Darth Vader also appears in numerous iterations of the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe including television series (most substantially ""), video games, novels, literature and comic books. Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever. The American Film Institute listed him as the third greatest movie villain in cinema history on "100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains", behind Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. His role as a tragic hero in the prequel trilogy was met with mixed reviews. In the first draft of "The Star Wars",
Star Wars prequel trilogy Star Wars prequel trilogy The "Star Wars" prequel trilogy is a set of three prequel films in the "Star Wars" franchise, an American space opera created by George Lucas. Like the original trilogy, it was produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The trilogy consists of "" (1999), "" (2002), and "" (2005). The first two films received mixed reviews, while the third was somewhat more well received. According to producer Gary Kurtz, loose plans for a prequel trilogy were developed during the outlining of the original two films. In 1980, Lucas confirmed that he had the