Star Wars 8 news: Did Darth Plagueis REALLY create Anakin? Why choose Shmi as his mother?

Who created Anakin?

Was it the midichlorians and The Force, or was it Darth Plagueis?

The famous opera scene in Revenge of the Sith pretty much signposts the evil Sith Master as the man behind it all. The Star Wars book, Darth Plagueis, however, reveals that actually his plans were thwarted and had a totally different outcome which he definitely did not want.

And why in the galaxy would anyone place the Chosen One with a slave on God and Force-forsaken Tatooine?

In the menacing opera scene, Palpatine is covertly trying to convert Anakin to the Dark Side by telling him an old history.

He says: “It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.”

The straightest reading of the scene only shows that Anakin’s visions of losing Padme in childbirth are being exploited with the promise there is a way to prevent the death of a loved one.

Fans, however have long-believed that Palpatine is also speaking about Anakin’s birth.

Rewatch the scene and you will see Palpatine pause on the word “create’ before turning fully to look at Anakin on the word “life.”

The secret Sith master is clearly implying that Plagueis was responsible for manipulating the midichlorians to create Anakin’s life. We know that that he had no father and that no Jedi had ever had such a high midichlorian count. The apparent Chosen One had over 20,000 – the highest number ever recorded in galactic history.

Ian McDiarmid’s oily tones and meaningful looks would have us believe that Anakin was a product of the Sith all along.

The novelisation of Palpatine’s master’s life presents a different picture, though.

The book, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno, is part of the Star Wars expanded universe. Released in 2012 it now falls outside the official canon cut off point in 2014 but is filled with clues about Anakin’s origins.

In the novel, the Sith Lord used all his considerable power to try and create a Dark manifestation of the Force on Tatooine. He choose the planet for his experiment because it was on the Outer Rim, as far from the Jedi council on Coruscant as you could get.

His actions there would not be opposed or discovered because Jedi and Republic forces rarely ventured near. However, in his arrogance, he forget the biggest obstacle of all to his plans.

Sith and Jedi often fall victim to their own narrow view of the Force. In fact, it is neither good nor evil, Dark nor Light. 

The Youtube site Star Wars Theory believes that Plagueis’ attempts to create an entirely evil Dark creature in the novel caused the midichlorians to fight back and seek a nearby host for the new life. The Force also concealed Anakin’s creation from the Sith, who believed his whole plan had failed entirely.

Tatooine, indeed, may have been chosen by Plagueis but The Force chose Shmi.

Since the Chosen One is destined to bring balance to the Force, it makes sense that the midichlorians would want him to be born free of both Sith and Jedi influence.

The Force sought a suitable strong female, but also one who was unattached and utterly unremarkable and anonymous.

Shmi was perfect as a slave on an unregulated, unwatched planet run by the Hutt and utterly unlikely to draw any attention.

Despite the endlessly meddling and manipulative ways of both Jedi and Sith, the midichlorians wanted the child to grow for as long as possible free from influence and detection.

True to form, once the Jedi and Sith became involved, the greatest tragedy in the galaxy began to unfold. 

For more Star Wars Theory videos CLICK HERE

STAR WARS VIII: THE LAST JEDI IS OUT ON DECEMBER 15