Showdown on Coruscant The showdown on Coruscant was a confrontation that took place in the Supreme Chancellor ' s Suite of the Galactic Senate in 19 BBY . It began after Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker informed Master Mace Windu that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had revealed his identity as a Sith Lord to him . Windu then gathered a team of Jedi Masters consisting of Kit Fisto , Agen Kolar , and Saesee Tiin , and attempted to arrest Palpatine in his own Suite . Palpatine was at first polite to the group , but when they insisted on taking him into custody , he dropped his facade , lit his lightsaber , and lunged at them in a violent fury . All but Windu and Fisto quickly fell to the Dark Lord of the Sith and the three masters of the Force clashed . Palpatine eliminated Fisto as Skywalker was arriving . Windu , alone cornered Darth Sidious , Palpatine ' s true identity , as Skywalker arrived in the room . Skywalker pleaded with Windu not to kill the Chancellor . Sidious fired a volley of Force lightning at the Jedi Master , who deflected it back at him . The electric currents flowing through Sidious exposed the almost reptilian features of his true form . After the lightning faded , Windu raised his blade to strike a killing blow and Skywalker panicked , cutting off Windu ' s sword hand with his lightsaber . The writhing Sidious then blasted Windu with another torrent of lightning and sent him through the window — to his death — into the streets of Galactic City . Skywalker was ashamed of his participation in Windu ' s murder and knew that the Jedi would never allow him to remain with the Order ; out of options , Skywalker knelt before Darth Sidious and was dubbed his apprentice , Darth Vader . Sidious later labeled this action a Jedi Rebellion , alternatively a Jedi Revolt , with the ultimate goal of taking over the galaxy . With this justification , Palpatine called for the extermination of the Jedi across all systems , beginning the Great Jedi Purge . Foreshadowing . A version of this showdown was foreseen by Jedi Grand Master Yoda during his experience in the Dark Side Cave on Dagobah towards the end of the Clone Wars . Among other visions , Yoda saw a hooded figure slay Jedi Masters Agen Kolar , Saesee Tiin , and Kit Fisto in quick succession . Soon after , he witnessed the same hooded figure assault Mace Windu with a torrent of force lightning . Prelude . Shortly after the Battle of Coruscant , Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker had begun experiencing prophetic visions of his wife , Padmé Amidala , dying in pain during the birth of their child . Greatly disturbed by these dreams , he sought the advice of Grand Master Yoda , but Yoda , ever the consummate Jedi , simply told Anakin to " let go of everything he feared to lose . " Frustrated by what he perceived to be a completely unsatisfactory answer , Anakin confided his fears to his friend , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine . Shortly thereafter , Palpatine invited Skywalker to a show at the Galaxies Opera House under the pretense of providing him with intelligence on the whereabouts of General Grievous . While they sat in Palpatine ' s private box , he told Skywalker a Sith legend , " The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise . " In particular , he told Anakin that Plageuis had discovered way to use the dark side to influence midi - chlorians , an ability which could be used to both create life and cheat death . Aware of Anakin ' s plight , Palpatine planned on using this revelation as bait to draw Anakin to the dark side . Anakin , desperate for a way to prevent his prophetic visions from coming to pass , questioned Palpatine on how one might learn Plagueis ' s technique , but Palpatine merely told him that it was impossible to learn it from a Jedi . Later , in the Supreme Chancellor ' s office , after Skywalker informed the Supreme Chancellor about Obi - Wan currently fighting General Grievous , Palpatine finally revealed himself to be Darth Sidious , Plagueis ' s former apprentice and the current Dark Lord of the Sith . Skywalker was torn between his desire to learn Sidious ' s power and his duty as a Jedi to turn him in . Skywalker thought of killing Sidious on sight , as it was also his duty as a Jedi to eliminate the Sith , but he could not bring himself to kill his friend , who had implied that killing him would drive Skywalker to the dark side . Leaving Palpatine ' s office , Skywalker quickly went to the Jedi Temple and informed Jedi Master Mace Windu of Palpatine ' s true identity , though he was greatly conflicted about doing so . Sensing his internal turmoil , Windu sent Skywalker to the High Council Chamber and advised him to spend time meditating upon his conflicted emotions . Windu then took a squad of Masters — the nervous Nautolan Kit Fisto , Zabrak Agen Kolar , and the Iktotchi Saesee Tiin — to arrest Palpatine in his own office . Sidious had anticipated a showdown , and was well prepared for it ; he sensed both the conflict of Skywalker in the Council chamber as well as the approach of the Jedi Masters on board a gunship . Sidious recovered his lightsaber from its resting place within a neuranium sculpture , hiding the hilt in the sleeve of his robe . When the Masters scattered the Chancellor ' s private guards beyond the office ' s outer doors , the Sith Lord triggered a concealed recording device — audio only . The Jedi burst into Sidious ' s private office , where Master Windu declared the Chancellor under arrest . In response , Sidious feigned surprise and mock - pleaded for help , trying to make it appear on the audio recording as though the Jedi were committing an act of undue and unsubstantiated aggression against the seemingly innocent Chancellor . He then angrily reminded Windu when the latter mentioned the Senate will decide his fate that he " was " the Senate , to which Windu was quick to remind him that he isn ' t yet . The duel . Accusing the Jedi of treason , Sidious activated his lightsaber and lunged at the group . In a moment of distraction , Agen Kolar was impaled by Palpatine through the abdomen . Saesee Tiin , despite his surprise , attempted to strike the Dark Lord from behind as Kolar fell , but was cut down as Sidious swung around to slash him across the torso . With two of the four Jedi Masters dead , Sidious immediately engaged Fisto and Windu . Fisto managed to fend off Sidious ' s initial strikes due to his mastery of a more defensive style of lightsaber combat , but he was cut down mere seconds after the fall of his two compatriots . His entire strike force dead , Windu was left to contend with might of the Dark Lord alone . Sidious drove Windu back along the corridor to his public office , where Windu rallied and pulled Sidious into a bladelock . Sensing Sidious ' s incredible power , Windu realized that he had to give himself completely over to Vaapad , his personal Juyo varient , in order to survive . As their battle took them towards the center of the room , Anakin Skywalker ' s Jedi airspeeder touched down outside . He had meditated on his tumultuous thoughts in the Council Chambers as Windu had advised him to do , and the young Jedi felt as though he could not bear to let Sidious meet his death at the hands of the Jedi ; at least , not before teaching Skywalker the secrets of Darth Plagueis to save Amidala from death . As Skywalker sped through the halls of the Republic Executive Building , Sidious unleashed a rapid series of unsuccessful attacks against Windu , and was driven back into the Ceremonial Office by Windu ' s steady offensive march . For Windu , having given himself completely over to Vaapad , was able to draw on the torrents of dark side energy emanating from his furious opponent like a heat sink . Using Sidious ' s own power against him , Windu proved able to match the Dark Lord blow for blow , but realized that even his mastery of Vaapad would result only in an indefinite stalemate . Windu guided the battle across the office towards the bay window , which was quickly shattered by their missed attacks . As they moved out onto the wind - blown ledge , Sidious re - allocated some of his energy from the Force - powered speed he was assailing Windu with to a Force - powered grip on the permacrete . The duelists then engaged in a brief flurry of bladework , but Palpatine ' s slight decrease in speed provided an opening , allowing Windu to end the bout with a swift kick to the Sith Lord ' s jaw . Sidious was thrown off balance , staggering back and dropping his lightsaber as he flailed for balance before retreating against the window frame . Darth Sidious appeared to be defeated and at Master Windu ' s mercy , who held his blade to the Sith Lord ' s throat . Windu also sensed fear emanating and thought it was the reason for Sidious ' defeat . However , Sidious revealed that the fear Windu was sensing was not his own ( revealing that Windu was actually sensing Skywalker ' s fear ) . At that moment , Skywalker appeared , convinced that only the powers of the Sith could save his wife ' s life from the events of his visions . Skywalker ' s intervention . With the Dark Lord disarmed , Windu again declared that Sidious was under Jedi custody . However , having arrived too late to see the Sith Lord ' s intent , Skywalker saw only a helpless Chancellor cowering before Mace Windu . Sidious claimed the Jedi were in rebellion , while Windu countered , declaring the ultimate defeat of the Sith . In response , Sidious hurled a torrent of Force lightning at the Jedi Master . Calling once again on his Vaapad mastery , Windu just barely managed to catch the lightning on his lightsaber and began deflecting it back at Sidious . Sidious and Windu then accused each other of being a traitor to Skywalker as he watched . The redirected current flowed through Sidious , injuring him and deforming his face hideously — though it may have been his true form all along , one shriveled by a lifetime of using the dark side of the Force . He called out to Skywalker for help while Windu pleaded with him not to trust the Sith Lord . The electrical current continued to ravage the Chancellor ' s body , and Skywalker ' s conflict reached its peak as he watched his friend suffer . Eventually , the lightning subsided to leave Palpatine pretending to be exhausted and frail , lying on the floor . The Chancellor began begging for mercy , and claimed he was too weak to continue fighting . After Sidious ceased his attack , Windu announced that he had no choice but to eliminate the Dark Lord once and for all . For , having just experienced first hand the true , terrifying depth of Sidious ' s power , Windu now saw him as too great a threat to the Republic to be kept alive . Skywalker pleaded with him to spare Sidious , stating that the best course of action was for Sidious to stand trial , but Windu refused , believing that Sidious ' s influence would sway the Court ' s decision in the Sith Lord ' s favor . Ironically , when explaining this , Mace used the exact same argument for killing Sidious that Sidious himself gave to Anakin for why Dooku needed to be killed earlier – that Sidious was far too great of a threat to be kept alive . Skywalker further pressed that killing Sidious in cold blood was not the Jedi way . But Windu raised his blade to deliver the killing blow , and Skywalker , reacting in a moment of despair , cut off the unsuspecting Windu ' s sword hand . Seeing this , Sidious immediately ceased feigning weakness and unleashed a withering barrage of Force lightning at the helpless Jedi Master , also gloating about his unlimited power . After torturing him for a few moments , Sidious used the Force to push Windu out of the broken window , whereupon he met his death on impact with the streets below . Skywalker had not realized that Sidious was going to kill Windu and fell to his knees in shock at his unwitting participation in the Jedi Master ' s murder . Sidious congratulated him , telling Skywalker that he was fulfilling his destiny and that he would help him find the secrets to saving Amidala ' s life . The Dark Lord then admitted in a round - about way that cheating death was a power only his Master had achieved , revealing he did not actually know the secret to stopping death . Inwardly , Skywalker was surprised and enraged by the deception . He then realized that his new master had been manipulating him and the Clone Wars — the galaxy - wide conflict that had been raging for more than three years between the Separatists and the Galactic Republic — since the beginning . However , though his loyalty to the Jedi lingered somewhat , he believed that his role in Windu ' s death precluded any chance of his returning to them . Furthermore , though Sidious had admitted to not knowing how to cheat death , he believed that joining the Dark Lord was still his best chance to save Amidala . He resigned himself to his fate and knelt before Sidious , swearing an oath to be his Sith apprentice . While he hoped that he and Sidious could discover the secret of immortality together , Skywalker no longer saw his new master as a friend worth defending . Now , the man was merely a necessary evil worth tolerating until the time was right to take his place . Strangely , Sidious evidently lied to Anakin about his inability to save people from death , as he did in fact possess the ability to use midichlorians to re - invigorate the gravely injured or dying . His reasons for lying to Anakin are unclear , though it is clear that , privately , Sidious wanted Amidala dead so as not to have any competition for Anakin ' s loyalty . Aftermath . Though horrified at what he had done , and what he was becoming , Skywalker knew there was no turning back from his dark path , so he pledged to Sidious that he would do whatever Sidious asked in return for his assistance in saving Amidala . Sidious named his new apprentice Darth Vader and tasked him with the of the Jedi Temple . Furthermore , to every clone trooper in the Grand Army of the Republic , Sidious issued Order 66 ; the clones were ordered to eliminate their Jedi Commanders and Generals , and marked all Jedi as enemies of the Republic . The Great Jedi Purge had begun . Vader stormed the Temple , leading the 501st Legion , and proceeded to kill nearly every Jedi within its walls . The Temple was set ablaze and reduced to ruins while all of Galactic City watched . Shortly thereafter , Sidious traveled to the Senate Rotunda and presented the audio recording of Windu ' s assault on his life as evidence of what he called the " Jedi Rebellion " or the " Jedi Revolt , " an attempt by the Order to overthrow the Republic . The activation of the Jedi Masters ' lightsabers was digitally confirmed by Republic agents in the audio recording while the activation of Palpatine ' s lightsaber was neither recorded nor analyzed . After making his case to the Senate that they needed to take action , Sidious delivered a speech that declared that the Republic was no more , and in its place was a new Galactic Empire . Sidious would later discover Yoda ' s survival when the latter arrived at his office in the senate , resulting in a climactic duel between the Sith Master and the Jedi Grandmaster , concurrently to similar duel between Obi - Wan Kenobi and the newly - christened Darth Vader . With Windu ' s death , some , such as the Jedi Jaina Solo , believed the shatterpoint Force technique was lost . This was untrue , however . Its reputation as a lost art spawned from the rarity of individuals able to perform it , but some like her brother , Jacen Solo , and uncle , Luke Skywalker , learned it by 41 ABY . Her uncle later taught it to her . Behind the scenes . This lightsaber duel appeared in the film version of and it remained nameless until " " identified the duel as the " Showdown on Coruscant " in one of its captions . In the , Palpatine spun the duel to prove Jedi were rebelling against the Republic , which was further expanded upon in the 2008 reference book " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , in which Palpatine called this duel the " Jedi Rebellion . " This duel explains some — until then — unknown aspects of the " Star Wars " Universe . It explains how Darth Vader , an antagonist from the original trilogy , joined the Sith and why Palpatine ' s face is deformed in . Ian McDiarmid , the actor who portrayed Palpatine , did not enjoy filming these scenes . As a Shakespearean actor , filming high - speed sword fighting did not appeal to him . He had only about five days to learn the choreography his stunt double would not perform from the stunt coordinator , Nick Gillard . As an older man , he was not as dexterous as his opponents and , occasionally , he would be hit over the day ' s filming . McDiarmid did , however , have some respect towards Samuel L . Jackson ' s abilities . The film ' s producer , Rick McCallum , was worried about how the scene would turn out because of this , but was very happy with the final result . On the other hand , Windu ' s actor , Samuel L . Jackson , had been waiting for this scene since he was hired . One of the requests he made during negotiations for the part was for his character to die spectacularly at the end . In the , Obi - Wan Kenobi , Mace Windu , and Shaak Ti all claimed that the arrest team consisted of " four of the greatest swordsmen the Jedi Order has ever produced " — a fact less obvious in the movie since Kolar , Tiin , and Fisto all died within a few seconds of the duel ' s start . Kenobi further proposed that if Palpatine could eliminate the four Jedi Masters all by himself , then even Yoda and Kenobi together would not be enough to defeat the Dark Lord . In " The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith " , George Lucas , the creator and ultimate authority regarding the " Star Wars " universe , responded to the question of whether Mace Windu brought a weak group of Jedi with him for the confrontation with Palpatine by replying that " one would have to be either Windu or Yoda to compete with Palpatine , " and that if Anakin had suffered none of his injuries , he could have beaten the Emperor . The same book implies that Samuel L . Jackson sincerely believed that Windu , his character , had overpowered Palpatine , even during the lightning struggle . According to the screenplay of Episode III , Dar Wac , the Chancellor ' s Rodian aide , originally had a cameo appearance before the Jedi entered Palpatine ' s office . This was either dropped or never filmed . Furthermore , the screenplay stated it was Windu who was being forced onto the ledge after the window was broken , which contradicts the novelization . The screenplay also indicates Windu attempted to defend himself with his remaining hand after he was betrayed by Skywalker . In the novel , a debate between Palpatine and Windu before the duel reflected that even though the audience knew that Palpatine , as a Sith Lord , was behind everything and was ultimately responsible for the war , the Jedi never had any hard evidence of Palpatine ' s crime to legitimize their arrest attempt . Even the knowledge of Palpatine ' s true identity depended solely on the words of an emotionally unstable Anakin Skywalker . Windu also failed to explain why the " philosophical difference " between the Jedi and the Sith would lead to the arrest of Palpatine , which played to the Sith Lord ' s plan in the secret audio recording , thus undermining the support of the Jedi in the Senate . Discrepancies . As they were extrapolated by different people , there are several differences between the various portrayals of this duel . The version portrayed in the movie is the sole completely canon sequence . Throughout the battle , the lightsaber hilt Palpatine uses alternates between his own and Skywalker ' s due to the fact that he was originally going to use Anakin Skywalker ' s lightsaber against the Jedi . Skywalker was scripted to be present throughout the duel at first , but the battle was re - choreographed at the last minute and Skywalker was instead scripted to arrive at the exact moment Palpatine lost his weapon . Skywalker ' s lightsaber hilt remains visible in some shots of the finished film though , making this one of many lightsaber bloopers found throughout the " Revenge of the Sith " movie . In the novelization of " Episode III " , there were a few differences from the film ' s interpretation . Windu contacted Grand Master Yoda before and after receiving the truth from Skywalker : both the members of the arrest team and their action were approved by the Grand Master . During the engagement , Windu sent Saesee Tiin and Agen Kolar to the Chancellor ' s desk to block the way to the door . Firstly , Sidious tricked Tiin by asking him to read his mind to establish if the Chancellor was truly a Sith Lord , then used the distraction as a chance to behead the unsuspecting Iktotchi . Kolar barely had time to absorb the scene before Palpatine pierced the lightsaber blade through his head , causing Kolar to drop his lightsaber and collapse . After that , the remaining two Jedi fought Sidious . Kit Fisto was beheaded from a sudden strike of Sidious ' s blade . Fisto ' s death was not described first - hand — instead Skywalker found Fisto ' s head on the Chancellor ' s table with the Nautolan ' s typical smile on it . The movie scene was originally scripted that way as well , but George Lucas decided it was too violent , and thus changed it . In the novelization , there was a thunderstorm outside during the duel . Also , Anakin Skywalker arrived much earlier , and was able to watch almost half of the epic lightsaber duel between Windu and Palpatine , instead of just after when the Jedi Master knocked down Sidious , as shown in the movie . Skywalker ' s arrival is also different ; instead of landing his speeder on the landing deck , he brings it to hover outside the window of Palpatine ' s private office , smashes the window with his lightsaber and jumps through . During the deadly fight , Skywalker could sense the Force darken within the Chancellor ' s Office . Windu was not limiting himself , as the Jedi usually did , he was channeling all his power and rage into his Vaapad combat style , a form of lightsaber combat requiring the user to relish the fight and use their will to win , in order to enhance their abilities . Also , in the novel , Sidious " demonstrates " his lightsaber before they begin battle , while this does not occur in the movie . In both the novelization and the comic , the entire duel took place in the Chancellor ' s public office only , instead of beginning in the Chancellor ' s private office as seen in the movie . The novel showed that Palpatine could activate the recording device hidden within his " office book , " on his desk . In the comic version , his private chamber contained a holoprojector instead of a desk . In the video game of " Revenge of the Sith " , instead of severing Windu ' s arm , Skywalker calls Windu a traitor to the Republic and engages him in a duel through the office and outside platform . As they duel , Windu attempts to dissuade Skywalker from his course but the enraged Jedi will hear nothing of it and stabs the Jedi Master , knocking him out of the window and to his death . In the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions of the game , when arriving to stop Windu from killing Palpatine , Anakin fought some Separatist droids that were inside the Chancellor ' s suite before dueling Windu as in the other versions . The omitted the entire fighting sequence between Palpatine and the Jedi . Instead , it portrayed that period of time solely from Anakin Skywalker ' s point of view ; Skywalker left the High Council Chamber to retrieve his speeder , and then entered the Chancellor ' s office , seeing Mace Windu holding an unarmed Palpatine at blade point . This entire scene was omitted from , although it was originally going to become a level . In Popular Culture . The showdown was parodied in , in which Palpatine rants about his deformed face .