The Acolyte episode 3 did not insult Anakin Skywalker’s legacy, the Star Wars sequel trilogy did. With The Acolyte delving into Darth Plagueis’ power of creating life using the Force, the show is tying itself massively to the prequel era. Given its placement on the franchise’s timeline – taking place a century before the first chronological Star Wars movie – this was to be expected. However, the exploration of the Force prevalent in The Acolyte is causing a great deal of controversy.

The Acolyte episode 3 furthered this controversy, creating arguably the biggest Star Wars debate since Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Incidentally, the level of criticism aimed at the show may be unwise, as The Acolyte episode 3’s unanswered questions mean the full story is not yet clear. That said, the revelation that young Osha and Mae were created using the Force has caused quite a stir. A vocal section of Star Wars fans are wrongly taking this plot point as an insult to Anakin Skywalker, when, in reality, it was the sequel trilogy that disrespected the Chosen One of the Force.

The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Completely Forgot Anakin Skywalker

Anakin’s Legacy Was Drastically Diminished In The Three Sequel Movies

Besides The Acolyte, it is no secret that the Star Wars sequel trilogy is the most divisive entry to the franchise under Disney’s tenure. The sequels were heavily criticized upon their release, and are still regarded by many as the worst-ranked Star Wars trilogy. While many of the criticisms of the sequels may seem overly harsh, the argument that Anakin Skywalker should have had a greater impact on the story is not one of them. One of the few things many can agree on is that Anakin should have had a much bigger bearing on the trilogy as a whole.

By being absent from the movies, Anakin Skywalker’s legacy as the Chosen One is diminished and even insulted by the sequel trilogy…

For much of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker’s legacy is reduced to his dark side alter ego, Darth Vader. Vader is prominent in the sequels as the object of Kylo Ren’s dark desires, but Anakin himself had no impact on the story of any film. Staggeringly, the word “Anakin” is not spoken at all in any of the sequels, and his only inclusion comes in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when he can be briefly heard speaking to Rey.

Anakin’s lightsaber is an important MacGuffin in the Star Wars sequels, but the weapon is never tied directly to him by name.

Given that Anakin Skywalker is the throughline of the Star Wars franchise as the Chosen One of the Force, this fact is unbelievable. As someone who was prophesied to bring balance to the Force, Anakin should have been a major part of the sequels. By being absent from the movies, Anakin Skywalker’s legacy as the Chosen One is diminished and even insulted by the sequel trilogy in a way The Acolyte is being wrongly accused of.

The Acolyte Isn’t Even About The Chosen One

The Acolyte Has Minimal Impact On Anakin Skywalker’s Story

Custom image by Sean Morrison

The sequels are three stories that tie directly to the overarching plot of the Skywalker Saga, meaning their neglect of Anakin Skywalker is an issue. Conversely, The Acolyte does not have any connection to the Chosen One of the Force at all, yet is the subject of vitriol and hatred for apparently insulting Anakin’s journey. With The Acolyte episode 3 revealing that Mae and Osha were created by Mother Aniseya using the Force, critics of the show are stating that this makes Anakin’s origins less special.

However, this could not be further from the truth. Since the beginning of The Acolyte‘s production, Leslye Headland has reiterated that the story being told is about how the Sith infiltrated the Jedi, which led to the downfall of the Republic and the emergence of the Galactic Empire. As such, the show will explore how, eventually, Palpatine managed to defeat the Jedi. In Star Wars canon, it has been confirmed that Palpatine learned from Darth Plagueis, a Sith Lord so powerful that he could use the Force to create life itself.

Given Headland’s comments and this knowledge, it stands to reason that The Acolyte is simply exploring how Plagueis’ dark side powers came to be. This has no connection to Anakin Skywalker at all, yet some are insisting the nature of Osha and Mae’s birth lessens the impact of Anakin’s. This is simply not true. The former two characters were created using the Force, whereas Anakin was created by the Force. The Acolyte exploring this with Mae and Osha does not impact the origins of the Chosen One in any way and is instead likely exploring Plagueis’ legendary powers.

Lucasfilm Is Clearly Trying To Honor Anakin Now

Anakin’s Star Wars Resurgence Is Here

Despite the fact that the sequels disrespected Anakin Skywalker, Lucasfilm has recently corrected this mistake. When Lucasfilm restarted production on Star Wars projects shortly after Disney’s acquisition of the studio, most stories seemed cautious about including elements from the prequels given their poor reception in the early 2000s. This likely explains why Anakin Skywalker was not a big focus of the sequel trilogy, but Darth Vader was. The former is more associated with the prequels, and the latter with the originals.

As evident, this proved to be a mistake on Lucasfilm’s part. Regardless, recent Star Wars projects have proven that Lucasfilm has learned its lesson; Anakin Skywalker is having a big impact on Star Wars for the first time since the prequel era. This was proven by Hayden Christensen’s return in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka season 1, and will continue in upcoming Star Wars TV shows with Christensen confirmed to play a big role in Ahsoka season 2. Finally, it seems Lucasfilm is honoring Anakin’s legacy in a way the sequel trilogy should have, a legacy completely irrelevant to The Acolyte.