Anakin Skywalker is the central character in the Star Wars saga. The original and prequel trilogies follow Anakin's rise as a vessel of The Force, his fall to the dark side, and his ultimate redemption. In the prequel films, Anakin is a Jedi Padawan, and later a Jedi Knight of legend.

As revealed in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, he is the alter ego of Sith Lord Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) and the father of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) Sebastian Shaw portrayed Anakin in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi in the scenes where Darth Vader's helmet is removed and when he appears as a Force-ghost with Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the prequel trilogy, Anakin is portrayed by then-ten-year-old Jake Lloyd in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and by Hayden Christensen in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Stock footage of Christensen appears in the 2004 DVD release of Return of the Jedi, replacing Shaw in the movie's final scene.

A character named "Anakin Starkiller" appears in an early draft of Star Wars playing a role similar to Luke Skywalker's, as the 16-year-old son of a respected warrior. He wants to have a mustache. In one of the earlier drafts, Anakin was an older man in his 50s.

On one of the final drafts, the name was changed into Anakin Skywalker. For The Phantom Menace, Star Wars creator George Lucas changed young Anakin's age from 12 to nine to make the character's departure from his mother more poignant. Anakin was named after one of George Lucas's workers, Annakin.

Anakin Skywalker grew up as a child-slave on the planet Tatooine, where he was the only known human capable of competing against aliens in Podracing. He was discovered by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and later became Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan learner. He eventually crossed over to the dark side as Darth Vader, but later turned back to the light side of the Force immediately before his death.

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