The slaughter of Jedi younglings by Anakin Skywalker has been recreated as religious iconography in new fan art. The moment is regarded by many Star Wars fans as one of the most disturbing in the prequel trilogy, taking place in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith.
The three prequel films kicked off with 1999’s The Phantom Menace and gradually built to a substantial finale in which the rise of Anakin from young Jedi hopeful to Darth Vader was chronicled. Today the films are seen by many in a slightly more endearing light. However, upon their initial release, the excitement that so many fans had felt for new entries in the Star Wars franchise after so long quickly dissipated. This was due in large part to decisions that series creator George Lucas made along the way, and the addition of annoying characters such as Jar Jar Binks. Yet despite the backlash that the first two films in the prequels received, Revenge of the Sith seemed to command a little more respect among fans – likely because it delved firmly into the conclusion that everyone was eager to see, that is, the transformation of Anakin into Vader. The journey to the Dark Side had been a long and drawn-out affair, and Revenge of the Sith rewarded fans for their patience.
Today, with so many new additions to the Star Wars franchise, it’s not often that fans pay tribute to the events of the prequels. However, some great new fan art has arrived courtesy of Instagram user @scadarts. The artwork, which can be seen below, depicts the moment that Anakin takes part in Order 66, arriving at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and slaughtering every Jedi in his way, the vast bulk of which are children. As previously stated, the moment is a disturbing one and @scandarts has managed to give it a very medieval twist by capturing the grim event in the vein of religious iconography.
As far as major moments go in the Star Wars franchise, Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side is arguably one of the biggest. After all, an entire trilogy was built around this exact occasion. For this reason, a piece of fan art done as religious iconography commemorates the slaughter of the Younglings as the sort of essential Star Wars lore that it is. Arguably the only thing that’s missing here is a series of these images, depicting the slaughter in full. Nonetheless, @scadarts has remarkably managed to capture the mood and tone of that dark moment in Revenge of the Sith when Anakin fully and brutally commits himself to the Dark Side.
Whether we see more artwork from @scadarts that immortalizes major plot points in the Star Wars franchise remains to be seen, but it’s hard to imagine a more essential moment than this one. Then again, perhaps it’s the passage of time that gives this particular moment so much of its power. Fifteen years now from now, maybe Rey and Kylo Ren’s finale battle against Palpatine could be worthy of the same degree of reverence.
Source: @scadarts via Instagram