Interesting points.

It's also worth thinking about what would've happened, had he not stopped Darth Sidious, or if Luke had joined him.

I have thought of this for a while, and I have reached a few conclusions: First, I do not believe that he would have been able to keep his identity secret. It would have opened the New Republic to blackmail or manipulation of other sorts, by those who would inevitably discover his identity, even if they were few. I also would like to believe that, if he truly turned to the Light, he would not want his past crimes to be forgotten, instead proving himself to be changed, rather than hiding his past. I could imagine a similar thing if Ben had lived after TROS, where he would have to stand trial for his crimes. He also could have upgraded his armor significantly, as I remember reading somewhere (I can't remember the exact place) how the Emperor purposefully limited his armor's mobility and other capabilities in order to ensure that he would never be able to overpower him.

That being said, I can see several options. I do believe that it is possible for him to be forgiven, if not by all, at least by enough to allow him to take up the mantle of Anakin Skywalker again, and possibly help with the reconstruction of the Jedi, or another order of Light-side Force users. This scenario would have been made more possible with a full war crimes trial, where he is assigned as punishment to the service of the New Republic or Jedi Order. I could actually see an interesting TV series where Anakin is travelling the galaxy doing good, and keeps encountering people he has hurt, and having a sort of "you have no idea how sorry I am" conversation.

After that, we reach the founding of the New Jedi Order. I believe he could be an excellent example for the students, especially in how feelings are to be encouraged and celebrated, but not given control over our actions. This lesson he could have reinforced in Luke as well, preventing the turn of Ben Solo. When the First Order rose, then, it would be with no Ben Solo, and facing a fully functioning Jedi Academy, led by two of the most powerful and wise Jedi ever. Snoke would have been stifled, his power curtailed. Leia would not have had to sacrifice herself for her son. I would not be surprised if Anakin and Luke sensed the return of the Emperor, and confronted him before he managed to complete his Final Order fleet.

Let us assume that The Emperor had the time to complete his fleet, and faced Anakin, Luke, Rey (who would have been trained by Luke and Anakin by then), and Ben, while a fleet led by Leia Organa Solo herself confronted the Final Order fleet. The best course for The Emperor, when faced with such power, would have been to split them up. I could see a situation where Luke and Anakin go to search Exegol, leaving Rey and Ben, who would then have been drawn in by The Emperor to a battle. A similar battle unfolds, with The Emperor gaining the advantage. Anakin, who would have been seventy-six by then, returns to find his grandson and Rey suffering under the hand of Palpatine, his old master. He then engages Palpatine, gaining the advantage and barely defeating him. While he has Palpatine beaten, we see flashbacks, of various points where he had given in to his anger: Dooku, the Sand People massacre, and finally his battle with Obi-Wan. He sees the death of Mace Windu, how Palpatine pretended to be defeated and weak in order to gain the upper hand. He stands down, only to fall victim to the standard attack of Palpatine. He expects this, however, and channels the lightning, causing an explosion, killing Palpatine and injuring himself. He then has an emotional moment with Luke, who arrives barely too late, Rey, and Ben. Finally, he gazes off into the distance, and sees Padme, who urges him to let go. His final interaction, however, is not with her, but with his best friend Obi-Wan Kenobi. He expresses his sorrow, to which Obi-Wan tells him that he is forgiven, and can rest. He then lets go, having finally put to rest his final regret, and becomes one with the Force. The galaxy is left in the hands of the three Jedi, Rey, Luke and Ben, under a government led by Leia.

I realize I just essentially rewrote TROS, and that was not my intention. This is not criticism of TROS, rather it is an alternate future where there is another main character and events unfold differently.

@Casualnerd04 Wow. That is very thought out. Thank you very much for sharing. I can see many of your story ideas still happening with the force ghost of Anakin.

I totally understand what you are saying about that not being a rewrite of the latest film. I had the same thought as well, as I do enjoy the film. It's just interesting to think about the possibilities sometimes.

I can see them doing a series based on the alternate outcomes of Star Wars. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Also @Roger Murtaugh thank you for making this thoughtful post which provides a basis for thoughtful discussion

You're welcome. It's my pleasure. I actually want to see a lot of your ideas take place with Anakin's ghost. He could still talk about his regrets, see Padme and help Luke with new Jedi and now Rey. Nice work.

@Roger Murtaugh Have you thought on writing a fanfic about this? Because you basically became the non-official journalist of the community, and journalists use to write very well, I'd be thrilled to read a serious "what if fanfic" of yours. I'm being serious. Think about it.

To not turn this in fanom and taking the chance of being delated, unlike @Casualnerd04 , I'm not going to express my full thoughts on Anakin's fate post-RotJ. I have too many headcanons, what if, multiverse scenarios in my head. Some of them go post-TRoS, others are a totally new sequel trilogy based on the same characters, etc. In the case of Anakin, I also have a lot of them, both pre-RotS and post-RotJ. However, although your options and the others presented above by other users are very good, I believe the best chance that could have happened to him was dying.

• Having a "Geneva Convention" happened after the Galactic Civil War, Anakin would have probably been comdenned to death penalty. Not everybody in the Rebel Alliance knew who the hell was Anakin Skywalker and his key role during TCW, and they didn't care either. They would conclude that he would suffer much more being alive, having to bare the yoke of his sins. Kill him off would be the smartest decision.

• Not everyone would buy Luke's argument of "he's another person now". He might feel through the Force his father's transformation, but not all characters in SW know, believe or care about it. Just like Han.

• Because of his injuries, he would be doomed to be supported by machines and any other kind of armour. Even that it would be better than the first one, he would still looking like a freak. Anyone seeing him would automatically associate Vader.

• His narrative arc as a character ended with his sacrificial redemption in episode 6. Letting him live for the sake of it could risk to spoil his character. The best scenario I see is, if not killing him, exiling him from the known galaxy to the unknown regions.

On the topic of his Force Ghost, I see his role as the spirit of the family, as some kind of angel guard who shows up always when there is a member in need. With all that being said, nevertheless, all these scenarios presented by you could fit perfectly to parallel universes. For me, SW could have a multiverse, more or less like DC and Marvel, so all these possilibties could be deeply and properly developed, with its own continuity. Anyway, I digress, lol.

Interesting thoughts indeed. keep it up.

That's nice of you to say, thank you. I tend not to write that much. I used to, but if I were to write about another franchise, I try to match up with canon. I'd odd like that. It's something to think about, though.

Yeah, I definitely see it being hard for him to have a happy life, if he had survived. Definitely something worth writing about.

I agree. Alternate timelines would bring in a lot of fans who don't like certain films. You could have equally canon timelines with different events, like Star Trek. That's what I want to see Legends become. Equally as canon, just in a parallel universe.

After that, you'd open all sorts of doors. What if Anakin stayed good? What if Qui-Gon lived? Which is Padme live and Anakin went to the dark side? The possibilities would be immense.

Nominate for Featured. Congratulations!

@Givinname @Jedi Sarith LeKit

Thank you. That's very nice of you. I'm just happy that these essays lately have started more discussions. I hope to see more people write essays and share their thoughts and insights. It's great to see so many creative and interesting posts lately.