Genius Foreshadowing In The 'Star Wars' Prequels You Never Even Caught

In the scene pictured above, Anakin and Obi-Wan talk before going their separate ways. Kenobi eventually ends the conversation by saying, “Goodbye, old friend.” This symbolically predicts this exchange will be the last time the two men will meet as friends. Anakin is gone the next time they come together, replaced by Darth Vader.

You might have easily missed the visual foreshadowing of Anakin standing in the dark shadows, while his mentor is bathed in bright light, a representation of their respective paths.

The prequel trilogy showed audiences some of Darth Sidious's other apprentices and trainees, besides Darth Vader. Each of the three movies has a particular focus on a specific antagonist: The Phantom Menace has Darth Maul, Attack of the Clones features Count Dooku, and Revenge of the Sith focuses on General Grievous.

These three characters perfectly foreshadowed the man Anakin Skywalker would become as Darth Vader. Darth Maul is a manifestation of evil and hatred, the forces that drive Anakin to the dark side. Meanwhile, Count Dooku is known for his split from the Jedi Order, symbolizing Anakin’s fall from his friends and mentors.

The final piece comes with Grievous, who hints at the final melding of man and machine that corrupts Anakin after his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

While it can be argued the different beasts who attack each of the three main protagonists in Attack of the Clones metaphorically represent the struggles each character is set to go through, there is a far subtler image that forecasts the upcoming struggle of Anakin.

The Jedi Knight is chained up in between Padme and Obi-Wan on Geonosis, as the group faces imminent execution. This signifies the internal conflict Anakin will face, as he is caught in the middle of his love for Padme and his devotion to the Jedi. It manages to successfully show that he will have to choose between the two in the next movie.

In Attack Of The Clones, we can clearly see that Anakin's shadow on the wall of the moisture farmhouse is reminiscent of Darth Vader's striking silhouette (you can check it out in the image above). This same method was also used in the promotion of The Phantom Menace, which showed a much younger Anakin casting a long, Vader-esque shadow against the wall of a hut.

Later, again in Attack of the Clones, we see Anakin outlined against the dual sunset of Tatooine, and he looks astoundingly similar to Darth Vader. If you have good eyes, and a lightning-fast pause reflex, it's plain to see that Anakin had Vader living in his shadow for a long time. 

Although many people (correctly) criticized the dialogue in the prequel trilogy, there is some very easy-to-miss symbolism and foreshadowing in what Anakin Skywalker says. Some choice lines include “No one can kill a Jedi,” "I’d much rather dream about Padme,” and “I want to be the first one to see them [the stars] all.”

Each one of these lines, which seem innocent enough, later come back to haunt Anakin. Despite claiming as a child that no one can kill Jedi, he goes on to be the greatest murderer of Jedi in history, as he slaughters younglings in the Temple. His next set of dreams after his mother dies are of Padme – nightmares in which Padme dies – prompting him to join with Palpatine to save her.

And while he doesn’t get to see all the stars and systems, as Darth Vader he travels across the entire galaxy, inspiring fear in trillions of people.