20 years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith was first released in theaters, Star Wars has improved the movie in these 10 key ways. Although the reception to the Star Wars prequel trilogy was mixed, to say the least, over time, Revenge of the Sith has begun to be seen by many as one of Star Wars’ best movies. In part, that is because nostalgia for the movie has grown, which is clear in the incredible box office numbers for Revenge of the Sith’s re-release.

There’s more than just nostalgia making Revenge of the Sith so much better, though. In the two decades since the movie was first released, Star Wars movies and TV shows, in addition to a host of books and other stories, have fleshed Revenge of the Sith out so much more, making it even greater than it was in 2005. These 10 Star Wars updates in particular have improved Revenge of the Sith considerably over the last 20 years.

10

Obi-Wan Kenobi Proved How Loved Luke And Leia Were

We Got To See So Much More About Their Childhood

Obi-Wan Kenobi was an unexpected but brilliant follow-up to Revenge of the Sith, and it provided so much more insight into how Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa grew up (in addition to revealing more about Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s whereabouts at this time). Prior to Obi-Wan Kenobi, very little had been shown about Luke and Leia’s upbringings on screen. At the end of Revenge of the Sith, we saw each baby delivered to their respective homes, and A New Hope had given a peek into Luke’s life on Tatooine.

However, Obi-Wan Kenobi showed how deeply loved both children were. In Leia’s case, it was clear that her adoptive parents, especially Bail Organa, absolutely doted on her. Although the love Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru showed Luke was arguably more reserved, the way they defended him with their lives against Reva proved how much they truly loved him. Given how tragic their stories were, and how sad it is that Anakin and Padmé didn’t get to raise them, this was a wonderful update.

9

Obi-Wan’s Training With Qui-Gon Was Given More Attention

This Curious Reference From Revenge Of The Sith Has Since Been Fleshed Out

Towards the end of Revenge of the Sith, Master Yoda told Obi-Wan that he had training for him on Tatooine with his former master, Qui-Gon Jinn. At the time, this was a rather curious ᴀssertion, given Qui-Gon had died in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Some had therefore guessed that this was training for one of the most difficult of Star Wars’ Force powers, becoming a Force Ghost, particularly because Obi-Wan became a Force Ghost in the original trilogy.

Since then, both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Obi-Wan Kenobi have shown that this is precisely what Obi-Wan’s training entailed. In The Clone Wars, Yoda went on a journey of his own that led him to reconnect with the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn, making it clear how Yoda knew to tell Obi-Wan of this training. In Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn even appeared as a Force Ghost, making it clear that this training took place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

8

The Clone Wars Shed More Light Upon Padmé’s Strength And Bravery

We Got To See So Much More Of Padmé’s Work In The Senate

Padmé’s Star Wars story is one of the most compelling but also the most frustrating. Throughout The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Padmé proved how brilliant, resilient, and capable she was, even when she was just 14. Yet, in Revenge of the Sith, Padmé often comes across as naive and helpless.

Thankfully, The Clone Wars reinforced how incredible Padmé really is as a character. Throughout the show, she was depicted as wise, brave, and self-determined—things that were sorely missing in her representation in Revenge of the Sith. The show also fleshed out her relationship with Anakin during this era considerably, which helped to illuminate why she may have been so willing to look beyond his obvious red flags.

7

Andor Has Done Right By Mon Mothma

Andor Has Shown So Much More After Mon Mothma’s Scenes Were Deleted In Revenge Of The Sith

Mon Mothma has become one of Star Wars’ most important characters of late, with appearances in Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka, and Andor, among various others going back to the original Star Wars trilogy. Andor in particular has made great strides for her character following her major arc in the prequels being relegated to Revenge of the Sith’s deleted scenes. Specifically, Mon Mothma was meant to be shown as a leader among the Delegation of 2000 in Revenge of the Sith, but that storyline was cut from the movie.

Andor, including Andor season 2’s first six episodes, has already done so much to ameliorate this, showing how involved Mon was in the Rebellion and all she did to help bring down the Empire. In fact, although Andor season 2 is only halfway through, it’s clear that the show is priming Mon to be a key player in the rebel cells coming together, which will lead directly into the events of the original trilogy. While it remains disappointing that these scenes were cut from Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars has at least since shown just how important Mon was.

6

Anakin’s Return In Obi-Wan Kenobi And Ahsoka Continued His Story

Both Shows Explored Anakin’s Story In Brand-New Ways

Anakin’s story has dominated Star Wars from the very beginning, and that only became more true in the prequel trilogy. In fact, although the prequels also focus on myriad other key events, including Order 66 and the downfall of both the Jedi Order and the Republic, these three movies feel like Anakin’s story in many ways. Yet, Star Wars has only fleshed out Anakin Skywalker’s Star Wars timeline all the more in recent years.

This occurred in shows like The Clone Wars, certainly, but Hayden Christensen’s more recent returns as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka have provided major updates to Anakin’s story as well. In Obi-Wan Kenobi, we got to see Anakin/Vader and Obi-Wan have one final face-off before A New Hope, which offered significantly more closure between the two than had been shown so far. Ahsoka did much of the same for Ahsoka and Anakin/Vader, revealing their confrontation in the World Between Worlds and helping Ahsoka let go of her grief and guilt.

5

The Clones Were Finally Given The Humanity They Always Deserved

In The Prequels, The Clones Weren’t Fully-Fleshed Characters

The clones were a fascinating addition to Star Wars in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but, as much as clones like Commander Cody were shown to be close to the Jedi, the clone troopers were not really treated as fully human throughout the prequel trilogy. Star Wars has changed this significantly over the last two decades, though. In The Clone Wars, we learned countless clones’ names and got to see their unique story arcs.

In fact, Captain Rex is arguably among Star Wars’ best characters, in part because of that show. Star Wars: The Bad Batch did even more to flesh out the clones, making them main characters in their own right. The Bad Batch season 3 ending in particular gave the clones so much humanity, even allowing them a (very rare, in Star Wars) happy ending.

4

Several Other Order 66 Survivors Have Been Confirmed

The List Of Surviving Jedi Continues To Grow

At the end of Revenge of the Sith, it seemed unlikely many Jedi beyond Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda had survived the devastating attack on the Jedi. In the years since, however, many more Jedi survivors of Order 66 have been revealed. This includes Kanan Jarrus, who was a leading character in Rebels, as well as Jedi like Quinlan Vos, Grogu, and arguably Ahsoka Tano herself (although she insisted she wasn’t a Jedi at that time).

While some may take issue with these changes to Order 66, the stories of these survivors have become some of the very best in Star Wars. Rebels is in fact considered by many to be among Star Wars’ best TV shows, and it also led to Kanan training Ezra Bridger—a now fan-favorite Jedi in Star Wars. Likewise, Jedi survivor Cal Kestis has become one of the most popular Jedi in the franchise, even without him appearing on the Star Wars screen (so far).

3

Ahsoka Tano Fleshed Out Anakin’s Fall (And His Entire Character)

Ahsoka Was The Perfect Addition To Star Wars

One of the single best changes to Star Wars following Revenge of the Sith was the introduction of Ahsoka Tano as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan. When Ahsoka was introduced in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, there was plenty of resistance to her. Many felt it was unrealistic for Anakin to have a Padawan, as she wasn’t mentioned in the prequel trilogy, while others simply didn’t like her sᴀssy atтιтude.

However, over time, Ahsoka has become one of the most beloved characters in Star Wars, and her importance has only grown. After The Clone Wars, Ahsoka returned in animated Star Wars shows like Rebels and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, and she even debuted in live-action in The Mandalorian, with subsequent appearances in The Book of Boba Fett and (of course) her own show, Ahsoka. In addition to how brilliant she is independently, Ahsoka did so much to explain Anakin’s fall to the dark side and show the flaws of the Jedi Order.

2

The Brutality Of Order 66 Has Been Showcased Even More

Several Shows Have Made These Events Even More Graphic

In addition to revealing more Jedi who survived Order 66, in the years since Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars has depicted how brutal Order 66 really was so much better. In Revenge of the Sith, it was of course clear that this was a horrifying tragedy, particularly with Anakin’s scene in the Jedi Council Chambers, in which it was apparent that he slaughtered younglings. However, that scene stopped short of actually showing Anakin killing children—it was just heavily implied.

Obi-Wan Kenobi changed that by showing children directly cut down by Anakin/Vader. Likewise, shows like The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch have shown the experiences of many Jedi who were not in Revenge of the Sith, confirming just how brutal Order 66 was across the board. This additional context has only enhanced Revenge of the Sith, making these scenes that much more painful by reminding audiences that there was so much more devastation than what was shown in the movie.

1

The Clone Wars Revealed The REAL Reason The Clones Turned On The Jedi

The Inhibitor Chip Made This Story So Much Better

Finally, the single best way Star Wars has improved Revenge of the Sith over the years is by confirming why the clones turned on the Jedi during Order 66. In the movie, it wasn’t clear why the clones would betray the Jedi so gravely, especially as The Clone Wars later revealed in such great detail how close the bonds between many Jedi and their clone troopers were. The explanation of the inhibitor chips, which forced the clones to turn on the Jedi against their will, was therefore perfect.

In addition to this providing an explanation for why the clones did this, it also made Palpatine even more of a mastermind than he had already seemed. These inhibitor chips proved Palpatine had been playing the long game for decades, and it made the events of the prequels so much more believable. Of all the updates to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in the two decades since the movie was released, Star Wars most improved the movie with this revelation regarding why the clones turned on the Jedi, nearly eradicating them.