by day, Sith Lord in training by night. And NOBODY KNOWS. Not Obi-Wan, not Padmé, and, most importantly, NOT THE AUDIENCE.
We see these stories playing out in parallel, with Vader only occasionally glimpsed. Perhaps even more of a rumor than substance. The Jedi are concerned, but don't know who this guy is or how to fight him. Again, not dissimilar from how Maul/Dooku are mysterious.
Anakin's darkness, however, is bleeding through. He's growing increasingly erratic, dissatisfied with the Jedi status quo. He's hiding stuff, being secretive. Obi-Wan, who is still Anakin's master, convinced that he could train him as well as Yoda, is concerned. They clash.
Dispatched by the Jedi to find Vader, Obi-Wan and Anakin have a confutation. Obi-Wan fears Anakin is on the edge of the dark side. Anakin thinks he knows better. The fight gets physical and ends with Anakin falling into lava. (Again, something we "knew" before the prequels.)
Obi-Wan, filled with remorse, believes that he has killed his friend and pupil, who was falling to the dark side. His guilt and shame mean that he can't cop to either of those, so what does he do? He uses a scapegoat: They located Vader, but *he* was the one who killed Anakin.
Dark, right? Sure, but it's SUPPOSED TO BE.
The Emperor rescues Anakin, puts him in the Vader suit. He's already got the mask because he had to hide his identity! He becomes the symbol of fear for the Empire, the Emperor's strong right hand.
The Emperor rescues Anakin, puts him in the Vader suit. He's already got the mask because he had to hide his identity! He becomes the symbol of fear for the Empire, the Emperor's strong right hand.
And Obi-Wan, out of guilt having killed his friend, goes to watch over Anakin's son on Tattooine.
So when Episode IV rolls around and Obi-Wan tells Luke "my pupil Darth Vader killed your dad," the audience is like WHOOOOA, WAIT A SECOND THERE, BENNY.
Now we have misdirection.
So when Episode IV rolls around and Obi-Wan tells Luke "my pupil Darth Vader killed your dad," the audience is like WHOOOOA, WAIT A SECOND THERE, BENNY.
Now we have misdirection.
The audience is looking at the magician's hand where they are damn sure they're holding a coin. They think Obi-Wan's covering his ass, that he can't tell Luke "oh yeah, I totally killed your dad." When he eventually lets Vader kill him to save Luke, it reads as atonement.
This also means when we get to Episode V and the big reveal, we the audience think we're ahead of the game. We know Luke will confront Vader, thinking he murdered Anakin, but he will be devastated when he finds out it was his good buddy and mentor Obi-Wan. OH MAN THE PATHOS.
Boom.
So, there you go. That's how I'd do it. Yes, Obi-Wan has figured out the truth in the long gap between Episodes III and IV, but we the audience don't know that. He still wants to keep it from Luke for all the same reasons as before—that's just not what the audience thinks.
Oh, and here's a fun serendipitous piece of trivia: while they were filming Empire, the Vader reveal was kept under wraps from pretty much everybody. David Prowse, the actor who was in the Vader suit, was given a fake script where his line was "No, Obi-Wan killed your father."
This is probably the longest thread I will ever write on Twitter, and hopefully it's not also the first line of my obituary. Uh, please buy my books. dmoren.com/the-aleph-extr…
