Did Anakin Kill Padme In Star Wars? Senator Amidala's Dubious Death Explained

Padmé Amidala's (Natalie Portman) death at the end of "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" remains one of the most baffling aspects of the entire "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, confusing even the medical droid who watches her slip away on the operating table.

Following Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen) apparent death on Mustafar, Padme gives birth to twins Luke and Leia Skywalker on an asteroid base and dies shortly after childbirth. Her death confuses practically everybody in the operating room, with a droid telling Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), "She's completely healthy, for reasons we can't explain, we are losing her... She has lost the will to live."

This is all the explanation that is given for Padmé's death in "Revenge of the Sith," though this was expanded upon further in "Star Wars Archives. 1995-2005" by Paul Duncan, where George Lucas himself explained that it was Anakin's fall to the dark side that killed Padmé. "The thing that breaks Padmé's heart in the end is that Anakin says to her: 'Come and join me. I can rule the universe and you can do it with me,'" Lucas explains within the book. "So the idea of saving her becomes a minor issue." Lucas goes on to say this is where Padmé realizes that the man she fell in love with is truly gone, and that loss is what breaks her heart and causes her to give up on living.

George Lucas's comments in "Star Wars Archives. 1995-2005" help to give some context to Padmé Admidala's death, explaining that the true reason she slipped away was indeed a broken heart — courtesy of Anakin Skywalker.

Ironically, this is the explanation that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) gives in the closing moments of "Revenge of the Sith," when he tells Anakin (now Darth Vader), "It seems in your anger, you killed her." Despite the fact that the slimy Sith lord is ultimately right, it's likely that this is merely a manipulation tactic from Palpatine and a reference to the fact that Anakin Force-chokes Padmé on Mustafar. Palpatine, himself, is actually the center of a popular fan theory regarding Padmé's death, as some fans continue to theorize that he secretly drained Padmé's life force in order to fully corrupt Anakin and make him his Sith apprentice.

This theory would explain how Palpatine knew about Padme's death despite being several light years away at the time, and further cement him as a master schemer and strategist. Despite the appeal of this fan theory, ultimately, we still have to accept George Lucas' explanation for her tragic demise. In any case, these comments by Lucas ought to clear up the speculation and confusion regarding Padmé's death, even if it is somewhat of a cliche to have her die of a broken heart.