How Did Anakin Bring Balance to the Force?

Anakin brought balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. In Return of the Jedi he turns on the Emperor to save his son, throws him down a shaft on the second Death Star, and dies of his own wounds. With Palpatine and Vader both gone, there are no Sith left, and that's exactly what the films say the prophecy promised. (Return of the Jedi; Revenge of the Sith)

What the prophecy meant#

The Phantom Menace introduces the idea without defining it. Mace Windu asks Qui-Gon, "You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this boy?" Dying on Naboo, Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan the boy "will bring balance. Train him." (The Phantom Menace)

Revenge of the Sith fills in the meaning. When the Council talks about Anakin, Obi-Wan asks: "Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force?" Mace answers, "So the prophecy says." Yoda adds that the prophecy could have been misread. (Revenge of the Sith)

Obi-Wan repeats it on Mustafar, at the worst possible moment: "It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!" (Revenge of the Sith)

How he did it#

Anakin spends more than twenty years as Darth Vader, the Emperor's enforcer. The turn comes at Endor. Luke refuses to fight on and throws away his lightsaber, so the Emperor tortures him with lightning. Vader watches, then picks his master up and throws him down the reactor shaft. The lightning hits Vader as well, and it kills him. (Return of the Jedi)

That leaves the galaxy with no Sith Lords at all. Darth Sidious is gone and so is his apprentice. In the terms Obi-Wan used, the Chosen One has destroyed the Sith, and he's done it by choosing his son over his master. (Return of the Jedi; Revenge of the Sith)

The Clone Wars plays with the idea years earlier. On Mortis, a strange world where three beings embody the Force, the Father tells Anakin, "You are the Chosen One. You have brought balance to this world," before he dies. That's a small-scale version of what happens at Endor. (The Clone Wars, "Ghosts of Mortis")

What The Rise of Skywalker changes#

The sequel trilogy's finale reveals that Palpatine survived. "Somehow, Palpatine returned," Poe reports, and Rey finds him on Exegol. So the Sith weren't quite finished at Endor. (The Rise of Skywalker)

The film still gives Anakin the credit. When Rey is beaten down, the voices of past Jedi speak to her, and Anakin's is one of them: "Bring back the balance, Rey, as I did." Rey then destroys Palpatine for good. (The Rise of Skywalker)

Interpretation: the simplest way to put the two films together is that Anakin brought balance in his lifetime and it held for a generation, until Palpatine's survival upset it again. The film's own line supports that, since "as I did" only makes sense if he really did it. (Return of the Jedi; The Rise of Skywalker)

Other readings#

The Jedi were part of the problem. Interpretation: some fans argue that the Order, thousands strong against two Sith, was out of balance too, and that Anakin "balanced" things by helping destroy it and then the Sith. The films never put it that way; they describe the prophecy only as destroying the Sith. (Revenge of the Sith)

A Legends parallel. In Legends, Palpatine also came back. Dark Horse's Star Wars: Dark Empire comics had him reborn in clone bodies after Endor. That story was set aside in 2014, but it shows the idea of the Emperor cheating death long predates The Rise of Skywalker. (Star Wars: Dark Empire)

Read more#

Why Anakin is the Chosen One covers the prophecy and Qui-Gon's reasons. For his fall and return, see why Anakin turned to the dark side and how Anakin became a Force ghost. Palpatine and the Force cover the other side of the balance.