***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The Scene: Anakin introduces Padme to C-3PO, the protocol droid he’s building to help his mother. Moments later, Threepio meets R2-D2 for the first time.

George Lucas Says (Via the Phantom Menace Commentary Track): “Not only is Darth Vader Luke and Leia’s father, but he’s also Threepio’s father. I thought that was kind of amusing irony in all of this. And I couldn’t resist it. It gives us the opportunity for Threepio to meet Artoo for the first time, and start what will ultimately become a very long and arduous friendship of sorts.”

I Say: Like a lot of people, my initial reaction to the revelation that Anakin built C-3PO was: “Bullsh*t.” Even in a world with laser swords and slug people, it was far-fetched.

But…when you hear George explain it like this, it actually makes sense. So much of Threepio’s character is based on him trying to relate to human beings. (“Sometimes I just don’t understand human behavior!”) So there’s fantastic comedic irony in the idea that like our main hero Luke Skywalker, Threepio is also Darth Vader’s son. It even casts an interesting new light on the “He’s more machine now than man” line from Return of the Jedi.

But that’s all subtext. To the average moviegoer, this Anakin connection is just a contrivance to shoehorn Threepio into the movie. And for no real reason, as there’s not much for him to do other than be introduced to Artoo. So while I very much like what George was going for with this, I don’t know that it was worth it in the end.

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