Welcome, to week 7 of our celebration of Revenge of the Sith 15th’s anniversary.
15 different guests, 15 Interviews, 15 weeks in a row
“Hold me, like you did by the lake on Naboo.”
Welcome, Charlotte to our Revenge of the Sith 15th Anniversary Celebration Series. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to answer our questions.
Thank you so much for having me! Always excited to talk about Revenge of the Sith whenever I get the chance.
Before we get started, could you please share with our readers a little bit about yourself, your content and how you got into Star Wars?
As a millennial, I grew up with Star Wars being all around me but was really absolutely hooked on Star Wars when I saw Revenge of the Sith on opening night when I was 11. Ever since then, I’ve never looked back with the Star Wars fandom. Now I host a podcast, Skytalkers, with my best friend who I got into Star Wars shortly after Revenge of the Sith came out. We love to talk about all things Star Wars, especially the prequels and more recently the sequel trilogy.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Let’s start at the beginning, when and where did you first see Revenge of the Sith?
As I said before, I was 11 when I first saw it on opening night with my dad outside of Atlanta, GA. I was someone who had seen all of the movies in theaters but never really had a huge interest in the fandom beyond Star Tours in Disney World (ha) and knowing it was an extremely popular set of films.
2.What was your experience like?
The best!
3. What was your reaction after you saw it your first time?
I’ll never forget watching ROTS for the first time because I was so invested in the tragedy and drama and felt my heart break so much. After I saw it, I was so deeply invested in it, I’m pretty sure I spent the entire night after that researching the prequels and the actors in the film. It really changed everything for me; something about the way it solidified the end (at the time) of the series that I so desperately wanted to dig into. I was so excited by the wealth of Star Wars content that I had only scratched the surface of before, and as desperate to debate it and dig into the films after watching ROTS.
4. What is your favorite scene in Revenge of the Sith and why?
It changes for me, but right now it’s probably Anakin and Padmé’s conversation on her couch where she questions: “Do you ever think we may be on the wrong side?”
5. What is your favorite character in Revenge of the Sith and why?
Padmé, I instantly related to her and loved her sense of justice. I still do. I know she gets a lot of flack for her character in ROTS, but it just makes me love her more in the film.
6. What is your favorite tie-in material (from ether Legends or canon) and why?
The ROTS novelization! In so many ways, I don’t think I’d be as into Star Wars as I am today without Stover’s incredible writing on the book. It remains light years ahead of some of the other novelizations and due to its time of writing, was able to reflect on a saga and cognitively address its placement as a final piece in the saga at the time. Stover ascribed metaphor to Anakin’s fall and deeply got into each character’s motivations in feelings in a way that the film does not (achieved also by Stover’s access to the several versions of the ROTS scripts). I love it and read it basically every year.
7. What is your favorite piece of merchandise/collectible from this film and why?
It’s so hard to pick… it might honestly be the Novelization I bought in 2005, it’s so well-loved. Maybe my Hayden Christensen cardboard cutout that I *had* to have at the time.
8. When you think of Revenge of the Sith, what do you think about and why?
I think about tragedy. ROTS knows what it is and it sticks to its trajectory, while also delivering a melancholic glimpse into the future of our young heroes later.
9. 15 years later, has your opinion changed at all on the film? If so how?
If anything, it’s grown. It’ll always be the film that I stand by as my real entry point into being a Star Wars fan. It’s been nice to watch the appreciation of the movie and the prequels, in general, grow in recent years. I don’t think the film was met with disdain back in 2005, but it’s always nice to enter fresh conversations about the film even now in 2020.
10. What does Revenge of the Sith mean to you currently?
It really owes my affection for setting the course in which I became a Star Wars fan and for that I am grateful.
11. What are somethings about the Revenge of the Sith that you love, respect or hold dear that others may overlook and why?
First, the deleted scenes with Padmé about the formation of the Rebel Alliance. Second, I think people overlook the brilliance of the pacing of the film. The movie starts with a literal fiery descent and bookends it with another; each scene feels like we’re barreling to a tragic conclusion where we wish we could exist in conversations longer, but there isn’t time.
12. Where does Revenge of the Sith sit for you in your personal ranking of the 12 theatrical releases and why?
I’m not a huge fan of ranking the films since I don’t think it’s what George Lucas intended, however, it’s hard for my own nostalgia to not blind me into it taking a top 3 spot.
13. What would you like to see in the future around Revenge of the Sith, ether stories, merchandise, features, interviews, etc?
Would love for someone to do an Oral History article (The Hollywood Reporter or StarWars.com) but also would really like a canon account of the formation of the Rebel Alliance.
14. In your opinion, what is the legacy of Revenge of the Sith?
At the time, the film knew it was the last of the saga and didn’t attempt to check a ton of fan-needed boxed; George needed to check logistical boxes. I think you can feel throughout it that George set out to tell this final chapter at least from the production of TPM.
15. What are your last words on Revenge of the Sith and/ or things you would like readers to know about this film?
I love Revenge of the Sith and I’m always glad when others express their love of it too!
Thanks again Charlotte for joining us in this 15th-anniversary celebration of Revenge of the Sith.
Thank you for having me!
If people would like to find you or your content, where can they find it?
You can find me most on my podcast, Skytalkers, which is available on every platform, YouTube, and Skytalkers.com; you can also find me on Instagram and Twitter @crerrity.
Thank you readers for joining us in the celebration of Revenge of the Sith and stay tuned for our next entry into this series, coming next Monday. Till then, we wish you nothing but the best, stay safe out there and May the Force be with you.
-JediGeekGirl
irebeldestiny.com 