Anakin's New Star Wars Return Shows How Badly The Sequels Failed Him

screenrant.com:

While Anakin Skywalker’s appearance in the novel Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith is welcome, it makes his absence from the Star Wars sequel trilogy all the more jarring. The influence of Darth Vader is felt throughout the sequel trilogy, as Kylo Ren talks to his grandfather's old mask, now grotesquely warped and melted. But, by the time of the sequels, Anakin Skywalker had found redemption, and Darth Vader is no more, meaning that Anakin's influence is not present in the sequel trilogy.

Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith is a novel by Adam Christopher, due for release in June 2022, following what happened to Luke Skywalker between the original trilogy and sequel trilogy eras. In a free-to-read excerpt from the novel, Luke finds his spirit transported to the dark world of Exegol where he confronts the dark specters of nine Sith. At an impasse, he’s unable to defeat them, until he receives help from his own father, as the Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker appears at his side.

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Anakin Skywalker being able to appear as a Force ghost makes the entire Star Wars sequel trilogy perplexing. He could have easily prevented the entire central conflict of the story by speaking even once with his grandson. The fact that he doesn’t makes it feel almost like an insult to hear Kylo Ren speak of finishing what Darth Vader started. Darth Vader had already finished it, turning his back on the Empire and returning to the light side. This was the whole point of two whole trilogies. The ending of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi saw Anakin Skywalker’s Force ghost standing alongside the ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan, confirming that he was now free from the dark side’s grip,