At last, the enigmatic Force ghost that briefly appears behind Anakin Skywalker during the fiery duel in the climax of *Revenge of the Sith* has been identified.
If you’ve seen *Revenge of the Sith* without catching sight of this figure, don’t fret. He appears only for a fleeting moment and is best appreciated in slow motion or frame-by-frame viewing. Nonetheless, his visage can be seen, frozen in time, peering over Anakin’s shoulder.
Discussion about this character has been circulating since 2015, but it resurfaced on Reddit in 2024, prompting Todd Vaziri, a veteran from Industrial Light & Magic, to delve into the mystery. Vaziri, who served as a compositor on *Revenge of the Sith*, took on the formidable task of locating archival footage that had long been removed from the servers.
“Recovering the footage took about 24 hours, and I was ecstatic, my heart racing. No one had seen the original greenscreen footage in nearly two decades,” Vaziri shared with Ian Kintzle for the Star Wars Celebration 2025 program. “The challenge was that I couldn’t recall what those plates looked like, as it wasn’t one of my shots and it was two decades ago. I persevered and eventually located the plate photography. I couldn’t believe my eyes. On set, there was a man—likely a stunt rigger—dressed not in a robe but a unique shirt reminiscent of one, standing behind Hayden, operating the greenscreen lava skiff where he and Ewan were engaged in battle. His appearance was perfectly aligned with the ‘Force ghost’ in the film.”
Though this moment could be categorized as a “mistake,” it exemplifies the incredible artistry behind filmmaking and the dedication that went into creating the prequels. As Vaziri explained to Kintzle, “No one involved in the process noticed him, and that’s how he ended up in the movie. But in a way, it’s truly remarkable. Many of my own shots contain errors, and as they say, ‘perfection is the enemy of good.’ We strive for flawless shots, but not everything can be impeccable. Over the past 20 years, we’ve developed what we call the ‘Final Check’ process, which is our method of meticulously reviewing shots before they leave ILM—an added layer of quality control, if you will. Ultimately, every single shot you see in Star Wars has been touched by human hands. This universe is crafted, and little quirks like this become part of ILM’s legacy.”
