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Disney continued the Skywalker saga with itsStar Warssequel trilogy but , despite pulling together thread from both the original and prequel trilogy , it never once used Darth Vader ’s real name of Anakin Skywalker . Disney ’s sequels , starting with 2015’sStar state of war : The Force Awakens , brought in new characters but were still in and of itself linked to the past tense , with legacy lineament like Luke Skywalker , Han Solo , and Leia Organa all give important function to play throughout the movies . That stretched to includeDarth Vader , who became the key breathing in for the saga ’s fresh villain , Kylo Ren .
The specter ofDarth Vader predominate big over Kylo Ren , who had salvaged the charred remains of his mask and mount it as a shrine to everything he hop-skip to one twenty-four hours become as a dark side Force user . While mention of Vader himself were only scant , they did befall across all of the three moving-picture show in theStar Warssequel trilogy , with the focus very much on the character ’s role as a villain and , perhaps more tellingly , the iconography of that through his helmet , which seemed to count more than his character ’s arc .
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While it ’s understandable howDarth Vader ’s legacywas twisted into a motivator for Kylo Ren , this came at the expense of his unfeigned bequest . Vader may have been a powerful Sith Lord who kill countless hoi polloi and helped enforce the Emperor ’s regulation , but Anakin Skywalker was the prefer One , the Jedi who was redeem and bring balance to the Force . That ’s an extremely authoritative part of his story , and a define one of theSkywalker saga , and yet it ’s largely leave about in the sequels - so much so that not one of the movies ever uses the name " Anakin Skywalker " . InThe Force Awakens , Han tells Leia that their was"too much Vader"in Ben Solo , while Rey tell Kylo that he worries he ’ll never be as warm as Vader . The close it follow to mentioning Anakin in a dear light is Maz come to to the Skywalker lightsaber as Luke ’s founder ’s .
This keep in bothStar war : The Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalker . Vader is cite a few times by Snoke in the former , using him as motive for Kylo Ren to erase the difference of opinion within him . Rey , meanwhile , ultimately address the fact Vader was redeemed in a conversation with Luke on Ahch - To , but it ’s one line of dialog that still does n’t use Anakin ’s name , though it at least respects the fact Vader was brought back from the dismal side . InThe Rise of Skywalker , Darth Vader is once again used as a tool to adjudicate and keep in line Kylo , and it ’s even revealed that it was Palpatine all along doing that . Anakin ’s articulation is get wind , too ( although unhappily there’sno Hayden Christensen Force ghost Anakin appearance ) , telling Rey at the very end:“Rey . take back the balance , Rey , as I did . The Force skirt you , Rey . Let it rescind you . "
WhileThe Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalkerboth come closer to honoring Anakin ’s story , theStar Warssequel trilogy as a whole does n’t go far enough with it . It would ’ve been leisurely to apply Anakin ’s name somewhere in there , especially with so much discussion of Kylo Ren ’s own potential redemption - Han , Luke , Leia , and Rey are all character who potentially could ’ve referenced him more fully than how it was done , but alternatively the centering is always kept on Darth Vader , despite Anakin returning inReturn of the Jedi . Perhaps the most damning way to look at it is that the first sixStar Warsmovies are Anakin Skywalker ’s saga ; his rise , crepuscle , and repurchase . For anyone who watch theStar Warssequel trilogy first , not only would they not jazz that full story , but they would n’t even roll in the hay his name .
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