The Chosen One is central to George Lucas’ Star Wars saga, but does it describe Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, or Leia Organa? When Star Wars was solely comprised of the original trilogy, most people would have considered Luke the main character, especially in the first two films. However, Return of the Jedi had Darth Vader destroy the Emperor and revealed that Leia would also learn to use the Force.

Lucas radically changed the saga’s focus when he created the Chosen One prophecy for the Star Wars prequel trilogy. This ancient Jedi legend claimed that a Chosen One would someday destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force, adding new context to both trilogies. Thanks to new information that has come out over the years, we now better understand who Lucas intended to be the Chosen One and who holds the тιтle in Star Wars canon.

Qui-Gon Jinn Thought Anakin Skywalker Was The Chosen One

The Jedi believed he would destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force

Anakin Skywalker is most commonly viewed as the Chosen One in Star Wars, and most evidence supports it. When Qui-Gon Jinn first met Anakin in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, he recognized that Anakin had an unusually strong connection to the Force. He realized it was far more when Anakin’s mother, Shmi Skywalker, claimed that she had given birth to Anakin despite him having no father.

After taking a blood sample and confirming that Anakin had the highest concentration of midi-chlorians ever seen in a lifeform, he felt confident to present his findings to the Jedi Council. The Jedi spent the next 13 years operating under the belief that Anakin was the Chosen One, though they acknowledged that the prophecy could have been misread. Anakin’s encounter with the Force Gods of Mortis seemed to validate his role as the Chosen One even more.

Of course, it did seem that Qui-Gon had been wrong about Anakin when he betrayed the Jedi Order and became Darth Vader. Anakin seemed lost to the dark side until he learned he had a son, who tried to convince him to return to the light. After seeing Luke about to die at his master’s hand, Anakin turned on Palpatine, fulfilling the prophecy after all by destroying the Sith and bringing balance to the Force.

Lucas himself stuck by this interpretation of the Chosen One prophecy for many years, framing Anakin as the main character of the saga. He said that everyone in the Star Wars universe has a destiny if they choose to follow it, so while Anakin chose the dark side for many years, he ultimately embraced his destiny to save his son. Even so, Star Wars has explored other possibilities for who could be the Chosen One.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Thought Luke Skywalker Was The Chosen One

He admits it in a canon Star Wars story

Considering Anakin’s fall from grace, it would be understandable if viewers ᴀssumed that Luke was the real Chosen One, an opinion shared by Obi-Wan Kenobi. In Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 20 “Twin Suns,” Obi-Wan defeats his old nemesis, Maul, in a final duel on Tatooine. Just before his death, Maul asks Obi-Wan if the person he’s protecting is the Chosen One, and Obi-Wan replies “He is.”

All of Obi-Wan’s words and actions in the Star Wars movie are consistent with this ᴀssertion. Obi-Wan was devastated by Anakin’s betrayal, screaming at the end of their duel on Mustafar how “It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!” When other Jedi expressed doubt, Obi-Wan defended Anakin and firmly believed that he would bring balance to the Force, only for it to be left in darkness.

While Obi-Wan didn’t stop believing in the Chosen One prophecy, he came to believe it was Luke instead. Obi-Wan claimed multiple times in the original trilogy that Luke is their only hope to stop the Sith, despite knowing that Leia is his twin sister. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series shows how Obi-Wan saw a lot of Anakin in Luke, which likely colored his judgment, but his belief is consistent nonetheless.

Even Lucas appears to have thought of Luke as the Chosen One at one point in time. Some of Lucas’ early notes from the development of The Empire Strikes Back mention “Luke the chosen one,” demonstrating Lucas’ commitment to the concept decades before the prequel trilogy. Of course, Lucas could have been speaking generally about Luke’s role in the story, and he had several years to repurpose the Chosen One for Anakin’s arc.

George Lucas Almost Made Leia Organa The Chosen One

An unused idea from Lucas’ sequel treatments

Disney ultimately decided not to use Lucas’ treatments for the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but more details have been revealed about what he had in mind for the story. Most of what we know comes from The Star Wars Archives: Episode I-III 1999-2005 by Paul Duncan, where Lucas shared some of his plans for Leia’s role in the sequels:

By the end of the trilogy, Luke would’ve rebuilt much of the Jedi, and we would have the renewal of the New Republic, with Leia, Senator Organa, becoming the Supreme Chancellor in charge of everything. So she ended up being the Chosen One.

This seemingly contradicts Lucas’ ᴀssertions about Anakin being the Chosen One, but there are a few ways to interpret his comments. Lucas could have been referring to Leia having more focus in the sequels, as he wanted this trilogy to be about “the daughter and the grandchildren” after the first two were about “the father and the son.” Lucas may also have been adding another perspective on the prophecy, as its exact meaning was debatable in the prequel trilogy.

However, if Lucas did intend for Leia to be the Chosen One instead of Anakin, there is some supporting evidence. Lucas has playfully noted in past interviews how Leia is the real hero of A New Hope, as Luke and Han simply stumbled into her story and then needed her to get them out of trouble. Luke also believed that Leia would learn to wield the Force and that she was the Rebellion’s only hope if he didn’t survive.

Yoda’s atтιтude while training Luke could imply that he too thought Leia was the real Chosen One. When Obi-Wan said Luke was their last hope, Yoda reminded him that “There is another,” and his final act before dying was telling Luke that “There is another Skywalker.” The Chosen One could also be a symbolic тιтle that pᴀsses between generations, a theme Lucas loved exploring in his Star Wars movies.

Anakin Skywalker Is Still The Chosen One In Star Wars Canon

The exact text of the prophecy makes it hard to deny

With so many interpretations of the prophecy, even from Lucas himself, fans may be led to believe that the Chosen One’s idenтιтy is unclear in the current Star Wars canon. After all, Rey serves a similar role in the sequels, and Ben Solo sacrificed himself at the end, so maybe they fulfill the prophecy. Thankfully, Star Wars canon has a definitive answer, affirming that Anakin is still the Chosen One.

Star Wars: Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray provides the actual text of the Chosen One prophecy:

A Chosen One shall come, born of no father, and through him will ultimate balance in the Force be restored.

Despite Yoda saying that the prophecy could have been misread, it’s hard to see this referring to anyone but Anakin. The text also identifies the Chosen One as a “him,” and while this could simply be an ᴀssumption made by whoever wrote the prophecy, it would seem to automatically rule out characters like Leia and Rey. Luke may have grown up never knowing his father, but having one was still a big part of his story.

PURCHASE STAR WARS: MASTER & APPRENTICE

So until a new Star Wars story specifically says otherwise, Anakin Skywalker is still the Chosen One. Then again, George Lucas was willing to have someone else fill that role, or at least offer a new perspective on the prophecy. Now that he has stepped away from Star Wars, Disney and Lucasfilm aren’t likely to change the idenтιтy of the Chosen One, but I suppose anything is possible.

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  Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

  Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.

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  Luke Skywalker

  The son of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, Luke was brought up on the desert planet Tatooine. Initially mentored by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke fired the fateful sH๏τ that destroyed the Death Star, and he became a rebel hero. Despite the fears of Obi-Wan and Yoda, Luke’s faith in his father was proved well-founded when Vader returned to the light. With the Emperor defeated, Luke dedicated himself to bringing back the Jedi; his first attempt ended in tragedy due to Palpatine’s manipulations, but Luke’s legacy lives on in Rey.

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  Leia Organa

  The daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, Leia inherited her mother’s political skills and her father’s Force power. She was raised on Alderaan as a member of the royal family, and followed in her father’s footsteps by becoming a senator who secretly worked alongside the Rebel Alliance. Alderaan’s destruction changed everything, and Leia became a leader in both the Rebel Alliance and its successor government, the New Republic. She served there for decades, eventually leaving to found the First Order when she sensed its darkness growing. Leia gave much for her ideals, but eventually gave her life to redeem her son Ben.