Anakin becoming Vader is the new twist of the saga though. Because when you watch it in order, it happens in the middle and is literally the turning point of the saga. ESB is no longer in the middle like it was during the original trilogy. At the beginning of ROTS it seems Anakin has overcome his flaws (because he’s happy, mature, and has a good rapport with Obi-Wan during the rescue of the Chancellor)… only for him to succumb to his Achilles’ heal (not being able to let things go).
Nah. If it’s a twist, it’s a very hacky twist. The movie still rushes Anakin’s fall and the series suffers for it. Besides, ESB is in the middle again (five out of nine movies - close enough).
Trying to hide that Anakin is Vader is stupid and would damage the prequels. Like, you’re literally losing the best scenes of the prequels. The Knighting of Vader, the immolation scene, and Vader getting his suit give me goosebumps.
Sure, they’re good scenes in the context of that movie. A rewrite would give a Vader character (one of Obi-Wan’s two apprentices) similarly cool scenes.
If anything I’d be more in favor of hiding that Luke is Anakin’s son and framing it like he’s the Lars son or the son of some other Jedi Master, maybe even Obi-Wan, but even that is dumb.
Nah, keeping a mystery around Vader’s identity (within the context of the movies) is much more appealing to me. Heck, one can redeem Obi-Wan’s lies a little by making it clear he doesn’t know which apprentice Vader is until the duel on the Death Star. He suspected it, but now he knows (that troubled look he has now indicates that he’s thinking of how Luke is going to handle this).
I’d argue that knowing that Luke and Leia are Vader’s children but none of them know adds TENSION, you’re wondering when they’ll learn the truth and what the consequences of that will be. How will Luke react when he finds out Vader is his father, and that the man he thought he could trust most lied to him? Because unlike what JJ Abrams thinks, surprises are not the most important thing in storytelling (or the only important thing, for that matter).
That’s not tension, that’s just lessening the experience of the OT. Again, preserving twists makes the reveal all the more of an emotional shock in the final two movies of the trilogy (or saga, depending on your perception). Knowing it all along just doesn’t feel right.
Also regarding Yoda I’d argue that it’d initially make people wonder “Why’s Yoda acting like this… this is weird”.
Or, if we don’t know what the hell Yoda looks like, “Who’s this weirdo?” Not knowing Yoda’s appearance makes the reveal (especially having seen the PT first) all the more surprising.