Page "Darth Vader" Paragraph 6

The new plot element of Luke's parentage had drastic effects on the series.

Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was a separate character from Luke's father ; there is not a single reference to this plot point before 1978 ( further reinforcing this is Obi-Wan Kenobi calling Vader " Darth ", as if it is his true name rather than his new Sith name ).

After writing the second and third drafts of Empire Strikes Back in which the point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin Skywalker had been Obi-Wan Kenobi's brilliant student and had a child named Luke, but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine ( who became a Sith and not simply a politician ).

Anakin battled Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was badly wounded, but was then reborn as Darth Vader.

Meanwhile, Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Galactic Republic became the tyrannical Galactic Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi.

This change in character would provide a springboard to the " Tragedy of Darth Vader " storyline that underlies the prequels.