Darth Vader into his relationship with Obi-Wan and depict how their relationship matured. Ahsoka and Anakin's relationship was seen as an essential story arc spanning both the animated film and "Clone Wars" television series. Filoni began thinking about the final confrontation between Ahsoka and Vader ever since he created the former; different iterations had different endings, including one in which Vader kills Ahsoka just as she slashes open his helmet to reveal Vader's scarred face. Ahsoka's presence in "Star Wars Rebels" was necessary to allow Darth Vader to encounter the show's lead characters without the latter being "destroyed"; Ahsoka can "stand toe-to-toe"
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Lucas decided the movies would work best as a trilogy. In the final act of the trilogy's final episode, "Return of the Jedi", Vader is ultimately redeemed through an act of sacrifice for Luke. This was in 1983, more than six years since the release of "Star Wars". Lucas admitted to being "burned out" and announced he would take a break from working on the saga. Throughout the 1980s, George Lucas remarked he had no desire to return to "Star Wars" and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of "Return of the Jedi". Because Lucas had developed