It's got pretty quiet around here......
So.....what if Ady is somehow able to scrap the final battle with Obi and have Anakin "die" in some other way. Whatever way this is it would have to lead to a behind-the-scenes armour swap and we'd have to be already familiar with A "Darth Vader" so we don't suddenly think "who's this new guy?......wait a minute......"
I'm really not a fan of keeping Anakin falling to the dark side and then "dying". I think it should be a surprise for the viewer that this guy from the prequels could have EVER turned evil, let alone that he's still alive and is Darth Vader. I know that in eliminating the lava duel, there's no explanation for his burn scars in ROTJ, but I guess that could be explained in the new manner in which he "dies".
Here is my new favourite idea. Kinda similar to my last one but the setting has changed and we have more existing footage to work with. Replace Obi Wan on Mustafar. Somehow have Anakin (still good) fight Vader instead. (Under the armour, he would be a rebuilt Maul, and it would be made clear in whatever episode Obi fights him that he is Obi Wan's old failed apprentice). This actually covers everything. We have Anakin already telling Padme that Palpatine is sending him on an important mission. What if it's to kill Vader on Mustafar?
After fighting a while, with Anakin clearly in a rage (already got that) both tumble off the edge of a lava flow and that's the last we see of them until we see Vader walking around as normal back on Coruscant and we " realise" it's Anakin that apparently died. We then already have footage of Obi Wan on Mustafar picking up Anakin's saber. He could look down at a burnt corpse. What the audience would think is that Obi is mourning his friend. What he would actually be doing is lamenting that Anakin has replaced Vader. It is not Anakin's body but that of his old apprentice.
No need for padme to come anywhere near Mustafar anymore or get choked. She can just have her babies and be understandably heartbroken.
The imagery of Vader wreathed in flame and smoke, fighting Anakin is pretty threatening and exciting to me on a purely visual level but also when you compare it to a phoenix being reborn from the ashes, it's doubly effective. Let's get some meaningful metaphors into these mindless films!
Obi's apprentice betraying the jedi and "murdering" Anakin - check
Anakin a good person - check
Anakin burned - check
Obi picks up his lightsaber - check
Obi knows he's replaced vader but the audience doesn't - check
Please feel free to point out any loose ends.
I've given my own different ideas previously about how the "death" and subsequent unseen swap should take place. I'm interested in what other people might have in mind.