Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker never falls to the Dark Side and is granted the rank of Jedi Master in Uzuri Art's latest piece of Star Wars artwork. The Canadian actor portrayed the young Jedi Knight who would ultimately become Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Despite being a victim of a toxic fandom backlash to the prequel films upon release, Christensen returned to portray Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi while also reprising the role of a younger Anakin in a flashback sequence, returning to the franchise after 17 years.
The child of Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August), Anakin Skywalker (Portrayed as a child by Jake Lloyd) was a talented mechanic and pilot from the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. Born into slavery, a meeting with the Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) would change young Anakin's life, as he would be offered a place in the Jedi Order. Under the tutelage of Jinn's padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) following the Master's death, Anakin would become one of the Order's most celebrated figures. However, between the death of his mother, the horrors of the Clone Wars, his forbidden romance with Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), and his padawan Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) leaving the Order, Anakin gradually loses his faith in the Jedi Path. Feeling unable to rely on the other Masters or even Obi-Wan, Anakin ultimately turned on the Order after receiving visions of Padme's death, turning to the teachings of the Dark Side and becoming the Sith Lord, Darth Vader. Despite Anakin's fall being core to the Skywalker Saga, one artist has imagined a different fate for the character.
On their Instagram account, Uzuri Art shared their own design for an Anakin Skywalker who never fell to the Dark Side and became a Jedi Master. While Anakin's long dark robes still evoke Vader's silhouette by resembling the Sith Lord's robes that feature over his armor, his undertunics are inspired by the familiar robes of a Jedi, with Anakin hasn't sustained the injuries he received fighting Obi-Wan on Mustafar. Check out Uzuri Art's post above.
Star Wars Would Be Radically Different If Anakin Never Became Darth Vader
While Star Wars comics explored a redeemed Vader through visions in Charles Soule's 2017 Darth Vader series, and alternate universe scenarios in Dark Horse Comics' Infinities series, the franchise has never directly depicted how different the galaxy would be if Anakin never fell to the Sith at all. While Sheev Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) plan to destroy the Jedi and control the galaxy had many steps beyond manipulating Anakin, his fall was ultimately the move that allowed everything else to fall into place. Had Anakin never given in to his worst fears, Palpatine would have likely not been able to defeat Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) when the Jedi Master went to arrest him. While the Clone Wars still changed the galaxy and left the public's faith in the Jedi shaken, Order 66 would have never been implemented, and the Republic would never be reorganized into the Empire. Furthermore, Anakin would ultimately never lose Padme through his actions, and he would be able to raise Luke and Leia with her.
Star Wars has added new layers to Vaders' redemption in recent years, showing the man he was still remained deep inside the armor long before his redemption at Endor. As such, many dedicated and passionate fans often envision the galaxy could have been different if he had never given in to his fears. Uzuri Art's artwork is a perfect rendering of this popular what-if scenario, allowing viewers to picture Anakin achieving his full potential in the Jedi Order.
Source: Uzuri Art/ Instagram