It’s been rumoured for a while, but thanks to Entertainment Weekly’s epic coverage of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we finally have confirmation: Darth Vader will appear. Not only that, but James Earl Jones is also returning to once again give the Dar Lord of the Sith his iconic voice, while a number of performers will take up the physical side of things. But what his role in the spin-off be. Well, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy shed some light on how he will be used:
“He will be in the movie sparingly. But at a key, strategic moment, he’s going to loom large.”
Which is how it should be. The idea of the spin-offs seems to be to tell a tale separate from the main saga, and to have Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso and the rest of her band of rebel soldiers interact with a major part of the universe while on a quest to steal the Death Star plans kinda goes against that. Director Gareth Edwards also had a few words to say about Vader, promising that we catch up on him before he’s the scourge of the galaxy we know and love:
Within the Rebellion, it’s not commonly spoken about. Within the Empire, there is the culture of knowing of the existence of Darth Vader. There’s definitely an underlying feeling that there is a power – a dark power – available to the Empire and that if you overstep your mark, you will suffer the consequences.
The role of striking fear into the hearts of the Rebels this time round seems to fall on the shoulders of Ben Mendelshon’s Director Orson Krennic, but you better believe Vader will make his presence felt in a big way.
Released: December 16th.
