The Star Wars franchise is a fascinating place. Arguably the biggest movie franchise of all time, George Lucas' colorful world has enthralled generations of moviegoers. And with Disney in charge of Lucasfilm, there are plenty of new and exciting projects coming to the galaxy far, far away.
Disney has been methodically releasing new Star Wars projects, including main installments, standalone films, and upcoming series for the Disney+ service. Moviegoers were especially excited for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which allowed the beloved Darth Vader character to return in an epic fashion. The fandom is eager for more Vader, and now a fan has made a short film all about Vader and The Emperor. Check out Shards of The Past below.
Does anyone else have chills? This new fan film shows the conflicted nature of Darth Vader at the height of his darkness, showing that Anakin Skywalker was apparently inside him all along. It helps make his actions in Return of The Jedi make more sense, and expands the franchise's signature character in a fascinating way.
The above film is titled Vader Episode 1: Shards Of The Past - Star Wars Theory FanFilm, and is set sometime in between the events of Revenge of The Sith and before Darth Vader eventually appeared as the main villain in A New Hope. That gap of time is briefly addressed in Rogue One, but Vader's time as a Jedi-killing agent of evil is still largely unaccounted for in the official canon. As such, Shards of The Past helps fill in the blanks in a way that fans are definitely responding to.
The above video shows how Darth Vader was still very conflicted while working for The Emperor. Despite hating Obi-Wan and leaving the Jedi behind, there is one thing that haunts the masked villain: his wife's death. Anakin is the reason for Padme's death in Episode III, with Natalie Portman's character passing after giving birth to a young Luke and Leia. In addition to force choking Padme, Vader's turn to the dark side ended her will to live, and her body shut down.
It's a heartbreaking twist for the galactic couple, and certainly one that would presumably haunt Anakin. But other than his cringe-y "No!!", the Star Wars franchise has never really addressed how Padme's death affected Vader. Until now.
Shards of The Past has already gone viral, as the Star Wars fans are really responding to the focus on Darth Vader. At the time of writing, the short has a whopping 330K views, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Because if there's one thing that Star War fans love, it's Vader.
It should be fascinating to see if/how Vader is used in future installments of the Star Wars franchise. The Skywalker Saga will come to an end with J.J. Abrams' Episode IX, so it's not out of the question that Anakin might pop back up as a Force Ghost in the movie. And standalone movies, Rian Johnson's trilogy, and The Mandalorian TV series all present opportunities for Darth Vader to pop back up.
The galaxy far, far away will return to theaters when Episode IX arrives on December 20th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
