Darth days ahead: Vader to appear in Star Wars spinoff

By Adam Poltrack July 9, 2015

Darth_Vader — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Didn’t think you’d see Darth Vader in the new round of Star Wars movies? He finds your lack of faith disturbing.

While everyone’s favorite darksider probably won’t appear in the new trilogy (with him being dead and all), he will reportedly make an appearance in Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, an intriguing prequel of sorts that follows a motley crew of rebels that steal the plans for the Death Star.

Essentially, you’re talking about a heist film set in the Star Wars universe, which sounds, well … awesome!

The story is set to take place just before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and there have been whispers that it may also include a young Princess Leia, who could, possibly, be played by Carrie Fisher’s daughter (!). Both rumors are unsubstantiated, but hey, we can dream can’t we?

Vader is not expected to play a large role in the film, and probably won’t be the central villain but consider whatever scene(s) he appears in stolen. There is also no word on whether or not James Earl Jones will reprise. If he doesn’t, it would probably be better if Darth was seen and not heard. Anything other than THE authentic Vader voice will turn fans off faster than you can say “shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level.”

While we’ve whined here and there about Hollywood’s remake culture, we have to say we prefer this over the glut of live-action Disney adaptations and superhero reboots.

Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One is set to release on December 16, 2016 and stars Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, and Ben Mendelsohn, among others. Gareth Edwards is directing, while George Lucas himself is listed among the film’s writers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributor

Adam is an A/V News Writer for Digital Trends, and is responsible for bringing you the latest advances in A/V…

Entertainment

The 10 best lightsaber duels in Star Wars, ranked

Luke Skywalker lunges towards Darth Vader during their lightsaber fight on Cloud City.

Star Wars has contributed countless indelible moments and images to our popular culture, but if there’s one artifact that is most intrinsic to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, it’s the fantastical weapon of the Jedi Knights, the lightsaber. From the very first time audiences saw Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader cross glowing, humming swords aboard the Death Star in 1977, we’ve been absolutely obsessed, and storytellers across multiple media and nearly half a century have been only too happy to indulge our craving for increasingly elaborate lightsaber duels.
Lightsaber fights come in all shapes and sizes, from emotional one-on-one bouts in live-action to wild animated free-for-alls, and selecting our 10 favorites from the franchise to date was no easy task. There are a lot of metrics by which to judge — the excitement of the action itself, how it’s shot, the story behind it, the use of environment, even the music to which it’s set — but the cream of the crop are those duels that either dominate one category or harmoniously balance each one. Will your favorites make the list? You’ll find we’re full of surprises …

10. The Ronin vs. the Bandit Leader (The Duel - Visions, season 1, episode 1)

Entertainment

Like Ahsoka? Watch these 7 Star Wars Rebels episodes

Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano aboard her shuttle in "Ahsoka."

The next chapter of the Star Wars: Rebels saga has come with the premiere of the Disney+ series, Ahsoka. Set years after the disappearance of Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn, the show follows Ahsoka Tano when she seeks them both out as she tries to prevent another war with the remnants of the Galactic Empire.

Since this is a sequel series, some audiences may have some catching up to do. But if they like Ahsoka so far, they should check out these seven episodes of Star Wars: Rebels.
The Siege of Lothal (Parts 1 and 2)

Entertainment

The 10 best Star Wars action scenes, ranked

Luke Skywalker faces Darth Vade in The Empire Strikes Back.

If there's one thing that Star Wars does better than any other space opera, it's action. Since the debut of the original Star Wars film in 1977, the franchise has continuously upped its action game and put other franchises to shame. This week, the legacy continues with Ahsoka, a new Star Wars spinoff series heading to Disney+. If the trailers are any indication, fans are in for more lightsaber action and intrigue.

When considering the greatest action scenes in Star Wars, we decided that everything in the movies, the live-action series, and the animated series was fair game. However, the franchise's epic space battles have been left out of this list because we wanted to focus on the more visceral action scenes between two or more characters. After all, that is where the greatest drama can be found, as you'll soon see in our roundup of the 10 best Star Wars action scenes.
10. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith