Wexter said:
I am very sceptical this could be pulled out convincingly. The audience would be left with the notion, that Anakin probably perished, but they wouldn’t know for certain and the uncertainty would probably tip them off, that something is not as the filmmaker wants them to believe. I propose ending the story long before Anakin’s transformation. Anakin could be noble and powerful, but also a bit reckless and hot headed. His character could be a mix of sorts between Luke and Han. He could be shown to be a mild supporter of Palpatine, while Obi-Wan would be more suspicious of the chancellor. If this was written well, once Vader reveals himself to be Anakin, the audience would be in shock to realize the tragic fall of the prequel hero, while at the same time kind of seeing this turn of events as plausible.

I agree that it would be tricky to pull off. Perhaps ending the fight with Anakin being backed into a corner, clearly bested, and the apparition slashing towards the camera as it is from Anakin’s point of view. Hell, we could even see the apparition stab Anakin through the chest, since it’s incorporeal. Then we can see Obi-wan react in pain in a different location like Leia in TFA. I feel like the fall should be stated as clearly as possible from this ‘certain point of view’, because in this way Obi-wan is taking the side of the audience when he lies to Luke, for indeed, it should FEEL like the death of a hero.

Of course, I would have gladly taken an ‘adventures of Anakin Skywalker’ prequel trilogy as you say over what we got.