20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith

6. George Lucas Made Major Changes To Anakin's Characterisation During Reshoots

Revenge Of The Sith
Disney

Though George Lucas completed principal photography in the summer of 2003 - a whole 20 months before the film's release - he returned to complete extensive additional photography in the later months of 2004.

During this period, among other things, Lucas made substantial changes to Anakin's character, wishing to clarify his motivations and make his turn to the Dark Side more convincing.

After editing the original shoot's footage together, Lucas realised he wanted to flesh out the context of Anakin's turn, both reshooting scenes and filming additional ones which highlighted Anakin's desire to save Padme's life.

Padme of course ends up being the emotional lynchpin of Anakin's descent, and considering his downfall is probably the most successful piece of storytelling in the entire prequel trilogy, Lucas' instincts served him well here.

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