George Lucas’ Anakin Skywalker’s prequels story.
Whereas Luke only answered the call for an adventure at the age of 19, Anakin Skywalker was trained as the potential Chosen One since he was 10. However, as Episodes I, II, and III were all prequels, audiences were already aware that Anakin would become the galaxy’s terror Darth Vader, which made the Chosen One prophecy seem ambiguous from the start. How the Chosen One could be the person who helps destroy the Jedi and hand the galaxy to the Sith was a tricky question, creating a long debate over the Chosen One prophecy. Almost every possible interpretation of the Prophecy has been since discussed. That includes the theory that the balance of the Force meant destroying the Jedi, Luke being the actual Chosen One, or that the prophecy was only fulfilled when Darth Vader killed the Emperor.
However, given what George Lucas’ plans for the sequel trilogy were, it becomes clear that the Chosen One concept was much less strict than the fan theories and debates make it seem. In The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I–III, 1999–2005, a 2020 reference book by Paul Duncan written in collaboration with George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, revealed that he intended the sequel trilogy to be about Leia trying to rebuild the republic. Leia would succeed, and by the end of the trilogy, she is the one who would end up being the Chosen One. Curiously, Lucas has also said on other occasions that Anakin is the Chosen One. That seemly contradiction goes to show how the concept of “bring the balance to the force” is much more fluid and symbolic, as are movie prophecies in general, than some well-defined lore event.
The Star Wars Chosen One Prophecy Is Better Left Open
Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy brought the Chosen One debate back to the spotlight by revealing that Palpatine had not been fully destroyed up until his fight against Rey, meaning that there was now a new Force-sensitive character who could be the real Chosen One. It is hard to say what George Lucas’ thoughts on Disney's new Star Wars canon are, but the plans for Leia to be the Chosen One in his sequel trilogy prove that the prophecy was never meant to be set in stone. Obviously, Lucas could have used the term Chosen One in a more symbolic way, but still, the idea that a story is more important than an in-universe prophecy with a strict answer still stands.
The Chosen One concept had been ambiguous from the start, and given how George Lucas never got to make his version of the Star Wars sequels, any theories about the prophecy become redundant. George Lucas himself was not afraid of concepts that he had already established, as seen with the idea of Leia being the Chosen One in the sequels. As such, the best way to perceive the Star Wars Chosen One prophecy and the franchise's lore as a whole is as something that is always changing and adapting.
