50 most shocking moments in Star Wars history

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CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 15: (from left to right) Actors Ian McDiarmid, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson attend a photocall promoting the film “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” at the Palais during the 58th International Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2005 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images) /

6. Anakin killing younglings (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)

Like many fans, I’m not too keen on the prequel trilogy. However, that doesn’t mean those movies are absent of shocking moments. In Revenge of the Sith, we really see just how much of a hold the dark side has on Anakin Skywalker. He isn’t Darth Vader just yet, but he may as well be.

The Jedi have always taken in kids when they’re young to help them control their Force abilities and train them. Anakin walks right on in and wields his lightsaber as the children are understandably scared. We don’t even need to see what happens next to know what the end result is.

Any time kids are involved, there are questions about just how evil someone is in order to hurt them. The answer is always extremely evil. There isn’t a single kid out there who deserves what Anakin does to the younglings. Is Anakin turning evil a surprise? Not at all, but targeting the younglings sure is.

This is one of those moments in Star Wars history that is tough to swallow. Was it totally necessary? Maybe not. But that moment tells you everything you need to know about Anakin at that point. And it isn’t anything good.

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