8 Ways Darth Vader Almost Turned Out Completely Different

3. He Died At The End Of A New Hope

Anakin Skywalker is such an essential part of the Star Wars saga we know today but that wasn't always the case; back in the early drafts the Vader-Valorum portmanteau was going to die at the end of Star Wars. A minor Imperial with some Force powers, his role was essentially to expand the scope of Force sensitives, which his very presence did.

As a secondary villain, however, it was logical for him to die before the end credits roll. Some of this idea stuck in the film itself; Vader's escape is based entirely on luck, with a TIE Fighter pilot (and not Han's blasters) sending him flying from the soon to be destroyed Death Star.

It goes without saying killing Vader at this point would have altered the direction of the saga completely from what we know. Even when he decided to spare Darth, Lucas had already been thinking of taking the saga away from family politics to something more galactic.

But one, out of the blue idea changed his mind...