Anakin Skywalker and Jesus

        Films often rely on biblical stories to help tell their plot. Many times films adapt commonly known myths into their stories. A great example of this is with Star Wars and their use of the story of Jesus. In the prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker (future Darth Vader) has many similarities to Jesus. First off is their births, as both were born without a father and have a mother who is central to their development. Both have foreign men arrive and anoint them as special (three wise men and Qui-Gon Jinn). Anakin is also known as the “Chosen One” and he is supposed to bring “balance to the Force.” Of course, Anakin gets corrupted and falls to the Dark Side until the end of Episode 6 where he sacrifices himself to kill the Emperor and bring down evil (bringing peace to the cosmos/galaxy). Anakin is a major example of how movies adapt religious stories. He also is a good example of the continuous fight between the cosmos and chaos, and how myth must tread the line between good and evil. The analogy of Anakin to Jesus has helped Star Wars have such a religious following with Darth Vader being one of the most popular characters that fans dress up as. A major question for filmmakers is about how close can they make their stories resemble biblical stories, or do they always have to slightly change the story before they can put it into the film? Also, is it a necessity for filmmakers to have some type of religious connotations in their films?