10 Biggest Star Wars What Ifs
2. What If Luke Became Darth Vader
It may come as a surprise to hear that there was actually an early pitch to have Luke Skywalker suddenly pull off the mother of all heel turns in the closing stages of Return of the Jedi.
In a "What If?" scenario come to life, George Lucas once pitched to screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan that instead of having Luke merely hold onto his newly redeemed father as he kissed goodbye to the land of the living, the Skywalker son would've picked up his papa's mantle.
As Lucas would reportedly pitch:
"Luke takes his mask off. The mask is the very last thing — and then Luke puts it on and says, 'Now I am Vader.' Surprise! The ultimate twist. 'Now I will go and kill the (Rebel) fleet and I will rule the universe.'"
Kasdan was all in on this seriously dark turn of events, it must be said, though Lucas would eventually remind the writer that this was supposed to be "for kids." So, maybe having the hero go on a Rebel killing spree wasn't the best shout.
But if you thought the "I am your father!" reveal was something, just imagine the amount of jaws that would've hit the floor had Luke decided to take advantage of the Sith power vacuum and rule the galaxy, perhaps with his sister Leia along for the ride as his padawan, too.
Keep it in the family, and all that...