Revenge of the Sith is set three years after the onset of theClone Wars, as established inAttack of the Clones, which depicts the rise ofDarth Sidious and theGalactic Empire as well asAnakin Skywalker turning to the dark side ofthe Force, which will have wide-ranging consequences in the galaxy that lead to the extermination of theJedi.
Lucas began writing the script before production ofAttack of the Clones ended, saying he wanted the end of the trilogy to be similar to a romantic tragedy, thus leading into Darth Vader's state at the beginning of the next film. Production ofRevenge of the Sith started in June 2003, and filming took place in Australia, Thailand, Switzerland, China, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Revenge of the Sith premiered on May 16, 2005, at theCannes Film Festival, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 19. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise for the mature themes, darker tone, emotional depth, soundtrack and action sequences, although some criticism was reserved towards Lucas's screenplay, some of the dialogue, and the pacing of Anakin's arc; many consider it the best installment of the trilogy. It broke several box-office records during its opening week and earned $850 million worldwide during its initial run, making it the second-highest-grossing film in theStar Wars franchise at the time. It was the highest-grossing film in the U.S. and thesecond-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2005. It also holds the record for the highest opening-day gross on a Thursday, at $50 million. It was the lastStar Wars film distributed by20th Century Fox, although the company (and, by extension, the film) wasacquired by Disney several years after it acquiredLucasfilm.
Orbiting aboveCoruscant, Jedi MasterObi-Wan Kenobi and KnightAnakin Skywalker lead a mission to rescue Supreme ChancellorPalpatine from thecyborg Separatist commanderGeneral Grievous. After infiltrating Grievous's flagship, Obi-Wan and Anakin battle theSith LordCount Dooku, whom Anakin decapitates at Palpatine's insistence. Grievous escapes the damaged ship before Obi-Wan and Anakin crash-land it on Coruscant. Anakin reunites with his wife,Padmé Amidala, who tells him she is pregnant. Anakin has visions of Padmé dying in childbirth.
Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his representative. Distrusting Palpatine, the Council agrees but refuses to make Anakin a Jedi Master. They instead instruct him to spy on Palpatine, diminishing Anakin's faith in the Jedi. Meanwhile, onUtapau, Grievous relocates the Separatist leaders to the volcanic planetMustafar. Obi-Wan travels to Utapau, where he confronts and kills Grievous, whileYoda travels to theWookiee planet ofKashyyyk to defend it from the Separatist droid attack on the Wookiees.
Meanwhile, Palpatine tempts Anakin with thedark side of the Force, promising that it can save Padmé's life. Anakin deduces that Palpatine is the Sith Lord behind theClone Wars[a] and reports his treachery toMace Windu, who confronts and subdues Palpatine, leaving the latter disfigured. Desperate to save Padmé, Anakin prevents Windu from killing Palpatine by slicing off his right hand. Palpatine then sends Windu falling to his death. Despite being horrified by his actions, Anakin pledges himself to the Sith, and Palpatine knights him asDarth Vader. Palpatine issuesOrder 66, which commands theclone troopers to kill their commanding Jedi generals across the galaxy, while Anakin and a battalion of clone troopers kill the remaining Jedi in the Jedi Temple. Anakin then travels to Mustafar to assassinate the Separatist leaders, while Palpatine declares himself Emperor before theGalactic Senate, transformingthe Republic into theGalactic Empire. He denounces the Jedi as traitors.
Obi-Wan and Yoda survive Order 66 and learn that Anakin has turned to the dark side. On Coruscant, Yoda instructs Obi-Wan to confront Anakin while he faces Palpatine. Obi-Wan seeks out Padmé to discover Anakin's whereabouts and reveals his treachery. Padmé travels to Mustafar—unaware that Obi-Wan has stowed aboard her ship—and pleads with Anakin to abandon the dark side. When Obi-Wan emerges, an enraged Anakin believes Padmé has betrayed him and force-chokes her into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan and Anakin engage in alightsaber duel, which ends with Obi-Wan severing Anakin's left arm and both legs. Anakin is then burned alive by a nearby lava flow as Obi-Wan retrieves Anakin's lightsaber and leaves him for dead.
Meanwhile, Yoda battles Palpatine on Coruscant, culminating in a stalemate. Yoda flees with SenatorBail Organa and regroups with Obi-Wan and Padmé on theplanetoidPolis Massa. Padmé gives birth to twins, whom she namesLuke andLeia. She dies soon after, still believing there is good in Anakin. Palpatine recovers a barely alive Anakin. On Coruscant, Anakin's mutilated body is treated and encased in a black, armored life-support suit. When he asks about Padmé, Palpatine says Anakin killed her out of rage, leaving Anakin devastated.
Obi-Wan and Yoda conceal the twins' birth from the Sith and retreat into exile until the Empire can be challenged. As Padmé's funeral is underway onNaboo, Palpatine and Anakin supervise the construction of theDeath Star.[b] Bail takes Leia toAlderaan to raise her as his daughter. Obi-Wan delivers Luke to his step-uncle and step-aunt, Owen and Beru Lars, onTatooine. Obi-Wan settles nearby as a recluse while watching over young Luke.
Ian McDiarmid asPalpatine / Darth Sidious, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic who is secretly a Sith Lord, and later the Emperor of theGalactic Empire. He takes advantage of Anakin's distrust of the Jedi and fear of Padmé dying to turn him towards the dark side, becoming Vader's master.
Director andStar Wars creatorGeorge Lucas has a cameo as Baron Papanoida, a blue-faced alien in attendance at the Coruscant opera house.[13] Lucas' son Jett portrays Zett Jukassa, a young Jedi-in-training. One of Lucas' daughters,Amanda, appears as Terr Taneel, seen in a security hologram, while his other daughterKatie plays a blue-skinned Pantoran named Chi Eekway, visible when Palpatine arrives at the Senate after being saved by the Jedi and talking to Baron Papanoida at the opera house.[14][15] Christian Simpson appeared as astunt double for Hayden Christensen.[16]
George Lucas said he conceived theStar Wars saga's story in the form of a plot outline in 1973. However, he later clarified that, at the time of the saga's conception, he had not fully realized the details—only major plot points.[17] The film's climactic duel has its basis in theReturn of the Jedi novelization, in which Obi-Wan recounts his battle with Vader that ended with the latter falling "into a molten pit".[18] Lucas began working on the screenplay forEpisode III before the previous film,Attack of the Clones, was released, proposing to concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven battles on seven planets.[19] InThe Secret History of Star Wars, Michael Kaminski surmises that Lucas found flaws with Anakin's fall to the dark side and radically reorganized the plot. For example, instead of opening the film with a montage of Clone War battles, Lucas decided to focus on Anakin, ending the first act with him killing Count Dooku, an action that signals his turn to the dark side.[20]
A significant number of fans speculated online about the episode title for the film with rumored titles includingRise of the Empire,The Creeping Fear (which was also named as the film's title on the official website on April Fool's 2004), andBirth of the Empire.[21] Eventually,Revenge of the Sith also became a title guessed by fans that George Lucas would indirectly confirm.[22] The title is a reference toRevenge of the Jedi, the original title ofReturn of the Jedi; Lucas changed the title scant weeks before the premiere ofReturn of the Jedi, declaring that a true Jedi could never seek revenge.[23]
Lucas had originally planned to include significantly more ties to theoriginal trilogy, and wrote early drafts of the script in which a 10-year-oldHan Solo appeared on Kashyyyk, but the role was not cast or shot. He also wrote a scene in which Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he created him frommidichlorians, and is thus his "father", a clear parallel to Vader's revelation to Luke inThe Empire Strikes Back, but later scrapped this scene as well. Another planned scene by Lucas that was written during the early development of the film was a conversation between MasterYoda and the ghostlyQui-Gon Jinn, withLiam Neeson reprising his role as Jinn (he also hinted his possible appearance in the film).[24] However, the scene was never filmed and Neeson was never recorded, although the scene was present in the film's novelization.
After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made significant changes to Anakin's character, rewriting his turn to the dark side. Lucas accomplished this through editing the principal footage and filming new scenes duringpickups in London in 2004.[25] In the previous versions, Anakin had several reasons for turning to the dark side, one of which was his sincere belief that the Jedi were plotting to take over the Republic. Although this is still intact in the finished film, by revising and refilming many scenes, Lucas emphasized Anakin's desire to save Padmé from death. Thus, in the version that made it to theaters, Anakin falls to the dark side primarily to save Padmé.[25]
For theKashyyyk environment, the art department turned to theStar Wars Holiday Special for inspiration.[26] Over a period of months, Lucas would approve hundreds of designs that would eventually appear in the film. He would later rewrite entire scenes and action sequences to correspond to certain designs he had chosen.[25] The designs were then shipped to the pre-visualization department to create movingCGI versions known as animatics.Ben Burtt would edit these scenes with Lucas in order to pre-visualize what the film would look like before the scenes were filmed.[25] The pre-visualization footage featured a basic raw CGI environment with equally unprocessed character models performing a scene, typically for action sequences.Steven Spielberg was brought in as a "guest director" for the film's climax, overseeing the pre-visualization of an unused version of the Utapau chase scene[27] and making art-design suggestions for the Order 66 assassinations as well as the Mustafar duel.[28][29][f] The pre-visualization and art department designs were sent to the production department to begin building sets, props and costumes.[25]
Although the first scene filmed was the final scene to appear in the film (shot during the filming ofAttack of the Clones in 2000),[30][g] the first bulk of principal photography on the film occurred from June 30, 2003, to September 17, 2003, with additional photography atShepperton Studios in Surrey andElstree Studios in Hertfordshire from August 2004 to January 31, 2005.[25] The initial filming took place on sound stages atFox Studios Australia inSydney, although practical environments were shot as background footage later to be composited into the film. These included the limestone mountains depictingKashyyyk, which were filmed inPhuket, Thailand. The production company was also fortunate enough to be shooting at the same time thatMount Etna erupted in Italy. Camera crews were sent to the location to shoot several angles of the volcano that were later spliced into the background of the animatics and the final film version of the planet Mustafar.[25]
While shooting key dramatic scenes, Lucas would often use an "A camera" and "B camera", or the "V technique", a process that involves shooting with two or more cameras at the same time in order to gain several angles of the same performance.[25] Using the HD technology developed for the film, the filmmakers were able to send footage to the editors the same day it was shot, a process that would require a full 24 hours had it been shot on film.[25] Footage featuring the planet Mustafar was given to editorRoger Barton, who was on location in Sydney cutting the climactic duel.
Hayden Christensen said Lucas asked him "to bulk up and physically show the maturity that had taken place between the two films."[32] The actor explained that he worked out with a trainer in Sydney for three months and ate "six meals a day and on every protein, weight gain supplement that man has created" to go from 160 lb (73 kg) to 185 lb (84 kg).[33]
Christensen andEwan McGregor began rehearsing their climacticlightsaber duel long before Lucas would shoot it. They trained extensively with stunt coordinatorNick Gillard to memorize and perform their duel together. As in the previous prequel film, McGregor and Christensen performed their own lightsaber fighting scenes without the use of stunt doubles.[34] The speed at which Vader and Obi-Wan engage in their duel is mostly the speed at which it was filmed, although there are instances where single frames were removed to increase the velocity of particular strikes. An example of this occurs as Obi-Wan strikes down on Vader after applying an armlock in the duel's first half.[17]
Revenge of the Sith was the firstStar Wars film in which Anakin Skywalker and the suited Darth Vader were played by the same actor in the same film. As Christensen recounted, it was originally intended to simply have a "tall guy" in the Darth Vader costume, but, after "begging and pleading", Christensen persuaded Lucas to have the Vader costume used in the film created specifically to fit him. The new costume featured shoe lifts and a muscle suit.[35] It also required Christensen (who is 6 feet or 1.8 metres tall) to look through the helmet's mouthpiece.[36]
In 2004,Gary Oldman was originally approached to provide the voice of General Grievous;[37] however, complications arose during contract negotiations after Oldman learned the film was to be made outside of theScreen Actors Guild, of which he is a member. He decided to drop out of the role rather than violate the union's rules.[38]Matthew Wood, who voiced Grievous, disputed this story at Celebration III, held inIndianapolis. According to him, Oldman is a friend of producerRick McCallum, and thus recorded an audition as a favor to him, but was not chosen.[39] Wood, who was also the supervising sound editor, was in charge of the auditions and submitted his audition anonymously in the midst of 30 others, under the initials "A.S." forAlan Smithee.[40] Days later, he received a phone call asking for the full name to the initials "A.S."[41]
The post-production department (handled byIndustrial Light & Magic) began work during filming and continued until weeks before the film was released in 2005. Special effects were created using almost all formats, including model work, CGI and practical effects. The same department later composited all such work into the filmed scenes—both processes taking nearly two years to complete.Revenge of the Sith has 2,151 shots that use special effects, a world record.[42] There was a miniature model of Mustafar that measured a length of 33 feet (10 m), a width of 18 feet (5.5 m) and a height of 7 feet (2.1 m), making it the largest scale model ever built for any film at the time.[43]
The film required 910 artists and 70,441 man-hours to create 49 seconds of footage for the Mustafar duel alone.[25] Members of Hyperspace, the Official Star Wars Fan Club, received a special look into the production. Benefits included not only special articles, but they also received access to awebcam that transmitted a new image every 20 seconds during the time it was operating in Fox Studios Australia. Many times the stars, and Lucas himself, were spotted on the webcam.[44]
Lucas excised all scenes of a group of Senators, including Padmé, Bail Organa, andMon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), organizing an alliance to prevent Palpatine from usurping any more emergency powers. Though this is essentially the birth of theRebel Alliance, the scenes were discarded to achieve more focus on Anakin's story.[17] The scene where Yoda arrives onDagobah to begin his self-imposedexile was also removed, but is featured as an extended scene in the DVD release, although McCallum stated he hoped Lucas would have added it to the new cut as part of a six-episode DVD box set.[17]
Bai Ling filmed minor scenes for the film playing a senator, but her role was cut during editing. She claimed this was because she appeared in a nude pictorial for the June 2005 issue ofPlayboy, whose appearance on newsstands coincided with the film's May release. Lucas denied this, stating that the cut had been made more than a year earlier, and that he had cut his own daughter's scenes as well.[45] The bonus features show an additional removed scene in which Jedi MasterShaak Ti is killed by General Grievous in front of Obi-Wan and Anakin.[46] The bonus features also show Obi-Wan and Anakin running through Grievous' ship, escaping droids through a fuel tunnel, and arguing over what R2-D2 is saying.[17]
The music was composed and conducted byJohn Williams, who has composed and conducted the score for every episode in theStar Wars saga, and performed by theLondon Symphony Orchestra andLondon Voices in February 2005.[47] The film's soundtrack was released bySony Pictures Classical Records on May 3, 2005, more than two weeks before the film's release. Amusic video titledA Hero Falls was created for the film's theme, "Battle of the Heroes", featuring footage from the film and was also available on the DVD.[48]
The soundtrack also came with a collectors' DVD hosted by McDiarmid, titledStar Wars: A Musical Journey, which features 16 music videos set to remastered selections of music from all six film scores, set chronologically through the saga.[49]
ThroughoutRevenge of the Sith, Lucas refers to a wide range of films and other sources, drawing on political, military, and mythological motifs to enhance his story's impact. The most media coverage was likely given to an exchange between Anakin and Obi-Wan, leading to the aforementioned conflict: "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy", Anakin declares. Despite Lucas' insistence to the contrary,The Seattle Times concluded, "Without namingBush or thePatriot Act, it's all unmistakable no matter what your own politics may be."[50] Anakin's "If you are not with me, then you are my enemy" line is a reference to Bush's post-9/11 quote, "You are either with us, or against us".[51]
McDiarmid, Lucas, and others have also called Anakin's journey to the dark sideFaustian in the sense of making a "pact with the devil" for short-term gain, with the fiery volcano planet Mustafar representing hell.[52] Midway through the film, Lucas intercuts between Anakin and Padmé by themselves, thinking about one another in the Jedi Temple and their apartment, respectively, during sunset. The sequence is without dialogue and complemented by a moody,synthesized soundtrack. Lucas' coverage of the exterior cityscapes, skylines and interior isolation in the so-called "Ruminations" sequence is similar to thecinematography andmise-en-scène ofRosemary's Baby, a film in which a husband makes a literal pact with the devil.[53]
The first trailer forRevenge of the Sith was released in theaters on November 5, 2004, with the premiere ofThe Incredibles.[54] It was also attached to the screenings ofThe Polar Express,National Treasure,Alexander,Ocean's Twelve,Meet the Fockers andFlight of the Phoenix, among other films.[55] At the same time, the trailer became available on the Internet.[55] Just four months later, anotherRevenge of the Sith trailer was unveiled on March 10, 2005, debuting onFox Network withThe O.C.'s "The Mallpisode" during thesecond season (Lucas himself would appear in a later episode).[56][57] The next day on March 11, the trailer then premiered in theaters with the theatrical release ofRobots.[58][57] On March 14, it would be released on the officialStar Wars website.[57] Prior to this, bootleg copies of the trailer were leaked everywhere, as the official trailer was in the subscriber section.[59] The trailers were even attached to theDVD releases ofStar Wars: Clone Wars.[60] Three days later on March 17, 2005,George Lucas revealed a preview of the film at the ShoWest Convention inLas Vegas, saying "It's not like the oldStar Wars. This one's a little bit emotional. We like to describe it asTitanic in space. It's a tearjerker."[61]
To promote the release ofRevenge of the Sith,Burger King began selling cups and toys themed to the film for their kids meals at their restaurants.[62] However, just like whatMcDonald's did to theHappy Meal promotion forBatman Returns in 1992, officials urged to recall the kids meal toys due to the film'sPG-13 rating.[63] WhileCingular Wireless released commercials showing Chewbacca growling into a microphone for ringtones,Hasbro released a Darth Vader variation ofMr. Potato Head called "Darth Tater" across retail stores.[64]Kellogg's would promote the film by premiering a newStar Warscereal, which featured marshmallows shaped like droids and lightsabers.[65] Also released were Lava Berry ExplosionPop-Tarts, as well asKeebler Lava Stripes cookies, a variation of the Fudge Stripes cookies.[66]M&M's debuted a new chocolate flavor that came in either the Darth Mix and Jedi Mix, both of which contained multi-colored candies.[67] Meanwhile,7-Eleven rolled out a newSlurpee flavor to help coincide with the release ofRevenge of the Sith.[68] Known as the Darth Dew Slurpee, it featured grape-flavoredMountain Dew and was served in cups with Darth Vader's helmet and 3D images.[68] Additionally,Pepsi would serve as a promotional partner for the film.[69]Frito-Lay even released twistedCheetos that had Darth Vader Dark and Yoda Green colors.[70]
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith charity premieres took place in Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Miami on Thursday, May 12, 2005;[71] and on May 13, 2005, there were two additional charity premiere screenings in George Lucas's hometown ofModesto, California. The official premiere was at the2005 Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) on May 16.[72] Its theatrical release in most other countries took place on May 19 to coincide with the 1999 release ofThe Phantom Menace (the 1977 release ofA New Hope and the 1983 release ofReturn of the Jedi were also released on the same day and month, six years apart). The global outplacement firmChallenger, Gray & Christmas claimed one week before the premiere that it may have cost the U.S. economy approximatelyUS$627 million in lost productivity because of employees who took a day off or reported in sick.[73]Grauman's Chinese Theatre, a traditional venue for theStar Wars films, did not show it. However, a line of people stood there for more than a month hoping to convince someone to change this.[74] Most of them took advantage of an offer to see the film at a nearby cinema,ArcLight Cinemas (formerly the "Cinerama Dome").[75] On May 16, theEmpire Cinema inLondon'sLeicester Square hosted a day-longStar Wars marathon showing of all six films; an army ofImperial stormtroopers "guarded" the area, and theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra gave a free concert ofStar Wars music.[76]
A copy of the film leaked ontopeer-to-peer file sharing networks just hours after opening in theaters.[77] The film was a time-stampedworkprint, suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening.[78] Eight people were later charged with copyright infringement and distributing material illegally. Documents filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney allege that a copy of the film was taken from an unnamed Californian post-production office by an employee, who later pleaded guilty to his charges.[79] The illegal copy was passed among seven people until reaching an eighth party, who also pleaded guilty to uploading to an unnamed P2P network.[80]
Revenge of the Sith is the firstStar Wars film to receive aPG-13 rating from theMotion Picture Association of America (MPAA), officially for "sci-fi violence and some intense images",[81] namely for the scene in which Darth Vader is set aflame by lava. Lucas had stated months before the MPAA's decision that he felt the film should receive a PG-13 rating, because of Anakin's final moments and the film's content being the darkest and most intense of all six films.[82]Roger Ebert andRichard Roeper later opined that children would be able to handle the film as long as they had parental guidance.[83] All previously released films in the series were rated PG.[81][h]
Revenge of the Sith was released onDVD andVHS on October 31, 2005, in the United Kingdom and Ireland; on November 1, 2005, it was released in the United States and Canada on DVD; and on November 3, 2005, it was released in Australia. It was also released in most major territories on or near the same day.[84] The DVD release consists of separate widescreen andpan and scan full-screen versions. ThisTHX certified two-disc set contains one disc with the film and the other one with bonus features.[85] The first disc features three randomized selected menus, which areCoruscant,Utapau andMustafar.[86] There is anEaster egg in the options menu. When the THX Optimizer is highlighted, the viewer can press 1-1-3-8. By doing this, a hip-hop music video with Yoda and some clone troopers will play.[87]
The DVD includes a number of documentaries including a new full-length documentary as well as two featurettes, one which explores the prophecy of Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One, the other looking at the film's stunts and a15-part collection of web-documentaries from the official web site. Like the other DVD releases, included is an audio commentary track featuring Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation directorRob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisorsJohn Knoll andRoger Guyett.Six deleted scenes were included with introductions from Lucas and McCallum.
This release is notable because, due to marketing issues, it was the firstStar Wars film never to be released onVHS in the United States.[88] However, the film was released on VHS in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries.[89][better source needed]
The DVD was re-released in a prequel trilogy box set on November 4, 2008.[90]
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment reissuedRevenge of the Sith on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 22, 2019.[93] Additionally, all six films were available for4KHDR andDolby Atmos streaming onDisney+ upon the service's launch on November 12, 2019.[94] This version of the film was released by Disney on4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 31, 2020, whilst being re-released on Blu-ray and DVD.[95] All 20th Century Fox Fanfare and logo sequences on the first six films have been restored following the completion of Disney's acquisition of that studio in 2019 having been removed for the initial digital releases, except forA New Hope, which Fox had retained all rights for prior to the sale of the studio to Disney.
On September 28, 2010, it was announced that all six films in the series were to be stereo-converted to3D. The films would be re-released in chronological order beginning withThe Phantom Menace on February 10, 2012.Revenge of the Sith was originally scheduled to be re-released in 3D on October 11, 2013.[96][i]
However, on January 28, 2013, Lucasfilm announced that it was postponing the 3D release of episodesII andIII in order to "focus 100 percent of our efforts onStar Wars: The Force Awakens" and that further information about 3D release plans would be issued at a later date. The 3D release was ultimately cancelled due to Lucasfilm's focus on theStar Wars sequel trilogy.[98][99][100] The premiere of the 3D version was shown on April 17, 2015, atStar Wars Celebration Anaheim.[101]
In February 2025, Lucasfilm announced a 20th-anniversary re-release ofStar Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The re-release premiered in both American and worldwide theaters on April 25, 2025, byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through the20th Century Studios label. The film was screened in4DX for the first time. This technology includes motion-enabled seating synchronized with various environmental effects, designed to enhance the viewing experience.[102] In the U.S., the re-release would make $3.4 million in Thursday previews.[103] The re-release opened in 2,775 theatres and earned $25.5 million during its first week; this ranked second at the domestic box office behindSinners. It surpassedA Minecraft Movie and new releaseThe Accountant 2 with a worldwide opening of $43.2 million.[104][105][106] On April 27, 2025, the re-release took the film's domestic lifetime box-office gross above the $400 million mark.[107]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 333 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "WithEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas brings his secondStar Wars trilogy to a suitably thrilling and often poignant – if still a bit uneven – conclusion."[108] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[109] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the previous two films.[110]
Most critics have considered the film to be the best of the prequel trilogy.[111]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times concluded that it was "the best of the four episodes Mr. Lucas has directed", and equal toThe Empire Strikes Back as "the richest and most challenging movie in the cycle".[112] J.R. Jones, aChicago Reader critic who dislikedThe Phantom Menace andAttack of the Clones, gave the film a positive review, saying that it had a "relatively thoughtful story".[113]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone gave the film a scoring of two out of four stars, saying, "Drink theKool-Aid. Wear blinders. Cover your ears. Because that's the only way you can totally enjoyRevenge of the Sith".[114] David Sterritt ofThe Christian Science Monitor gave it a B and said, "On the action-adventure level, it's a sure-fire delight for fans, a punchy entertainment for average sci-fi buffs, and a colorful rocket-ride for moviegoers who just want a good time on Saturday night".[115]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, writing "If [Lucas] got bogged down in solemnity and theory inEpisode II: Attack of the Clones, the Force is in a jollier mood this time, andRevenge of the Sith is a great entertainment", but he noted that "the dialogue throughout the movie is once again its weakest point".[116]Jonathan Rosenbaum of theChicago Reader gave it a score of three out of four, saying, "Lucas has woven into the action and effects a relatively thoughtful story about a young man meant for greatness but corrupted by his own fear and confusion, a story moreShakespearean thanArthurian".[117]
Though many critics and fans viewedRevenge of the Sith as the strongest of the three prequels, some viewers thought it was more or less on par with the previous two episodes.[111] Much of the criticism was directed towards the dialogue, particularly the film's romantic scenes;[118][119] critics claimed this demonstrated Lucas's weakness as a writer of dialogue, a subject with which Lucas openly agreed when receiving theLifetime Achievement Award from theAmerican Film Institute.[119] Some film critics and fans criticized Hayden Christensen's acting, calling it "wooden".[120][118][121][122] A retrospective review byTime felt that Christensen's maligned performance was in part affected by the screenwriting.[123]
Some Americanconservatives criticized the film, claiming it had aliberal bias and was a commentary on theGeorge W. Bush administration andIraq War. Some websites went so far as to propose aboycott of the film.[124] Lucas defended the film, stating that the film's storyline was written during theVietnam War and was influenced by that conflict rather than the war in Iraq. Lucas also said "The parallels between Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable".[124]
Art criticCamille Paglia praised the film as an essential example of the moderndigital art movement due to its "overwhelming operatic power and yes, seriousness", and arguing that its finale has "more inherent artistic value, emotional power, and global impact" than the work of somecontemporary artists.[125][126][127]
During the late 2010s, the film amassed a cult following on social media among some young fans who were children when the film was released, using the film's dialogue to createInternet memes.[128]
The film was released in 115 countries. Its worldwide gross eventually reached $849 million—making it thesecond-highest-grossing film of 2005,[2] behindHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[129] The film earned an estimated $16.91 million from 2,900 midnight screenings in North America upon its release. In total, it earned a record $50 million on its opening day,[130] marking the record for the highest opening-day gross on a Thursday.[131] It was surpassed the following year byPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which earned $55.5 million on its opening day.[132]
With only the May 19 earnings, the film broke four box office records: midnight screenings gross (previously held byThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, $8 million), opening day gross (Spider-Man 2, with $40.4 million), single day gross (Shrek 2 with $44.8 million) and Thursday gross (The Matrix Reloaded with $37.5 million).[130] Its single day and opening day gross records were later surpassed byPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on July 7, 2006, when that movie grossed $55.5 million on its opening day,[132] and its midnight screening gross was broken byThe Dark Knight on July 18, 2008, with $18.5 million.[133] Overall,Revenge of the Sith would go on to generate a total of $108.4 million during its three-day opening weekend,[134] making it the second-highest of all time, afterSpider-Man.[135] It held the record for having the biggest opening weekend for any20th Century Fox film for a decade until it was taken byDeadpool in 2016.[136] The year prior,Minions had already surpassedRevenge of the Sith for having the largest opening weekend for a prequel.[137]
According to box office analysis sites, the film set American records for highest gross in a given number of days for each of its first 12 days of release except for the seventh and eighth, where the record is narrowly held bySpider-Man 2. Within three days,Revenge of the Sith surpassedSpider-Man for having the highest three-day gross of any film, scoring a total of $124.7 million.[138] Upon opening, the film would reach the number one spot at the box office, beating outMonster-in-Law andKicking & Screaming.[135] On its fifth day, it became the highest-grossing film of 2005, surpassingHitch ($177.6 million). The film earned $158.5 million in its first four-day period, surpassing the previous four-day record held byThe Matrix Reloaded ($134.3 million), and joining the latter film,Spider-Man, andHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as one of the only four films to make $100 million in their first three days. In eight days, it reached the $200 million mark (a record tied withSpider-Man 2) and by its 17th day, the film had passed $300 million (surpassing the record of 18 days ofShrek 2). It was eventually the third-fastest film (afterShrek 2 andSpider-Man) to reach $350 million.[2]Revenge of the Sith earned a total of $55.2 million during its second weekend, making it thefourth-highest-grossing second weekend of all time, behindHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,Spider-Man andShrek 2. The film then earned $70 million in just four days, becoming the seventh-highestMemorial Day weekend gross of any film, trailing only behindShrek 2,The Lost World: Jurassic Park,The Day After Tomorrow,Bruce Almighty,Pearl Harbor andMission: Impossible 2.[139] It topped the domestic box office for a total of two consecutive weekends before being overtaken byMadagascar andThe Longest Yard (which were in their second weekend) in its third weekend, but it still outgrossedCinderella Man,The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants andLords of Dogtown.[140]
The film wrapped up its run in American theaters on October 20, 2005,[2] finishing with a total gross of $380,270,577. It ranks 29th in all-time domestic grosses and is the highest-grossing U.S. of 2005, out-grossing second-placeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by nearly $90 million.[2] The film sold an estimated 59,324,600 tickets in the US.[141]
International grosses that exceeded $460 million include those Australia ($27.2 million), France and Algeria ($56.9 million), Germany ($47.3 million), Italy ($11.3 million), Japan ($82.7 million), Mexico ($15.3 million), South Korea ($10.3 million), Spain ($23.8 million), and the United Kingdom and Ireland ($72.8 million).[142] The total worldwide opening ofRevenge of the Sith for each country was $254 million, combined with $304 million from its four-day weekend. It would go on to hold this record for two years beforeSpider-Man 3 took it in 2007.[143]
Following the release ofRevenge of the Sith—the completion of the original and prequelStar Wars series—on June 9, 2005, George Lucas was presented with the 33rdAmerican Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. The institute honored his "astonishing contributions to the art and technology of filmmaking, as well as the impact of the epic Star Wars series".[144]
Of the threeStar Wars prequels, the film received the fewestGolden Raspberry Awards nominations: only one, for Christensen as Worst Supporting Actor,[152]which he won.[153] (The Phantom Menace andAttack of the Clones received seven nominations each, withone andtwo wins, respectively.) It is the onlyStar Wars prequel not to receive a Razzie nomination for Worst Picture. Christensen further won the "Best Villain" award at theMTV Movie Awards.[154] The film also received the fewest nominations (and no wins) at the2005 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100M, and Worst On-Screen Couple (Christensen and Portman).[155]
In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 161.[157]
The film's novelization was written byMatthew Stover. It has more dialogue than the film, and certain story elements were expanded upon in the novelization including Anakin and Palpatine's relationship and Palpatine's apprenticeship toDarth Plagueis.[158]
Avideo game based on the film was released on May 5, 2005, two weeks before the film. The game generally followed the film's storyline, integrating scenes from the film. However, many sections of the game featuredscenes cut from the film, or entirely new scenes for the game.[159] The style of the game was mostly lightsaber combat and fighting as Obi-Wan or Anakin.[160] It also has a form of multiplayer mode, which includes both "VS" and "Cooperative" mode.[160] In the first mode, two players fight with characters of their choice against each other in a lightsaber duel to the death. In the latter mode, two players team up to combat increasingly difficult waves of enemies.[160]
The2008 animated film and subsequenttelevision series fill the three-year gap between the events ofAttack of the Clones andRevenge of the Sith. A number of plot threads initially developed for inclusion inRevenge of the Sith were instead incorporated intoThe Clone Wars. These includeBoba Fett's revenge plot against Mace Windu for his fatherJango's death, and the solving of the mystery behind deceased Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas which was introduced inAttack of the Clones. Thefinal four episodes of the series take place concurrently withRevenge of the Sith. Several scenes from the film were recreated and expanded for these episodes in order to showcase the whereabouts of Anakin's former PadawanAhsoka Tano during the events of the film, while also showing Anakin and Obi-Wan's whereabouts just prior to the film's opening scene. While Ahsoka was a major character inThe Clone Wars, she is not referenced inRevenge of the Sith as the character had not yet been created at the time that the film was written.[161]
Several scenes fromRevenge of the Sith were recreated in the first episodeAftermath. This episode also takes place concurrently with the film and the following episodes deal with the aftermath of Order 66 and the Clone Wars.
The 2022 miniseries takes place ten years afterRevenge of the Sith (and approximately nine years beforeA New Hope),[j] and features flashbacks taking place prior and during the events of the film, with some of the latter via archive footage. McGregor, Christensen, Earl Jones, Edgerton, Piesse, Smits, McDiarmid, and Daniels reprise their roles from the film.[162]
In 2010,[163] afandub ofRevenge of the Sith was released titledStar War [sic] the Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West. The script used in the fandub originated from the English subtitles of aMandarin Chinesebootleg DVD of the film that had been purchased by an American inShanghai.[164] The subtitles, almost entirely filled with errors and mistranslations, stemmed from a bootlegger first having listened to the film in English, writing down what they believed to have heard and occasionally making things up, which was then converted into Mandarin and back into English via inaccuratemachine translation,[165] resulting in nonsensicalChinglish.[166]
The dub became anInternet meme and aviral video and received praise from multiple news outlets. Patrick Shanley fromThe Hollywood Reporter described it as "a fan-made masterpiece",[166] while Julia Alexander fromPolygon called the dub "hilarious".[167] Derrick Rossignol fromNerdist went so far as to say that the fandub was "way better" than the original film.[168]
^Jones himself had never confirmed his participation. When specifically asked whether he had supplied the voice, possibly from a previous recording, Jones toldNewsday: "You'd have to askLucas about that. I don't know."[4]
^abcdeStar Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett, [2005]
^Glennon, Jen (May 20, 2020)."6 reasons why a goofy bootleg is the best version of Revenge of the Sith".inverse.com.Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2023.In 2005, a fellow by the name of Jeremy Winterson bought a bootleg of the movie in Shanghai and noticed something amiss with the English subtitles.
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