What If Anakin Skywalker Led the Rebellion: An Unforeseen Betrayal

What If Anakin Skywalker Led the Rebellion? Let’s explore the depths of this idea in this video.

Palpatine grits his teeth as he defends against Mace Windu’s attack. The Jedi Master rushes at him, his purple lightsaber shining in the darkened room and flashing like lightning.

Though Palpatine managed to defeat the rest of the Jedi strike team, Mace was more of a challenge. When his counterattack is easily pushed back, he considers the possibility he might be defeated.

As the duel drags on, Palpatine feels the dark powers emanating across the room, passing through mace Mace but not flowing freely. Mace is holding it back through sheer force of will. If Palpatine is to win this duel, he will need to be smarter.

He ducks under a swing and suddenly deactivates his lightsaber. With a smile, he raises his hands.

Palpatine: I surrender.

Mace barely stops himself mid-swing. For a moment, he’s too surprised to say anything.

Mace: You do?

Palpatine: Yes, yes, I do. I shall let the Senate decide my fate. However, you should not hold your breath. I have powerful friends in the highest of places .

The Jedi Master doesn’t return the smile and presses his sword closer to Palpatine’s throat until he is sure the sith lord feels its heat singeing the hairs on his neck.

Mace: Then perhaps I should finish you here.

Palpatine: You may, but you’re only fighting the symptom, not the disease. Do you think I made the Galactic Senate what it is? Though I would like to take credit, the government has been rotten for many years. I simply found a way in. I sense your hatred for them, I hate them too. Together, perhaps we can change that.

Mace: Is that what you told Dooku?

Palpatine: Yes. And look where we are. The Separatists have shown themselves like a snake, now ripe to be removed from power. Though are you brave enough to stand as an executioner?

The room goes still as Mace glares down at the Chancellor, thinking of everything he’s said. Then slowly, he deactivates his lightsaber.

Meanwhile, in the Jedi Temple, Anakin is preparing to leave for the Senate building when footsteps echo across the temple grounds. It's like an earthquake, thundering and causing the Jedi to stumble and look around in confusion.

From the temple steps, a sea of white appears as clones from the Coruscant Guard and 187th Legion begin to appear. Their leader isn’t a clone commander though. Instead, that figure is dressed in the robes of a Jedi and when he removes his cloak, reveals the stoic features of Mace Windu.

Mace: Attention, my brothers and sisters! I come here not as a conqueror, but as a liberator. Today, we end the Clone Wars and the corruption that plagued our Republic. While the CIS Council is cornered, now is the time to strike at the other great evil, the Galactic Senate which has led us to ruin. I invite all able-bodied Jedi to join me.
Hundreds of Jedi, particularly the younger ones, stream forward to rally alongside Mace, who is seen as a decorated war hero. Others refuse and remain where they are. In response, the clones raise their blasters and unleash a stream of stun rounds.

Orders are spread across the galaxy: the Jedi must join this purge or be arrested. Most Jedi Masters are immediately incapacitated and taken to detention halls.

Rather than activate Order 66, Palpatine instead initiates Order 37, a command that calls for the arrest of any individual or group with the threat of mass murder to force them to surrender. In this case, he placed this order on the Jedi, to join him or have the innocents they protect be slain in response.

Most Jedi quickly surrender, not wanting to risk the lives of innocents. But not all are so easily convinced. Anakin watches in horror as the clones surround their former leaders. The anger he was feeling before turns to horror as he slips out from the temple and contacts Padme.

He tells her to meet him at the spaceport, where the two slip off-world. As they board their flight, the Jedi, led by Mace, storm the Senate building and begin arresting the senators. Hundreds are apprehended, with the most corrupt being executed by clones while the rest are imprisoned. They are then forced to swear allegiance to Palaptine’s new empire.

Once they escape, Anakin contacts Ahsoka, who manages to escape the Venator-class Star Destroyer, Tribunal, with Captain Rex. The two meet at a medical station where Padmé can give birth.

After the purge of the Senate, Mace journeys to the CIS Council and massacres them. Palpatine declares himself emperor, with the Jedi acting as a police force.

Not all Jedi agree with this plan. Others, such as Yoda, Plo Koon, and Obi-Wan, make their escape. They all regroup with Anakin to plan their next move. The situation is troubling, as the support of the Jedi and clones gives Palpatine more legitimacy, so the rebel jedi begin plotting ways to turn the people against him.


Ahsoka eventually speaks out. She talks about how the Jedi’s mistake was playing politics