One 26-year-old George Lucas quote reveals the Star Wars creator’s true opinion of Anakin Skywalker’s Jedi training, and it completely changes Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The Phantom Menace was a massive update to Anakin Skywalker’s Star Wars timeline, especially because it introduced the Chosen One prophecy.
It was already clear in the original trilogy that Anakin/Darth Vader was among the most important characters in Star Wars movies and TV shows, but this gave his role even more significance. Because of this, it’s easy to assume Anakin was always destined to be trained as a Jedi, but George Lucas expressed a different opinion in 1999.
George Lucas Believed Qui-Gon Jinn Was Wrong About Anakin’s Training
This Shocking Quote Reveals George Lucas’ True Opinion Of Anakin Skywalker’s Jedi Path
In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn quickly became absolutely determined to bring Anakin to the Jedi Temple and train him as a Jedi. In fact, even when he brought Anakin before the Jedi Council and the Council decided Anakin couldn’t be trained, Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan Kenobi that he was going to train Anakin regardless.
That stubborn nature persisted even when Qui-Gon was dying, as his last wish was for Obi-Wan to promise he would train Anakin. Although that persistence seemed antithetical to the way of the Jedi even back then, it ultimately seemed worth it in the end. Yes, Anakin became Darth Vader, but he also did eventually bring balance.
Before that, Anakin had also proven to be one of Star Wars’ most powerful Jedi, and he was instrumental in the Clone Wars (a sham though they ultimately turned out to be). Arguably, it seemed like Anakin was destined for greater, but he’d simply made some horrible choices that set him on a different, and wrong, path.
Yet, a 1999 interview with George Lucas reveals that this wasn’t exactly what he had in mind while creating The Phantom Menace. Rather, George Lucas believed Qui-Gon was wrong about training Anakin. Speaking with Cut Magazine, Lucas explained:
“I think it is obvious that he [Qui-Gon] was wrong in Episode I and made a dangerous decision, but ultimately this decision may be correct. The ‘phantom menace’ refers to the force of the dark side of the universe. Anakin will be taken over by dark forces which in turn destroy the balance of the Galaxy, but the individual who kills the Emperor is Darth Vader – also Anakin.”
While Lucas’ comments about this choice eventually being correct (maybe) add some complexity, it’s interesting to know that Lucas thought Qui-Gon was in the wrong. It’s true that Qui-Gon was pushy, stubborn, and even self-serving, but one would think that Anakin, as the Chosen One, needed to be trained in the Jedi Order.
In Lucas’ View, Yoda’s (Initial) Rejection Of Anakin Was The Right Decision
George Lucas Believes Yoda Was Right To Deny Anakin Acceptance Into The Order
The flip side of this statement is the confirmation that, in George Lucas’ view, Yoda’s initial rejection of Anakin was the correct decision. This, too, has been a debate within the fandom, particularly along the lines of how the Council treated Anakin when he was just a young boy.
Part of the Council’s rejection of Anakin came down to his age. The Jedi Initiates—the first of the ranks of the Jedi Order—are traditionally babies or toddlers when they are brought to the Order, which is primarily due to the dangers of familial attachments from the perspective of the Jedi.
That is, the older an Initiate is, the stronger their attachment to their family will likely be. That was certainly one of the main concerns the Council had when they met Anakin, although the way they handled that concern has long been criticized.
Specifically, when Yoda and the others on the Council looked at Anakin, a scared little boy who had been taken from his mother and (reasonably, especially considering he’d never known anything else) missed her, they warned him that his feelings were a path to the dark side.
This no doubt only increased Anakin’s sense of fear, and, given they eventually did allow Anakin into the Jedi Order, it set Anakin up to be bitter and resentful toward the Jedi. Lucas’ comments didn’t offer insight into how well—or poorly—he believed this was handled, but they do suggest he believed this rejection was correct.
Related
Why I Still Blame The Jedi For Anakin Skywalker’s Fall To The Dark Side
Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side in Star Wars was multifaceted, but the Jedi are at least partially to blame for several key reasons.
George Lucas’ Perspective Completely Changes The Phantom Menace
From This Point Of View, This Wasn’t The Beginning Of Anakin’s Destiny; It Was A Mistake
The original trilogy cemented that Anakin’s fate was to become Darth Vader, which made his admittance into the Jedi Order doomed from the start, but it still seemed as though his story in The Phantom Menace was the beginning of a path Anakin was meant to be on. George Lucas’ 1999 comments suggest that isn’t true, though.
Rather, Lucas’ belief that Qui-Gon was wrong implies that Anakin being in the Jedi Order was never meant to happen, thereby completely changing the nature of The Phantom Menace. This also raises fascinating questions about how Anakin could truly have been the Chosen One at all if he was never meant to be in the Order.
Lucas’ belief that Qui-Gon was wrong implies that Anakin being in the Jedi Order was never meant to happen.
The prophecy doesn’t specifically say the prophesied being is a Jedi, but the very notion that Anakin (or the Chosen One in general) would bring balance to the Force suggests that this person would be Force-sensitive. That, in turn, leads me to another question: Had Anakin not joined the Order, what would have become of him after The Phantom Menace?
The answers to this question have me convinced that George Lucas’ opinion about Qui-Gon being wrong isn’t quite right. In fact, had Anakin been rejected by the Jedi Order, his fate—and the fate of the larger galaxy—could have been so much worse.
We Respectfully Disagree With George Lucas
This Would Have Made Anakin Even MORE Susceptible To Palpatine’s Manipulations
George Lucas is of course the final authority on Star Wars, particularly the original and prequel trilogies, but I have to disagree with the idea that Qui-Gon was wrong. By the time Anakin was brought before the Jedi Council, Palpatine would already have been aware of him.
Arguably, the Jedi Order kept Anakin protected from Palpatine for longer. Had the Jedi stuck to their original decision to not train Anakin, Palpatine no doubt would have swooped in even earlier to twist Anakin to the dark side and train him as his Sith apprentice.
Had the Jedi stuck to their original decision to not train Anakin, Palpatine no doubt would have swooped in even earlier to twist Anakin to the dark side.
In fact, it would have been even easier for Palpatine to do so, as, following this rejection and the Council’s relatively harsh comments, Anakin would have been bitter about the Jedi. It would have been all too easy for Palpatine to take that bitterness and twist it into out-and-out hatred.
Sure, that wouldn’t have given Palpatine the same insider access to the Jedi Order that he had through Anakin, especially once he managed to secure Anakin a spot on the Council, but it could have made Anakin even more powerful, angry, and full of hate—and therefore even more dangerous.
While Qui-Gon’s insistence on training Anakin and the Jedi Council’s reversal of their initial decision ended with Anakin turning against the Jedi and helping Palpatine nearly eradicate them, I just can’t accept that it would have been better for Anakin Skywalker to have never joined the Order in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
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