The prophecy of the Chosen One is one of the most important plot devices in the story of Star Wars and while there’ve been a lot of interpretations of this concept in the world of that galaxy far, far away, fans would unanimously agree that it refers to Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader. Except, the last movie in the Skywalker Saga retconned this by bringing back Palpatine.
The Jedi believed that Anakin would one day bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. Obviously, that indeed came to pass, but not until he made sure that there weren’t any Jedi left, either. In fact, most Star Wars fans believe that Anakin fulfilled the prophecy when he saved his son and sent Palpatine plummeting to his death in Return of the Jedi.
But as we learned in The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine used those remaining moments to transfer his consciousness into a new body that was being assembled on Exegol by the Sith Eternal. The evil Sith Lord would go on to create the First Order from the shadows and destroy the New Republic, once again wreaking havoc across the galaxy. So, the question is: does that mean Anakin failed to bring balance to the Force?
Well, according to a new fan theory posted on Reddit, Anakin failed to bring balance to the Force, but not in the way you’d expect. If you recall the Mortis story arc from The Clone Wars, viewers got to see literal manifestations of the living Force as three individuals; the Father, the Daughter, and the Son.
The Daughter was the embodiment of the light side, while her brother served the darkness. Their father, meanwhile, kept the balance between the two. If Anakin had chosen to replace the Father, he could’ve fulfilled the prophecy.
The Father even tells Anakin that his “selfishness” would haunt him and the galaxy. And as it came to pass, the Jedi Order was destroyed and the Republic fell. Even after the Rebellion won, the galaxy succumbed to a new war between the First Order and the Resistance.
Here’s how the theory reads in full:
Recently, I rewatched the Mortis arc of The Clone Wars, and I started to think about the actual Chosen One Prophecy and what it means. How is Anakin supposed to bring balance to the force? Does he have to wipe out the Sith? We don’t know exactly what the prophecy says. Even Yoda says it could have been misread. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding it.
I think that Anakin was supposed to take the place of the Father on Mortis, and keep the light and dark in balance. The Father says that Anakin’s ‘selfishness’ of not taking his place will haunt him and the galaxy. This implies that the galaxy will become a darker place should Anakin not do what the Father asks. Of course, it does. Sure, the Emperor eventually dies, and dies again, but darkness keeps coming about (Order 66, the Dark Times, the Galactic Civil War, the Rise of the First Order, the Emperor’s return, and no doubt more after that). If Anakin had stayed to keep the balance, the galaxy might have prospered. Maybe the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force was all about Anakin eventually taking the Father’s place.
Although killing the Son and the Daughter obviously didn’t get rid of the dark and the light, I think that without those two beings, things become less stable in the Force. I think they have a much larger role in the Force than it seems. They don’t control the galaxy, but their power is reflected in it, and in the Force.
It is also possible that there have been multiple ’Fathers’, and that, as the Father we know grew old, he couldn’t keep the balance, so he needed to wait until Anakin could take his place.
So, maybe Anakin didn’t fulfil the prophecy, as he didn’t really bring about balance by taking the place of the Father, and gaining his power and position.
This is definitely an interesting theory, but according to Episode IX, Anakin did bring balance to the Force, and so did Rey. In the movie’s climactic sequence, we can hear the voice of Anakin encouraging Rey to “bring back the balance” like he once did. So, in a sense, they were both the Chosen prodigies of the Force in the world of Star Wars.
Tell us, though, what’s your opinion on this theory and the fate of the Chosen One? What’s your head-canon, if you will? Sound off in the usual place below.
