Star Wars: 10 Massive Plot Holes The Prequels Stupidly Created
6. Why Did Anakin Revert Back To His Twenty-Two Year Old Self As Ghost?
Not a direct thing raised by the prequels, but the Special Editions, this plot hole is so heavily prequel-influenced that I think its appearance is justified here.
As everyone gleefully remembers, Return Of The Jedi ends with Anakin becoming a force ghost. In the original version he was played by Sebastian Shaw, whod also been the dying Anakin a few minutes earlier. Nowadays, from the 2004 Special Editions onwards, Shaw is replaced by Hayden Christensen, who hasn't been seen for three films and Luke doesn't have a hope of recognising.
The implication of the original is that Anakin has been redeemed and can now rejoin to Jedi. The newer edit seems to ignore redemption, instead saying Anakin was last good before he turned. Obviously it's disrespectful to the character's death and title to say that he hadn't at the end returned, but the real prequel-fuelled issue is that we never really see Anakin as a good person after Episode I. In AOTC he's whiny and quick to anger, slaughtering innocents and betraying his oath. In ROTS he's pretty much the same for the entire film, only this time he shouts more.
Yes, it's another change to the originals everyone hates, but the real sense of distaste comes from it making no sense in the context of the prequels. If you're really going that route, shouldn't it have been Jake Lloyd at the end instead?