— Ch. 1 · Conception And Design Evolution —
Darth Vader.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
George Lucas hired concept artist Ralph McQuarrie during pre-production of the original Star Wars film in 1975. Lucas asked McQuarrie to depict a very tall, dark fluttering figure that had a spooky feeling like it came in on the wind. Because the script described Vader traveling between spaceships, McQuarrie suggested he should wear a space suit. Lucas agreed, and McQuarrie created Vader's iconic mask by combining a full-face breathing mask with a samurai helmet. A 1975 production painting by McQuarrie depicts Vader engaged in a lightsaber duel with Deak Starkiller, who later became Luke Skywalker. This early design was similar to Vader's final appearance. Working from McQuarrie's concepts, costume designer John Mollo devised an outfit that combined clerical robes, a motorcycle suit, a German military helmet, and a military gas mask. The prop sculptor Brian Muir created the helmet and armor. The sound of Vader's breathing was created by the film's sound designer Ben Burtt using modified recordings of a scuba breathing apparatus. The sound effect is trademarked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The Tragic Fall Of Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker is introduced as a nine-year-old slave living on Tatooine with his mother Shmi in the 1999 film The Phantom Menace. He is a gifted pilot and mechanic who has built his own protocol droid C-3PO. Qui-Gon Jinn meets Anakin after making an emergency landing on Tatooine with Padmé Amidala, the queen of Naboo. Qui-Gon learns that Anakin was conceived without a father and can see the future. After winning his freedom in a podrace wager, Anakin departs the planet with Qui-Gon to be trained as a Jedi. During the journey to Coruscant, Anakin forms a bond with Padmé. Qui-Gon asks the Jedi Council for permission to train Anakin, but they refuse because the fear he exhibits makes him vulnerable to the dark side. In Attack of the Clones set ten years later, Anakin rescues Padmé from an assassination attempt and travels with her to Naboo as her bodyguard. They fall in love despite a Jedi Code prohibition against romantic relationships. Sensing that his mother is in danger, Anakin travels with Padmé to Tatooine and finds she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. He locates her at a Tusken campsite where she dies in his arms. Overcome with grief and rage, Anakin massacres the Tusken tribe.