In The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars fans may remember seeing Luke Skywalker’s face inside Darth Vader’s helmet. This brief scene happened while Luke was training to confront Vader and gave audiences a fearful prospect.
Could Luke have turned to the Dark Side and become the new Darth Vader? If so, what would that mean for the Star Wars franchise?
In an alternate ending of Return of the Jedi, audiences could have seen a Luke bent on destruction or a character that brought order to the galaxy.
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Luke Skywalker and the Dark Side
While training on the planet Dagobah, Luke saw the possibility of turning to the Dark Side and becoming Darth Vader. In the cave scene in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke confronts an imaginary Darth Vader and draws his lightsaber to fight him.
Luke decapitates this pretend Vader. When the mask falls open, Luke’s face is inside it.
As other articles commented, this was a disturbing scene that unsettled audiences with the prospect of what could happen to Luke if he gave into his fear and anger.
The drama plays out in this movie and the next, Return of the Jedi, with Luke on the verge of being pulled into the fate of his father. Luke has to resist his anger so that he does not give in to the Emperor and become the next Vader.
Luke later displayed connections to the Dark Side in the sequel movies. As revealed in The Last Jedi, Luke nearly killed Ben Solo.
When Luke attempted to train a new generation of Jedi, he sensed the darkness in Ben and thought the latter was too much of a threat. So, Luke took the extreme step of trying to kill Ben in his sleep.
Given that Ben was his nephew and still a Padawan, this was a drastic action that bordered on Vader-like potential. It provides more backing to the possibility that Luke could have become the new Darth Vader.
Could Luke Have Become Darth Vader?
George Lucas initially played with the idea of Luke becoming the next Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi.
In a discussion with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, Lucas conveyed the idea that Luke would put Vader’s mask on and hunt down the Rebels. Kasdan found this plot twist appealing too.
Yet, both agreed it would make the movie and series into something not so heroic and not for kids.
Since 2023 is the 40th anniversary of this film, there has been speculation about this plot twist. Recent articles have indicated how Lucas explained what would happen: “Luke takes [Vader’s] mask off…and then Luke puts it on” so that he can “rule the universe.”
Evidence came out in 2013, on the 30th anniversary, that Vader would still have saved Luke and sacrificed himself, but then Luke would put on the helmet and say, “Now, I am Vader.”
This would have been quite a surprise for audiences, but these backstory insights reveal that it was possible for Luke to become the new Vader.
However, that possibly would have disrupted the entire Star Wars narrative.
Return of the Jedi: Luke Skywalker Became the New Darth Vader
If this plot twist had happened, what would it mean for the Star Wars movies? As the George Lucas quotes reveal, it could have meant Luke turning to wipe out the Rebellion and taking over the galaxy or universe.
After condensing the number of planned movies, Lucas moved the final battle with Darth Vader to Episode VI, called Revenge of the Jedi in the early 1980s. Luke turning evil did not play out on screen but it did happen in the Dark Empire comics from the 1990s. In this storyline, Luke became an apprentice to a new Emperor.
In this alternate scenario, Luke and the Emperor team up to dominate the galaxy. This plot would have made the sequel movies either unnecessary or different since Kylo Ren would no longer be needed and the First Order would not have risen.
Given his Force abilities, Luke Skywalker would have made “an extremely powerful Sith” who would render damage far worse than Vader.
As fans have stated, Luke would have been in his prime and “the worst nightmare for the Rebellion.” We may imagine Starkiller Base power merging with the Force to wipe out all who opposed Luke as the Emperor or as his assistant.
Then again, some commentators have speculated that Luke could have used his power to redeem the Jedi and his father’s name. Luke might have brought a kind of balance to the Force and the galaxy.
This situation does not seem to hold up well, though, since the Dark Side usually turns to destructive actions, not regenerative ones. Yet, Luke as the new Vader does have a parallel to Kylo Ren playing the same role. And, Ren did ultimately turn back to the Light Side.
So, we could have seen a destructive or rebonded Star Wars universe but definitely not the same arc as the original to sequel movies.
This alternate ending does not coincide well with Star Wars, though. The original films were aimed at optimism and heroism, and even the darker The Empire Strikes Back ends on an uplifting note. The character arc for Luke would have also been spoiled with this ending.
In the end, Luke as the new Vader does not seem to fit into the original or sequel movies.
Luke as the New Vader
Luke could have turned into the new Darth Vader. He did have moments in the films that showed his proximity to the Dark Side.
Lucas and Kasdan deliberated over an ending in Return of the Jedi where Luke did become the new Vader. Yet, they discarded it for the sake of story, characters, and audience appeal.
The story and characters would have been drastically different if this alternate ending had emerged. Star Wars would not be the same. We may be grateful that it turned out the way it did.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.