If you don’t like Star Wars then you really shouldn’t even be reading this. But if you do, then here are some of my thoughts on the next installment in the series.

Something that I like about the Star Wars universe is how everything connects itself to each other. As Qui-Gon Jinn noted in Episode I: “Nothing happens by accident.”

I wondered how deeply this connection ran through the series, and here is my theory. Tell me what you think. Some possible spoilers ahead.
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Who was Anakin Skywalker’s father?

Qui-Gon: “There’s something about this boy.”

If you believe Anakin’s mother (Shmi Skywalker), then he was born out of nowhere, by the will of the Force. Well, examining the scene in which Shmi tells Qui-Gon Jinn of this, I thought that it looked more like she was making the whole thing up. Call me paranoid, but hey... this is my conspiracy theory.
Qui-Gon: “Who was the father?”
Shmi (looks away and then down): “There was no father.”

Shortly following this is the conversation is the part where Anakin is building the podracer. You know, the “It’s working!” scene where Jar Jar (bleh) gets his hand stuck in the vent thingy. Anyhow, it ends with Shmi staring ominously out at Anakin.

After that, we see another scene where Qui-Gon has Obi-Wan check Anakin’s Midi-Chlorian count. Qui-Gon looks up after finding out that Anakin has a high count and sees Shmi eve’s dropping.

What’s going on here?

Qui-Gon: “Finding him was the will of the force. I have no doubt about that.”

Or maybe there is something else going on. Maybe... Shmi is in cahoots with the Dark Side. Or is at least a pawn in the game.

Yoda: “Hard to see, the Dark Side is.”

I think I see them. A perfect plan for the Sith to infiltrate everything that is good would be to create a dark Jedi. They would go to the outskirts and have a woman give birth to this Force-sensitive child. As Shmi says about Tatooine, “The Republic doesn’t exist out here.”

Qui-Gon: “Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him earlier.”

I think that Shmi was in on the whole thing, personally, as she says things like, “He was meant to help you.”

And she constantly patronizes the boy and encourages his farfetched dreams (not a slave-like mentality).

Shmi (to Anakin after winning the podrace): “You have given hope to those who have none.” “He deserves better than a slave’s life.”

Moving back to the question of Anikan’s father, I see we have a few choices.

First, we have Qui-Gon Jinn himself. I find this highly unlikely, but he does have fatherly behavior toward Anakin and is the primary reason that Obi-Wan ends up training the boy. Also, the guy seems to have some strange amount of chemistry with Shmi (look how close he gets when he helps her off from that beast in the pod hangar where he makes the bet with Watto).

Second, there is Senator Palpatine, a.k.a. Darth Sidious the Sith Lord. If you haven’t figured out that this guy’s evil you’re more blind than a bloke with a blast helmet on. This guy has been manipulating events since before Episode I. Look how he gets Amidala to go for a vote of no confidence in Episode I. In Episode II he gets Anakin put on security detail with Padme`, acts fatherly to Anakin (nurturing his evil), and peer pressures Jar Jar into voting him control of the droid army.

Third in line is the mysterious fallen Jedi, Sifo-Dyas. This guy died nearly ten years before the events in Episode II, but managed to do more to deepen the mysteries of the universe before doing so. He created a clone army on Kamino, erased Kamino from the Jedi Archives, and seems to have attempted to bring down the Sith control in the Senate by alerting Count Dooku.

Fourth, there is Count Dooku, a.k.a. Darth Tyranus the Sith Lord. I’m not certain yet if this man is really Darth Sidious’ right hand man or just a pawn in the game but he seems to know more than he lets on. He offered Obi-Wan the chance to join him in the fight to destroy the Sith but at the end it seemed that he was a Sith.

Finally, there is the remote, however unlikely, premise that the Sith created Anakin magically, through the Dark Side of the Force. I don’t think so, as there is little evidence for this. However, if Shmi Skywalker was merely a pawn, then there is a possibility that she was impregnated magically and never knew why. “I can’t explain what happened,” she says.

So which is it?:

a.) Qui-Gon Jinn
b.) Senator Palpatine
c.) Sifo-Dyas
d.) Count Dooku
e.) Sith Magic

With Qui-Gon Jinn we have possible conspiracy angle. He was, after all, the padawan of Count Dooku, who is now a Sith Lord. His dying words were a plea for Obi-Wan to train Anakin. And it was his decision not only to land on Tatooine where they found Anakin, but also his decision to go to the city where the boy was located and his choice to take the boy with them. However, it would seem odd if Qui-Gon was part of the conspiracy theory and didn’t know who the father of the boy was. Also, it would be odd if Shmi, being in cahoots with the Sith and all, wouldn’t recognize him. I dismiss Qui-Gon from the list of suspects, as well as the magical impregnation of Shmi.

Sifo-Dyas and Count Dooku seem to have a connection of some kind as Sifo-Dyas apparently came to Dooku looking for aid. If this is true, than Sifo-Dyas was likely being used as a pawn of some kind and once his use was gone, he was killed (it is never really explained how). Although, I admit that the Jedi’s definition of “killed” can be somewhat skewed (Obi-Wan in Episode IV: “Vader betrayed and murdered your father.”). It is possible, however unlikely, that Sifo-Dyas is still alive. Dooku is also likely a pawn. As with the Trade Federation, the armies of Dooku (who is in cahoots with the Trade Federation) were destroyed. These two are still possibilities as possible fathers. But it is clear to me that these people are being used by the same person as pawns. Whoever is controlling them is indeed powerful, as Sifo-Dyas was a leading member of the Jedi Council.

Darth Sidious in Episode II: “Everything is going as planned.”

Ah, the insidious Darth Sidious (hmm). Darth Maul was under his control in Episode I and Darth Tyranus was under his control in Episode II. This is the most likely candidate for Anakin’s father out of all the possibilities. Only he, the ever clever, always plotting and always planning ahead, head Sith could have plotted out something so much as this man. It might even be possible that this man is Syfo-Dyas. I doubt that very much (as he rarely does things himself), but it is known that he (in Episode II) encourages, nurtures and patronizes Anakin almost as much as Shmi did:

Palpatine: “Your patience has finally paid off.”
Anakin: “Your guidance more than my patience.”
Palpatine: “You don’t need guidance, Anakin.”

Also, it seems that the idea of history repeating itself is a theme in these Star Wars films (“I’ve got a bad feeling about this”, Obi-Wan slicing off arms in cantinas, Skywalkers being good pilots and destroying huge space stations, Skywalkers being tempted by the Dark Side). I’d venture to guess that the next big twist will be Sidious saying something like “I’m your father” and “We can rule the galaxy as father and son!”

So there it is. Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader, is the son of Senator Palpatine, a.k.a. Darth Sidious, who becomes the evil, ever-scheming Emperor Palpatine.

Darth Vader in Episode IV: “Now the circle is complete.”
Emperor Palpatine in Episode VI: “Everything that has transpired has been of my design.”