Darth Vader’s obsession with the Millennium Falcon is revealing a surprising secret to fans

Pa Chris Snellgrove
| Published 32 seconds ago

The Empire strikes back by far the best Star Wars movie, but it still leaves fans with questions. For example, it’s never made clear why Darth Vader is so obsessed with risking thousands of Imperial lives to pursue the Millennium Falcon. However, one fan theory provides an elegant answer: He would have sensed a powerful Force user on board, and not knowing that it was actually Luke Skywalker’s twin sister Leia, he assumed that the person who destroyed the Death Star was on the ship.

Darth Vader wants the Millennium Falcon

In case you need a quick recap, Darth Vader personally helped invade Hoth, and after the Millennium Falcon escaped, he led the chase from his own Star Destroyer. The escape of the rebels was successful thanks to both cunning and skill of piloting Han Soloand we see that the pursuit cost the Imperials dearly in terms of loss of life. Two Star Destroyers have collided and another appears to have been destroyed by an asteroid, and fans have wondered for decades why Vader was willing to lose nearly 47,000 lives (a total addition to the Star Destroyer) to pursue two humans, two droids, and one an alien.

Obviously there are several practical reasons Darth Vader may be obsessed with capturing the Millennium Falcon, including the fact that it will be the only way to interrogate the rebels after the failed invasion of Hoth. In addition, he was under additional pressure from the emperor, who warned him with a hologram about their “new enemy, Luke Skywalker.” According to this fan theory, Vader’s obsessive pursuit of the Falcon boils down to the fact that he was absolutely convinced that Luke Skywalker was on board, and he was willing to sacrifice countless Imperial lives to capture the Empire’s greatest enemy.

Darth Vader sensed Leia on the Millennium Falcon

This is a very good theory because the climax Return of the Jedi confirmed that Vader was unaware of Leia’s existence. In fact, Luke Skywalker doesn’t give in to his anger until his Dark Side dad threatens to find Leia and convert her to his cause. So Darth Vader of The Empire strikes back would have sensed a strong Force user aboard the Millennium Falcon and just assumed it was Luke. From afar, her presence would likely feel a lot like Luke’s during the Death Star attack (“The Force is strong with that,” he said at the time).

Some Star Wars fans might think that Darth Vader’s obsession with the Millennium Falcon doesn’t need a good reason, and admittedly, it’s ridiculous to think that the Dark Lord of the Sith simply doesn’t care about the death toll of his obsession (almost 47,000 people have disappeared, and it’s only from a star destroyer that we know of!). However, we like the idea that Vader always has a secret goal. In the Romanization of A new hopeObi-Wan Kenobi suggested that his former apprentice was “marking time in preparation for some inexplicable abomination.” Take it from his old Jedi master, this bionic thief never does anything without a reason.

If nothing else, this fan theory will change the way we look at events The Empire strikes back. The next time Darth Vader is chasing the Millennium Falcon, remember that he most likely thinks he’s hunting Luke Skywalker. Little did he know, the young man was vacationing on Dagobah, taking a week-long crash course that would eventually help him become the greatest Jedi Master in the galaxy.