Summary
- Dee Bradley Baker jokes, “Always blame the droid” – referring to Chopper’s impressive kill count in Star Wars lore.
- Matt Lanter sees Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader as separate beings, insisting Vader, not Anakin, carried out war crimes.
- Chopper may have committed more war crimes than Darth Vader, given the droid’s disregard for rules and casual approach to taking lives.
The stars of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have weighed in on who they think carried out the most war crimes – Anakin Skywalker or Chopper. War is a messy business, especially when one side is a totalitarian power rooted in the dark side of the Force. That means many Star Wars characters have been accused of war crimes, ranging from Darth Vader himself to Star Wars Rebels‘ droid Chopper – and Chopper’s impressive kill count means he’s considered one of Star Wars‘ deadliest characters.
Speaking at the Rebels & Clones panel at Fan Expo Philadelphia, some of the stars weighed in with their assessment. Most of them seemed rather amused by the question, with Dee Bradley Baker – celebrated voice of the clones – joking that you should “Always blame the droid.” But the most interesting comment came from Matt Lanter, who voiced Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. “It was Vader, not Anakin,” he insisted.
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Matt Lanter’s Insight Into Anakin Skywalker Redefines The Question
Lanter’s comment turns a lightweight conversation into a moment of real infight into Anakin Skywalker’s character. He clearly sees Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader as two separate and distinct beings, so much so that he’s willing to pin war crimes on the one character and not on the other. Of course, it’s something of an oversimplification; the Jedi committed many war crimes during the Clone Wars, with Anakin in particular using pretty shocking interrogation techniques. This was well before his transformation into Darth Vader.
It’s also tempting to question whether all of Darth Vader’s atrocities constitute war crimes. While the Dark Lord of the Sith was responsible for countless deaths and even acts of genocide, many of these were carried out before the beginning of the Galactic Civil War. Darth Vader was a despot, a tyrant who served under an even more tyrannical ruler. He carried out countless horrors long before the galaxy actually found itself in a state of open war, meaning many of the crimes he committed wouldn’t count for a strict definition.
Ironically, this technicality may in fact mean Chopper has carried out more war crimes than Darth Vader. Often jokingly described as a “murderbot,” Chopper has no qualms about killing his opponents, and he doesn’t seem to mind breaking any and every rule of engagement. Even in Ahsoka, Chopper showed a casual disregard for life, seemingly unconcerned at the idea of blowing up a fleeing ship over a densely-populated area. It’s highly likely that Star Wars Rebels‘ droid is the top name on this shocking list of two.
