By Olivia Papendick
On May 19th, 2005, the grand finale of the Star Wars prequel trilogy was released in theaters for all to see. The release date for Revenge of the Sith intentionally lined up with the release date of the first prequel movie, The Phantom Menace, six years prior, a callback to the first and last movies of the original trilogy being released on the same day of the year but six years apart.
I, myself, was born on May 18th, 2001, making me four years and one day old at the time Revenge of the Sith was released in theaters. My older brother, who was thirteen at the time, saw the movie in theaters the day of its release, and it is this same older brother who attended the re-release screening of Revenge of the Sith with me at our local AMC movie theater. I grew up watching Star Wars with my brother, and we watched Revenge of the Sith at home together when I was old enough. One major difference between viewing at home versus in a theater was, of course, the sound and picture itself. It was definitely thrilling to feel certain sounds vibrating through your seat in the theater, not strongly, but just enough that you felt involved in the scene. I was seated in the second row of the theater, but it wasn’t so close that it ruined the experience, though it did almost startle me during the opening scene. The opening scene, for those who are unfamiliar, is a chaotic space battle over a planet considered the capital of the Galactic Republic. There are large space ships cruising past, smaller fighters whipping around them all, and hordes of floating robots called buzz droids, which latch onto enemy ships and are programmed to rip the ship apart with the pilot still inside, destroying all the necessary systems and controls and thus preventing that pilot from fighting in any capacity. Several large cruisers break apart in frame and there are fighter pilots for the Republic attempting to protect the remaining Republic cruisers from the enemy Separatists’ vulture droid fighters. Some of the explosions and shots of the starfighters flying quickly through the frame do almost make you feel a little unnerved, the computer generated scenery is very good and you can definitely get lost in the scene. Another difference I noticed was the number of extras in the background of many scenes within the Senate building who are clearly meant to be of various alien races that were only named and shown openly in later material. Being in the theaters did mean there were other people around, a lot of them. There wasn’t any yelling or people being rude, but there were a few moments during the movie where the theater seemed to go quiet. The movie was playing, the soundtrack and dialogue loud and clear, but the audience had all just stopped and watched with undivided attention. I don’t think anyone is surprised that the execution of Order 66 was one of these moments. At home, when I was younger, I remember laying on the floor and being very close to the TV, excited to see where the story went, and that I went silent during the same scenes as well. Some things are going to catch you attention entirely, and watching the devastating final hours of the Old Jedi Order is something any Star Wars fan will remember. I want to make it clear that hearing John Williams’ compositions for the soundtrack so loudly, clearly, and in-time with the scenes made for the most incredible addition to the experience. I’ve listened to most of the soundtrack on its own, just with headphones and using Spotify on my phone, but to sit there in front of the big screen with the familiar melodies and powerful peaks and true crescendos was an incredible experience that I’m sad I may never have again. I suppose I’ll have to see what they do for future anniversaries of Star Wars films, maybe I can have a similar joy in a slightly different form.
There are a few more personal and less than official bits I wanted to include, some of them being fun facts from behind the scenes of filming the actual movie. The first fun fact is from the set and is one that might not be quite so obscure anymore, but it’s that during the “Battle of Heroes” scene where Obi-Wan Kenobi duels Anakin Skywalker in an attempt to kill each other, the actors of each character, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, were actually dueling each other. Both actors learned to duel with mock lightsabers and were able to film the scene without it needing to be sped up or edited in terms of the actual blade-on-blade combat. There were special effects added to make the lightsabers distinctly glow and have the scenery right, but the actual duel and speed it’s shown at, is the actual skill and speed Ewan and Hayden achieved to film that scene. A small in-universe interaction that dawned on me as having more meaning was when Obi-Wan and Yoda return to the Jedi Temple after Order 66 and find the carnage of the attack there. Obi-Wan moves to check the security holograms, to see who would have led this traitorous attack and Yoda tells him that he shouldn’t because he will only find it painful to see the truth. I realized that Yoda is speaking from actual experience. The only other Jedi who turned to the Dark Side and became a fully devoted Sith Lord was Count Dooku, who was once the padawan of Yoda. Yoda was the only currently living Jedi, or even just of that era, to have known the grief of watching his student betray him after he had tried so hard to teach him goodness and to follow the Light Side of the Force. When Obi-Wan finds out that his own beloved former padawan has turned to the Dark Side and has become a Sith Lord, Yoda is the only person Obi-Wan ever knew who has had to go through the same thing and knows how deeply painful it is. And, lastly, when we see Padme Amidala’s funeral procession on her home planet of Naboo, the young girl wearing white and silver while walking in the procession is Queen Apailana of Naboo, who was only twelve years old at the time of her election. Padme was definitely not the youngest Queen of Naboo ever to be elected.
All in all, I was very excited to see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith in theaters, and it made the memories of watching it so many years ago at home feel even more special. It was an incredible experience and I highly encourage any Star Wars fans who haven’t seen the movie in a while to re-watch it at home for yourselves, you might notice a few small details you’ve missed in the past. Maybe watch it with someone you know would appreciate the invitation, maybe the person who introduced you to Star Wars in the first place, it might have meaning to them to be invited back into it.
I have one final thing I would like to share with you, a familiar saying for us all; May the force be with you, always.
Spring 2026 
Leave a comment