Why Anakin's Eyes Turn Yellow in Revenge of the Sith

After Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side in Revenge of the Sith, his eyes turn yellow, and we take a look to explore why that happened.

Here's why Anakin Skywalker's eyes turn yellow in Revenge of the Sith. For the first two prequel movies, Anakin was a hero, but the final installment in the trilogy finally depicted his turn to the dark side. Motivated primarily by his desire to save Padmé from death, Anakin pledged himself to Darth Sidious, cementing the villain's plan to take over the galaxy with a powerful apprentice at his side. After becoming Darth Vader, Anakin was tasked with committing multiple atrocities, such as leading an attack on the Jedi Temple.

Later in the film, Anakin receives a mission to go to Mustafar and murder the Separatist leaders assembled there. As Anakin kills them, there's a shot where he turns towards the camera and his eyes are burning yellow. It's one of the most striking images in the prequels and shows viewers how far Anakin has fallen, but even years after Revenge of the Sith's release, some may be wondering why exactly Anakin's eyes changed color.

While George Lucas has never officially commented on it, it's agreed upon that when someone's eyes turn yellow, it means they are fully immersed in the dark side of the Force. They've lost control of emotions such as hatred, letting the dark side take over momentarily.

This would explain why Anakin's eyes weren't yellow the entire time he's Vader in Revenge of the Sith. The Mustafar massacre was a special situation for him, considering the deep resentment Anakin harbored towards Nute Gunray and the other Separatists. In contrast, when Anakin talks to Padmé on Mustafar a short while later, his eyes are back to their natural eye color. Since he was in the presence of someone he loves, Anakin was no longer channeling the dark side emotions that fueled his assault on the Separatists. As for why his eyes weren't yellow during the march on the Jedi Temple, that could be attributed to inner conflict about his actions. Though Anakin was Palpatine's apprentice at that time, he hadn't full turned himself over to the dark side yet and was just starting to follow the path.

Ultimately, Anakin's yellow eyes serve as a visual representation of his descent to evil, a cue for audiences to pick up on while watching the film. They show Anakin is far removed from the heroic Jedi he once was, completing his tragic arc in the prequels. That, more than anything, is probably the reason why Lucas decided to call attention to the yellow eyes with that now-famous closeup. Unlike the other Sith Lords in the prequels, viewers were introduced to Anakin when he was on the light side and followed him on a journey over three movies. Showing his eyes changing color at that point in Revenge of the Sith let people know he had finally become Darth Vader. The in-universe explanation of fully immersing oneself in the dark side makes sense, but the eyes were more about crafting a great visual.

More: Revenge of the Sith Is the Best Star Wars Story Ever Told (Just Not Lucas' Version)