Revenge of the Sith: Twenty Years Later

Star Wars has been massive since my parents were kids. Everyone’s got their favorite character or storyline. Even my dad, who despises sci-fi and especially aliens, tolerates The Mandalorian because Grogu’s cute. And Darth Vader? He’s one of the most well known and loved character in all of fiction. My first Star Wars movies were the prequels. I remember watching The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones on my cousin’s junky portable DVD player in my aunt’s truck. I barely followed the story, but lightsabers were the coolest thing ever to a little boy (and a grown man if we’re being honest). Then Revenge of the Sith hit in 2005. My parents didn’t have cash for movie tickets since they worked nonstop and my dad was in college, so I pieced together the plot from Burger King toys and school friends.

Burger King actually ruined Revenge of the Sith for me. For thirty years, every adult and nerd knew Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader and that the prequels were about his Dark Side spiral. But ten-year-old me? No clue. One day at Burger King, I got a kids’ meal toy: a Darth Vader figure that opened to reveal a tiny Anakin inside. I gawked, fries ignored, as my brain imploded. The kid who raced pods and slaughtered not just the men, but the women and the children too, was Vader? And nobody thought to tell me? I plotted my own Sith arc while my mom asked if I needed ketchup. Total betrayal.

Spoiler Alert

I didn’t see the movie in theaters, so a kid at school filled me in. I forgot his name, but in fifth grade, this guy would recap entire movies like a hyperactive narrator. That’s how I “watched” The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and the 2005 USC National Championship game. His Revenge of the Sith retelling was a mess, as to be expected from a cold, but I ate it up, picturing Anakin slicing Jedi like a playground bully gone rogue.

I grabbed Revenge of the Sith on DVD the day it dropped and watched it until the disc skipped. But in 2025, twenty years later, I finally saw it in theaters. I went with my girlfriend and I might’ve gotten way too into it. The theater was packed as I’m sure it was back in the day. When John Williams’ score blared and the screen lit up, I was a kid again. Every time Anakin did something evil, like chopping off hands or slaughtering younglings, I leaned over and told my girlfriend, “I’d do that for you. From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!” She’d glare, and I’d spend five minutes swearing I was joking. I wasn’t. The lightsabers, the betrayal, the youngling carnage, it was glorious on the big screen.

Anakin Was Right

I’m definitely a “Jedi are evil” truther. They basically grabbed Anakin’s hand and walked him to the Dark Side. They called him dangerous from day one, let his mom rot in slavery, told him to shut up and deal, ignored his fears, sent him on suicide missions, and then snubbed him for Jedi Master. It was insulting. Unfair! All he wanted was to save Padmé, unlike his mom who they let die. The Jedi were like corporate suits who overwork and under appreciate their best guy until he burns out and snaps. Anakin’s snap just unfortunately did both. “I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire,” he said, and honestly, I get it.

I love Revenge of the Sith. It’s my Star Wars peak. But I’ve outgrown the franchise. The sequels were a dumpster fire, so I barely touch Star Wars anymore, except The Mandalorian for Grogu’s sake. Still, seeing Revenge of the Sith in theaters was a childhood dream come true. It was everything I wanted as a kid stitching the saga together from fast-food toys and schoolyard spoilers. The Jedi may have botched Anakin’s redemption, but that theater moment redeemed my inner ten-year-old. It’s a memory of lightsaber fights, Sith-level loyalty, and a story I’ll always carry, even if I never watch another sequel again.