Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Frank Oz. The sequel to The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attack of the Clones (2002), It is the sixth film in the Star Wars film series, the final installment in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and third chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga".

Revenge of the Sith is set three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, established in Attack of the Clones. The Jedi are spread across the galaxy, leading a large-scale war against the Separatists. Following the death of Separatist leader Count Dooku, the Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan Kenobi on a mission to eliminate General Grievous, the head of the Separatist army, to put an end to the war. Meanwhile, after having visions of his wife Padmé Amidala dying in childbirth, Anakin Skywalker is tasked by the Council to spy on Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and, secretly, a Sith Lord. Palpatine manipulates Anakin into turning to the dark side of the Force and becoming his apprentice, Darth Vader, with wide-ranging consequences for the galaxy.

Lucas began writing the script before production of Attack of the Clones ended, citing that he wanted the end of the trilogy to have similar aspects to a romantic tragedy, thus building into Darth Vader's state at the beginning of the next film. Production of Revenge of the Sith started in September 2003, and filming took place in Australia with additional locations in Thailand, Switzerland, China, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Revenge of the Sith premiered on May 15, 2005, at the Cannes Film Festival, then released worldwide on May 19, 2005. The film received positive reviews and has been deemed an improvement over the first two prequel films by many, with praise for its action sequences, mature themes, score, visual effects, darker tone, and the performances of McGregor, McDiarmid, Oz, and Jimmy Smits; criticism largely focused on the film's dialogue and aspects of Christensen's performance. It broke several box office records during its opening week and went on to earn over $868 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film in the Star Wars franchise at the time. It was the highest-grossing film in the U.S. and the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2005. The film also holds the record for the highest opening-day gross on a Thursday, making $50 million.

A miniseries set ten years after the events of the film, titled Obi-Wan Kenobi, is set to premiere on May 25, 2022 on Disney+, with McGregor and Christensen reprising their roles from the film.