While Darth Vader perished long ago in the annals of Star Wars history, with new villain Kylo Ren said to be searching for various artifacts that once belonged to theSith LordinStar Wars: The Force Awakens, it sounds like the iconic sci-fi villain will be making a return in at least one of the upcoming Star Wars movies.MakingStar Warshas a rumor that is twofold today. One suggests thatHayden Christensenis returning in some capacity to playLuke’s father inStar Wars: Episode VIII. And another claims thatDarth Vader’s iconic costume has made it’s way to theRogue One: A Star Wars Storyset.
It has not been confirmed in any official capacity that Darth Vader will make an appearance inRogue One: A Star Wars Story. But it certainly makes sense for his presence to be felt, even if we don’t see him on screen. The movie’sstorylinetakes place between the events ofStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the SithandStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, at a time when Vader is building his reputation as one of the most feared forces in the galaxy. Earlier in the year, there were murmurs that some Darth Vader concept art had been spotted in the wild, which was said to be forRogue One: A Star Wars Story. Now it’s being said that a fully operational Darth Vader chest piece was spotted on set.
The chest piece was said to be spotted alongside a Darth Vader helmet in the creature shop forRogue One: A Star Wars Story. The chest piece even contains working lights. But what makes this rumor suspect is the fact that there was only one costume set. Usually the movie calls for multiple costume pieces. Also, just because a Darth Vader prop was spotted in the creature shop doesn’t necessarily mean thevillainhas made it into the movie.
According toMakingStar Wars, there are not multiple Darth Vader suits. Just the one. Maybe the one that was spotted was the first one made, and there are more to come. Maybe it was created to serve as inspiration. No one really knows at this point. Where the rumor gets a little strange is when sources start throwing Hayden Christensen into the mix.
It is said that a team in the UK is flying to the U.S. soon, where they will begin training Hayden Christensen for scenes in Star Wars: Episode VIII. Of course, there are no details for what these scenes may consist of. Is Hayden Christensen returning as the Anakin ghost that was placed intoStar Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi? That might make sense, but if that’s the case, what does he need to be trained for? Possibly he’ll be part of a flashback scene? But that doesn’t seem likely either as Disney has tried very hard to distance itself from the prequels, even though they are considered canon.
It will be known whether these rumors have any legs as production continues onRogue One: A Star Wars Storyand Star Wars: Episode VIII. As we’ve seen withStar Wars: The Force Awakens, a lot of the rumors actually panned out, or were seeds for a bigger idea. If we hear more about Hayden Christensen and the presence of Darth Vader in the near future, we can suspect they may be participating in some capacity. But both films won’t hit for a while. We have a lot of time to figure out all this madness. What do you think? Do you want to see Darth Vader return on the big screen? Do you want to see Hayden Christensen be the one to bring him there?
