Did Darth Vader Know That Leia Was His Daughter?

In the original Star Wars trilogy, we learned that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father all along. Then, in ‘Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,’ we learned that Luke and Leia were siblings. It was also confirmed in ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ that Luke and Leia were born as the twin children of Padmé Amidala. So, was Darth Vader aware that Leia was his daughter?

No evidence would suggest that Darth Vader knew that Leia Organa was his daughter the entire time. However, in the final battle with Luke Skywalker, he learned that Luke had a sister. But the important part is that it was never shown that Vader found out that this sister was Leia.

Even though it is common knowledge among Star Wars fans that Leia was Darth Vader’s daughter the entire time, there was no real confirmation that the former Anakin Skywalker found out about his daughter’s identity. That means he may have died without knowing Leia was his daughter all along. So, let’s discuss this topic in greater detail.

Anakin didn’t know that Padmé was carrying twins

Back in the events of the prequel trilogy, we got to see the things and events that went into the romantic relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. Of course, it was clear that they were hiding their relationship from the rest of the galaxy because their marriage was forbidden.

In that regard, when Padmé got pregnant, she kept the father’s identity a secret even though those close to Anakin already had suspicions.

Of course, throughout the entire time that Padmé was pregnant, Anakin was busy fighting in the Clone Wars. During the latter portion of Padmé’s pregnancy, Anakin turned to the dark side.

This happened during the events of ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ when Emperor Palpatine successfully seduced Anakin to betray the Jedi and become his newest apprentice, Darth Vader. And shortly after Padmé learned what Anakin had done for Palpatine, she went into labor and gave birth to her children before dying of a broken heart.

When Padmé gave birth, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and everyone around Padmé learned she had been carrying twins the entire time. And there was a clear indication that Anakin wasn’t aware of this because he was never told that Padmé was expecting twins as he was quite busy with the affairs of the galaxy during his wife’s pregnancy.

After Palpatine saved Vader and turned him into the cybernetic monster that he eventually became known for, the only thing that was mentioned was Padmé’s fate.

Palpatine lied to Anakin that he had killed her out of anger, which meant that Vader never knew whether or not Padmé gave birth. And he also didn’t know that she gave birth to twins.

So, when Vader found out about Luke Skywalker during the Star Wars original trilogy events, he was surprised to know he was alive.

But he never even stopped to think whether or not his daughter was alive because he never even knew that his wife was carrying twins. That was why the only person he targeted throughout the original trilogy was Luke because he thought he only had one child.

Vader knew that Luke had a sister

Of course, as mentioned, Darth Vader only knew about Luke Skywalker during the events of the original trilogy. Even though he had a fierce confrontation with Leia Organa during the opening scenes of ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope,’ he never even suspected she was his daughter.

That was why the only person Vader targeted and tried to convince to turn to the dark side was Luke, as he didn’t even know that he had a sister. It was only during the final portion of the movie that he found out that Luke had a sister.

In the final battle between Luke and Darth Vader, the Sith Lord used the Force to tap into Luke’s feelings. He sensed his fears and anxiousness while trying to pull him over to the dark side during their battle.

And Vader sensed that Luke feared for his sister’s life, and that was when the Sith Lord understood that Luke had a sister and that he had a daughter.

After that, an enraged Luke tapped into his anger to defeat Darth Vader. There was no more discussion about Luke’s sister because the Jedi immediately engaged Vader after discovering that the dark lord was looking to target his sister next. And we all know that Vader died soon after learning that Luke had a sister.

Vader likely wasn’t aware Leia was his daughter

With all that said, there was too short of a time for Vader to learn that Luke’s sister was Leia all along. During that scene, Vader only said that he learned that Luke had a sister. But there was no indication that he knew that this sister was Leia.

Of course, because an enraged Luke immediately engaged his father right after that scene, there was no time for Vader to dive further into Luke’s feelings to learn that this sister was actually Leia. And we all know that Vader was defeated in that confrontation and died soon after when he sacrificed himself to save Luke from the wrath of Emperor Palpatine.

There was no scene between Vader finding out that Luke had a sister and Vader’s death that indicated that he knew that this sister was Leia all along. That means that he died without knowing that the sister that Luke was trying to protect was the rebel leader that he confronted during the opening scenes of ‘A New Hope.’

Of course, after Vader died, he became Force Ghost. That means that he may have found out through the Force or the other Jedi who came before him that Leia was his daughter. But as far as his life was concerned, he most likely never knew Leia was his daughter before his death.

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