Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith Film Synopsis
A desperate rescue over the galactic capital leads to the unmasking of a hidden master, the fall of an order, and a warrior’s tragic transformation. As a secret marriage collides with prophecy and war, betrayal ignites an empire while two newborns are hidden to safeguard the future.
A War Brought to the Capital
Three years after the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the conflict had reached the heart of the Republic. The Separatist military leader, General Grievous, executed a daring strike on Coruscant and abducted Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine from his offices. A massive space battle unfolded over the galactic capital as fleets clashed and rescue efforts were launched. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi were assigned to penetrate the Separatist lines and extract the Chancellor from General Grievous’s flagship, the Invisible Hand.
Their starfighters cut through the engagement zone. Obi-Wan’s ship was mauled by buzz droids, and his astromech was destroyed; Anakin maneuvered to dislodge the parasites, nearly causing more damage before stabilizing the approach. With the flagship’s bay shields temporarily disabled, both Jedi forced a hard crash-landing inside, sliding to a halt as emergency blast doors sealed behind them. R2-D2 remained active in the hangar to provide remote support while the Jedi advanced through corridors crowded with battle droids.
The Captive Chancellor and the Fall of Tyranus
Guided by the Force and ship schematics, Anakin and Obi-Wan reached the bridge-level detention area where Chancellor Palpatine was held. Their path was blocked by Count Dooku—Darth Tyranus—who invited another confrontation. The duel commenced. Coordinated strikes were attempted at first, but Obi-Wan was seized with the Force and hurled aside, left unconscious against a railing. Alone with the Sith Lord, Anakin was goaded to embrace his anger. He pressed the attack, disarmed Dooku by severing both wrists, and stood over the captive foe with two ignited blades. At Palpatine’s urging, the execution was carried out. Dooku was decapitated. Anakin immediately expressed unease, but the Chancellor framed the killing as necessary wartime action.
The Invisible Hand came under heavy fire and began an uncontrolled descent toward Coruscant. Despite Palpatine’s suggestion that the unconscious Obi-Wan be left, Anakin hoisted his former master onto his shoulder and continued the evacuation attempt. A ray-shield trap forced their capture and delivery to Grievous on the bridge; a quick distraction from R2-D2 enabled the Jedi to recover their lightsabers and engage MagnaGuards and battle droids. Grievous shattered a viewport and jettisoned himself into space on a tow line, abandoning the bridge and escape-podding away to Separatist lines.
A Burning Descent and a “Happy Landing”
With the flagship mortally damaged, emergency booster engines were ignited by Grievous’s crew before their capture, sending the vessel into a fiery plunge. Anakin took control. Drag flaps were extended, a sheared hangar section tore free, and a listing glide was managed across the cityscape. The forward half of the Invisible Hand sheared off and the remaining section skidded along an approach lane before collapsing across a control tower. The crash was survived. On the landing platform, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the Chancellor were received by Republic officials and the press. The battle was declared a victory, and Anakin was publicly praised.
Private News and a Hidden Threat
Away from the celebrations, Anakin reunited in secret with Senator Padmé Amidala. Their marriage, concealed from the Order and the Senate, had endured the war’s strain. Padmé revealed her pregnancy. The moment brought joy and anxiety; Anakin was soon plagued by visions of Padmé dying in childbirth, dreams that mirrored earlier nightmares about his mother. A vow was made by Anakin that such a fate would be prevented, whatever the cost.
General Grievous, now acting as both military commander and political courier for the Separatist Council, was ordered by Darth Sidious to relocate the leadership to the volcanic planet Mustafar. The message carried a promise that the war would soon end and that a new apprentice would serve the Sith.
The Council, the Chancellor, and a Widening Rift
Palpatine used the emergency powers granted earlier in the war to press further influence over the Jedi. He appointed Anakin as his personal representative to the Jedi Council. The Council accepted the appointment but denied Anakin the rank of Master. Resentment and confusion followed. In private, Obi-Wan informed Anakin that the Council expected him to report on the Chancellor’s dealings. The assignment was received as a betrayal by Anakin, who felt torn between loyalty to the Order, friendship with Obi-Wan, and gratitude toward Palpatine, who had cultivated him for years.
The Tale of Darth Plagueis
At the Galaxies Opera House, Anakin joined Palpatine in a private box to discuss war intelligence. The Chancellor claimed that General Grievous’s location had been discovered on Utapau, then suggested that Anakin himself should be the one to capture him—implying the Council’s competence was in doubt if they chose otherwise. With aides dismissed, Palpatine began to speak of the Sith legend of Darth Plagueis the Wise, a master who could influence the midi-chlorians to create life and prevent death. The tale was framed as knowledge from the dark side, outside the Jedi’s teachings. The prospect of saving a loved one seized Anakin’s imagination. Palpatine also sowed suspicions about the Jedi’s intentions, alleging that the Order sought power and would attempt a coup.
The Council chose Obi-Wan to lead the operation on Utapau, while Yoda was sent to Kashyyyk to reinforce Wookiee defenses. Anakin’s request to accompany Obi-Wan was denied; the growing estrangement deepened.
Farewell Between Brothers
Before departure, Obi-Wan and Anakin met on the embarkation platform. Mutual apologies were exchanged. Obi-Wan encouraged patience and expressed pride in his former Padawan, believing recognition by the Council would eventually come. The moment served as their final cordial parting as friends and peers within the Order.
The Hunt for Grievous on Utapau
Obi-Wan arrived on Utapau and confirmed intelligence from local authorities under duress. Grievous and his droid legions were concealed in Pau City. Mounted on the varactyl Boga, Obi-Wan infiltrated to Level Ten and confronted the cyborg general. Grievous split his arms to brandish four lightsabers; the duel commenced across platforms and gantries. Support from clone contingents under Commander Cody secured the area as Obi-Wan severed two of Grievous’s hands, gaining advantage. The chase spilled into the sinkholes. Grievous fled on a wheel bike; Obi-Wan pursued. A final grapple left the Jedi disarmed and battered. Grievous’s armored chest plates were pried open, exposing living organs. By summoning the fallen blaster with the Force, Obi-Wan fired into the cavity, igniting the general’s innards. Grievous collapsed in flames, and the Separatists lost their field commander.
Sidious Unmasked
Back on Coruscant, Anakin informed Palpatine of Grievous’s death. Conversation shifted. The Chancellor, speaking in increasingly candid terms, revealed knowledge and capacities associated with the Sith. When pressed, Palpatine openly disclosed that he was Darth Sidious. Anakin ignited his lightsaber but stayed his hand, torn between duty, fear for Padmé, and a promise of forbidden power. He chose to report the discovery to the Jedi.
“It’s Treason, Then”
Mace Windu assembled Masters Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin and confronted Palpatine in his office, declaring the Chancellor under arrest for treason. Sidious produced a hidden lightsaber and launched into a lethal assault. Kolar and Tiin fell within seconds; Fisto was slain after a brief exchange. Windu and Sidious continued a violent duel through the office and into the main chamber, where Windu disarmed the Sith Lord and held him at blade’s edge. Sidious unleashed Force lightning; Windu deflected it, and the energy deformed Sidious’s face into a grotesque mask. Anakin arrived as Windu prepared to strike the killing blow. Windu argued that Sidious’s control of the courts made a trial impossible. Anakin’s fear of losing the one who might save Padmé overcame his loyalty. He severed Windu’s sword arm. Sidious blasted the unarmed Master with lightning and hurled him into the Coruscant night.
The Birth of Darth Vader and the Purge of the Jedi
Horrified by his choice yet committed by it, Anakin knelt. Sidious accepted him as apprentice and bestowed a new name: Darth Vader. The first orders were immediate and devastating. Vader was sent to lead the 501st Legion against the Jedi Temple in Operation: Knightfall, while Sidious transmitted a simultaneous command to clone commanders across the galaxy: Order 66.
The purge was swift and catastrophic. On Mygeeto, Ki-Adi-Mundi was cut down by his own troops; on Felucia, Aayla Secura fell under blaster fire; on Cato Neimoidia, Plo Koon’s starfighter was destroyed by his wingmen; on Saleucami, Stass Allie was killed by pursuing clones; on Kashyyyk, Commander Gree and Captain Jek attempted to execute Yoda, who perceived the betrayal and defended himself before escaping with Wookiee allies Tarfful and Chewbacca. At the Temple, Vader struck down defenders, Masters, and even the children sheltering in the Council chamber.
The Temple in Flames and a Republic Transformed
Senator Bail Organa arrived at the burning Temple and witnessed troopers executing young Padawan Zett Jukassa. Realizing the truth, he fled Coruscant to aid survivors. Obi-Wan, shot from his varactyl by a clone cannon blast, survived the fall and escaped Utapau in Grievous’s fighter. Meeting Organa in orbit, he was brought back to Coruscant, where Yoda also rendezvoused. They resolved to return to the Temple, alter the all-Jedi recall beacon into a warning, and learn what had occurred.
Footage from security archives revealed Vader kneeling to Sidious after the slaughter. The revelation forced a division of task: Yoda would confront the Emperor; Obi-Wan would find and face his fallen friend. Meanwhile, in a special Senate session, Palpatine—feigning survival of a Jedi coup—announced the reorganization of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, promising a “safe and secure society.” Applause thundered while a stunned Padmé and Bail Organa grasped the scope of the usurpation.
A Flight to Mustafar and a Final Plea
Vader was dispatched to Mustafar to eliminate the Separatist Council. Upon arrival, he sealed the conference room and executed the leaders without mercy, leaving Viceroy Nute Gunray to the end. The war’s political head was severed in a single strike campaign.
Back on Coruscant, Obi-Wan appealed to Padmé for Anakin’s whereabouts and revealed the Temple atrocity and Sidious’s true identity. Devastated and unwilling to betray her husband, Padmé withheld information, but her destination was suspected. Obi-Wan covertly boarded her star skiff before departure.
On Mustafar, Padmé confronted Anakin on a landing platform. She begged for a return to their old life and pleaded for him to abandon the path he had chosen. An offer was made by Vader to overthrow Sidious and rule together. When Obi-Wan stepped from the ship, Vader perceived treachery and, in a surge of rage, choked Padmé into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan forced the confrontation; the two prepared for battle.
Duel of Masters and Monsters
Simultaneously, in the Emperor’s office, Yoda confronted Darth Sidious. An exchange of Force blasts hurled them into the Senate chamber, where they fought among the rotunda’s levitating pods. Yoda was ultimately overpowered by the Sith Lord’s momentum and rising Imperial security; with Bail Organa’s aid, he fled into exile.
On Mustafar, Obi-Wan and Vader’s duel raged through control rooms, catwalks, and exterior platforms as shields failed and lava flows surged. Debris rained while the combatants matched each other’s forms and counters from years of shared training. The fight spilled onto a severed collection arm drifting down a lava river and then onto a hovering platform. Obi-Wan secured the high ground at the bank. His final warning was issued. Vader leapt regardless. In a single precise strike, Obi-Wan severed both legs and the remaining arm. Vader slid to the edge of the flow and ignited in the heat, consumed by pain and hatred as Obi-Wan turned away, taking Anakin’s lightsaber and Padmé aboard the skiff.
Birth, Death, and Iron Lung
Emperor Palpatine reached Mustafar with shock troopers and rescued the charred Vader, placing him into a stasis pod for transport. Padmé was brought by Obi-Wan to the medical facility on Polis Massa, where droids labored to save her. Twins were delivered—first a boy, then a girl—named Luke and Leia. Padmé, weakened and heartsick, insisted there was still good in Anakin with her final breaths.
On Coruscant, Vader underwent brutal reconstruction: prosthetic limbs were attached, scorched flesh was encased in armor, and a respirator sealed to sustain life. Upon rising, the new Sith Lord asked about Padmé. Sidious claimed she had died by Vader’s own hand. A howl of grief and rage followed, and the lab around him shuddered. In that moment, Anakin’s last hope was extinguished, leaving only Darth Vader in the Emperor’s service.
A Plan to Hide the Light
In the aftermath, a quiet council was held aboard the Tantive III with Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Bail Organa. The twins were to be hidden and separated. Leia would be adopted by the Organas of Alderaan; Luke would be taken to Tatooine to live with Owen and Beru Lars. The droids who had witnessed so much—R2-D2 and C-3PO—were turned over to Captain Raymus Antilles, with the protocol droid’s memory to be wiped for safety.
On Naboo, a state funeral honored Padmé. Her body was displayed as still pregnant to conceal the children’s survival. Far away, the Emperor and Vader, accompanied by Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, observed the early construction of a moon-sized battle station. Yoda departed into self-imposed exile, preparing to learn from Qui-Gon Jinn’s spirit how to persist within the Force after death. Obi-Wan delivered the infant Luke to the Lars homestead, then retreated into the deserts of Tatooine. As the twin suns set, Owen and Beru looked out over the dunes with the child in their arms, while the galaxy shifted under the newly forged Imperial rule.
