Star Wars Changes Anakin Skywalker Story And Fans Called It

Star Wars confirmed that Anakin Skywalker was born via the Force

By Phillip Moyer | Updated

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Star Wars fans who watched the prequel trilogy were left with the impression that Anakin Skywalker was a virgin birth, making him a sort of Force-conceived Jesus that would go on to slaughter innocents. However, that theory was never directly confirmed in-universe. In fact, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the mysterious birth after Episode 1.

That lead the fandom to create its own headcanon: that Senator (and future emperor) Palpatine manipulated the force to create life inside Shimi Skywalker — a fact that he allegedly hinted at when recounting the “tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise” in Episode 3. This fan theory has received an official confirmation in the 25th issue of Marvel‘s Darth Vader comic series.

Palpatine created Anakin Skywalker via the Force, creating life inside Shimi Skywalker…

According to ScreenRant, the issue of the canonical series shows that Palpatine personally created Anakin Skywalker via the Force. He presumably channeled the same life-creating powers that Darth Plagueis possessed. He then chose to manipulate Anakin and turn his force-conceived child into his own apprentice.

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While Darth Vader #25 confirms Anakin Skywalker’s origin in Disney canon, this isn’t the first time that an official Star Wars publication has pointed at Palpatine’s involvement in Skywalker’s birth.

Palpatine and Plagueis worked together to create Anakin using midi-chlorians…

The 2012 novel Darth Plagueis stated that both Palpatine and Plagueis worked together to create Anakin using midi-chlorians. However, these midi-chlorians rejected the duo’s dark side influence, and created a child that would ultimately destroy the Sith.

Darth Plagueis was originally a canonical novel when it was released into the Star Wars extended universe more than a decade ago. However, after Disney acquired the rights to Star Wars, they chose to reject the canon created outside of the movies and TV shows.

This meant that Darth Plagueis, alongside the hundreds of novels, comic books, and video games created before Disney acquired the rights to Star Wars in late 2012, no longer happened, as far as the House of Mouse is concerned.

Disney has largely rejected Star Wars canon outside of its movies and TV shows.

However, the confirmation that Palpatine is Anakin Skywalker’s force-daddy isn’t the only time that Disney has reached back into the rejected novels to bring back beloved characters. Thrawn, who was introduced in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, was reintroduced in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels. Other elements of the Thrawn Trilogy appear to be making their way back into canon as well, based on what we saw from the Ashoka trailer

Thrawn is not alone in rejoining the Star Wars canon alongside Anakin Skywalker’s force-manipulated birth. The green, rabbit-like Jaxxon the Lepi, a somewhat bizarre character from the 1970s Marvel Star Wars comics, returned in the Star Wars Adventures comic series.

Other characters, such as Prince Xizor from Shadows of the Empire and Malla from the Star Wars Holiday Special have also been mentioned, if not featured, in Disney-produced works.

With the fan theory about Anakin Skywalker’s birth officially confirmed, who knows what other fan theories will make it into canon. Perhaps one day, Disney will finally admit the truth we all know in our hearts: that Jar Jar Binks was secretly a Sith Lord after all.