Star Wars fans torn over identity of Darth Vader’s true father

Star Wars’ lore is extensive, but there are more than a few gaps.

For some of those gaps, answers are out there. They’re just difficult to find.

Have you ever wondered how Kylo Ren came to get his hands on Darth Vader’s helmet, for example?

If you’re eagle-eyed with an ability to read between the lines, you can find answers in the short story ‘The Perfect Weapon’ by Delilah S. Dawson.

Some mysteries simply remain unanswered though, including what happened to Coruscant in the sequel trilogy following its fall as the galaxy’s centre of power.

There’s also the question of Darth Vader’s lineage, namely the identity of his father.

As we all know, Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker first and foremost, son of Shmi Skywalker.

The name of Anakin’s father has never been provided but that’s simply because, well, he doesn’t have one.

Or at least that’s what the franchise wants us to believe. The issue is that Star Wars has provided several possible origins for Anakin, leading to a cacophony of noise from fans over which is the ‘correct’ answer.

ICYMI: We sat down with the cast of The Acolyte earlier this year.

Anakin doesn’t have a conventional father, as far as we’re aware. Shmi herself confirms that she became pregnant alone, which is difficult to wrap your head around, but it is the truth.

You see, one theory suggests that it was Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidous who was able to use the force to impregnate Shmi, therefore creating a child which many would wrongly believe to be the chosen one.

This implies that Sidious would’ve always known about Anakin’s path to darkness. It’s a somewhat disturbing theory but it is possible.

Others have theorised that the force itself created Anakin in an attempt to restore equilibrium, knowing that Darth Sidous was tipping the scales with his usage of the Dark Side.

Either way though, the truth appears to be that Anakin has no father.

Even if Palpatine did somehow impregnate Shmi, he wouldn’t really be Anakin’s father as he simply manipulated the force’s midi-chlorians.

Midi-chlorians have always been something that’s angered Star Wars fans, just because their function as a plot device is flimsy but hey, there we have it.