Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the third and final installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy and stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Frank Oz. In Revenge of the Sith, set three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the Jedi Knights are spread out across the galaxy leading a massive clone army in the war against the Separatists. The Jedi Council dispatches Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to eliminate the notorious General Grievous, leader of the Separatist Army. Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, separated from his former master, grows close to Palpatine, the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and, unknown to the public, a Sith Lord. Their deepening friendship threatens the Jedi Order, the Republic and Anakin himself, who eventually yields to the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader.
Lucas began writing the script before production of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones began. Production of Revenge of the Sith began in September 2003 and it was shot in Australia with additional locations in Thailand, Switzerland, China, Italy and the United Kingdom. Revenge of the Sith premiered on May 15, 2005 at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, and had its general release on May 19, 2005, six years after the premiere of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, especially in contrast to the mixed reviews of the previous two prequels. It is the last film in the Star Wars franchise to be distributed by 20th Century Fox before the acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012.
Revenge of the Sith broke several box office records during its opening week and went on to earn over $848 million worldwide,making it the third-highest-grossing film in the Star Wars franchise, unadjusted for inflation. It was the highest-grossing film of 2005 in the U.S. and the second-highest-grossing film of 2005 behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[4] As of 2015, it is the 46th highest-grossing film. The Star Wars saga was continued with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first installment of the sequel trilogy, on December 18, 2015.
During a space battle over Coruscant between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead a mission to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from Separatist commander General Grievous. After infiltrating Grievous' flagship, the Jedi fight Count Dooku in a lightsaber duel, which ends with Anakin killing Dooku at Palpatine's urging. Grievous flees the battle-torn cruiser, which the Jedi crash-land on Coruscant. There, Anakin reunites with his wife, Padmé Amidala, who reveals she is pregnant. Initially excited, Anakin begins to have premonitions of Padmé dying in childbirth.
Palpatine appoints Anakin to join the Jedi Council as his representative, but the Council declines Anakin the rank of Jedi Master and orders him to monitor the Chancellor, diminishing Anakin's faith in the Jedi. Palpatine entices Anakin with knowledge of the dark side of the Force, including the power to "cheat death." When Palpatine reveals himself as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Anakin reports his treachery to Mace Windu, who subdues Palpatine in an ensuing lightsaber duel. In a desperate attempt to help save Padmé, Anakin intervenes on Palpatine's behalf, allowing him to kill the Jedi Master. Anakin pledges himself to Palpatine, who dubs him Darth Vader.
Palpatine issues an order for the clone troopers to kill their Jedi commanders, known as Order 66, and dispatches Vader and a legion of clones to kill everyone in the Jedi Temple; however, Obi-Wan (having killed Grievous on Utapau) and Yoda survive. Vader then kills the remaining Separatist leaders hiding on the volcanic planet Mustafar, while Palpatine addresses the Senate and transforms the Republic into the Galactic Empire, declaring himself Emperor. On Coruscant, Obi-Wan and Yoda return to the Jedi Temple and discover Anakin's treachery. Concerned by Obi-Wan's revelation that Anakin has turned to the dark side, Padmé travels to Mustafar to confront him, while Obi-Wan stows away aboard her ship. When Vader discovers Obi-Wan, he accuses Padmé of betrayal and uses the Force to choke her into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan battles and defeats Vader and leaves him to die among the lava flows of the planet, taking his lightsaber. Back on Coruscant, Yoda confronts Palpatine, but retreats after their duel in the Senate Chamber reaches a stalemate.
Obi-Wan brings Padmé to the asteroid Polis Massa, where she gives birth to twins Luke and Leia before dying. A funeral is held for Padmé on Naboo. Meanwhile, Palpatine travels to Mustafar and finds Vader badly burnt and mutilated but not yet dead. Palpatine brings him back to Coruscant, where his burned body is repaired with cybernetic limbs and a respiratory suit. Palpatine informs Vader of Padmé's death, devastating him. As Palpatine and Vader supervise the construction of the first Death Star, Obi-Wan and Yoda decide to hide the twins from the Sith. Senator Bail Organa adopts Leia and takes her to Alderaan, while Obi-Wan delivers Luke to his stepfamily Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine, where Obi-Wan intends to watch over Luke until the time is right to challenge the Empire.
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