Funeral of Anakin Skywalker / Legends The funeral of Anakin Skywalker took place on Endor in 4 ABY , after Anakin Skywalker died aboard the second Death Star during the Battle of Endor . Skywalker was redeemed by his son , Luke , and fulfilled the prophecy of the Chosen One by destroying the Sith , but the redemption cost Skywalker his life . Upon death , Skywalker ' s body disappeared and his soul became one with the Force , leaving behind only the armor of Darth Vader . Luke escaped the Death Star with his father ' s armor just before the battle station was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance . Once on Endor , Luke built a funeral pyre and lit the armor on fire , declaring his hope that the name of Anakin Skywalker would be a light to guide the new Jedi . After the funeral ended , Luke joined the Rebel and Ewok victory celebration , where he saw the spirit of his father — along with the spirits of Obi - Wan Kenobi and Yoda — proudly watching the celebration . Prelude . During the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY , Darth Vader was redeemed from the dark side of the Force and once again became Anakin Skywalker . His redemption came when he chose to save his son , Luke Skywalker , who was being electrocuted by Emperor Palpatine . Anakin threw Palpatine , his Sith master , down the second Death Star ' s reactor shaft , killing the Dark Lord of the Sith . Through this decision , Skywalker fulfilled his destiny as the Chosen One and brought balance to the Force through the destruction of the Sith . The choice to save Luke ended up being a sacrifice ; Palpatine ' s lightning attack hit Anakin when the redeemed Jedi grabbed and threw his master , leading to Skywalker ' s life - supporting suit of armor becoming damaged . Luke attempted to save his father by bringing him to a shuttle , but Anakin insisted that his death was imminent . At his father ' s request , Luke removed the helmet from Skywalker ' s head , allowing the Chosen One to look at his son with his own eyes for the first and last time . Anakin comforted Luke , reminding his son that despite his imminent physical death , Luke had saved him in the one way that truly mattered , and died . His body disappeared , and Anakin became one with the Force . The funeral . With Skywalker ' s body gone , Luke escaped from the Death Star with the empty armor just before the station was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance . Luke brought the armor to Endor , where the Alliance and the native Ewoks were celebrating the defeat of Palpatine and the Galactic Empire , and constructed a funeral pyre outside of the Ewok village . Although initially alone , he was joined by C - 3PO , who asked Luke to join the Ewok victory celebration . Luke told C - 3PO he would be right along , but first lit fire to the armor in the hopes that the mistakes of Darth Vader would be shed and that the name of Anakin Skywalker would become a light to guide the new Jedi for generations . Aftermath . After the funeral , Luke joined the Rebel celebration in the Ewok village , reuniting with his friends , as well as his twin sister Leia Organa . As Luke stepped away from the celebration , he saw the spirits of his Jedi masters , Obi - Wan Kenobi and Yoda , quietly watching the evening ' s festivities . Anakin appeared beside them , proudly watching his son as Luke looked on , happy to see his father having become one with the Force . Luke bid them farewell and rejoined the celebration , with the knowledge that the Jedi had returned . Behind the scenes . Anakin Skywalker ' s funeral is a scene from , taking place after Anakin ' s death aboard the second Death Star . When " Return of the Jedi " was shot , the funeral scene was originally not in the film . It was not until after the conclusion of principal photography that George Lucas and his creative team chose to insert it . Because Anakin ' s death scene ended with the character in Luke ' s arms , Lucas was concerned the audience would believe the character was not dead and that he would come back , or there would be audience confusion as to what Luke did with Anakin ' s body . Producer Howard G . Kazanjian was initially opposed to inserting the scene , which aimed to clarify that potential confusion , but changed his mind once he saw an animatic version of the scene . With the decision having been made to include the funeral pyre in the film , the scene was then scripted , given a storyboard treatment by Joe Johnston , and shot . The scene was filmed near Skywalker Ranch a few months before " Return of the Jedi " opened in theaters . For years , " Star Wars " canon stated that Anakin ' s body was burned on the funeral pyre ; " Return of the Jedi " does not show his body disappearing , and the says that the body was burned . Later , in the Legends continuity , it was established that Anakin ' s body disappeared after his death , and that Luke burned Darth Vader ' s empty armor on Endor .