Mad Props!

Saw Revenge of the Sith again last night. I was a bit concerned that the second time through I would like it less, but it was just as good.

While I was watching it, a thought occurred to me: What if Lucas wanted to keep the surprise of Vader being Luke's father in Episode V, for those people who had not yet seen the original trilogy? I mean, say someone has seen this new trilogy but has not yet seen episodes IV, V and VI? Would it have been possible to write Episode III in such a way that you really didn't know that Vader is Luke's father?

Here's how I'd do it (and yes, spoilers for those who still haven't seen Episode III):

First, Anakin can still become Palpatine's new apprentice. That whole plotline can still work the way it originally did. However, Palpatine should never refer to Anakin as 'Vader' - that would ruin the surprise. Instead, keep calling him Anakin.

Second, when Obi Wan defeats Anakin on Mustafar, and leaves him for dead, burning on the volcanic rock, that should be the last we see of Anakin. The audience should assume, too, that he is dead and gone. We should never see any scenes of him being 'rescued' by Palpatine and reborn as Vader.

Thirdly, Obi Wan and Yoda can still hide the twins, but be clear that they're being hidden from Palpatine, not Vader. In the actual movie, Obi Wan at this stage had assumed that Anakin was dead anyway, so not much has to change here.

So with these three subtle changes, Episode IV (Star Wars - A New Hope) suddenly becomes very different. Vader is now a new character - the Emperor's new apprentice. For all the viewer knows, Anakin is dead and long forgotten. The only strange thing would be when Ben Kenobi tells Luke that his father was betrayed and murdered by Vader. Imagine your reaction to that line if you had only seen the new films, with the above modifications. "What? Vader didn't kill Anakin, Obi Wan did! WTF?"

I'd love to see a 'Phantom Edit' version of Episode III that included these changes. Imagine someone seeing all six movies for the first time, not knowing right up until The Empire Strikes Back that Anakin is still alive, and has become Vader. That would rock.

But Episode III rocked anyway, so I'm not complaining.