ST Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) in IX

Ren and Rey are massive PT references in themselves in both TFA and TLJ so that isn't the issue.

TLJ was chock-full of 'em and while I liked it in one sense it's not about them in themselves but how they were used to build story.

 

As much as I want him to appear. I do not think it will fit the story. If he had appeared in Episode 8 that would have been great.

 

Yeah i think there is a much tighter leash on this new trilogy to not overshadow the new characters and there story so the only way we would see anakin is if it fit the story and probably not because a desire to have him in it.

Its like we haven't seen lando in this trilogy yet and i also think its possible we might not see him in 9 either purely because they clearly are not planning these movies to include fan service for the sake of fan service.

 

Anakin turns out to be the true Big Bad.

 

If this is really supposed to be one big saga, then it should be a no-brainer to have Anakin in it. He is the through-line and the saga should be bookended by him....But, these movies don't seem to be part of a connected saga so much as a showcase for Disney's new characters. The old and the new could have / should have been much more artfully woven together. Instead, we seem to have a situation where Disney doesn't want their characters overshadowed, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were afraid to have Anakin in it.

 

If this really IS the saga closer, I'll say there is a better than even chance he shows up in a final "family portrait."

He will play no part in the story.

And if this isn't the saga closer, he will not appear.

 

I don't think it would make sense at all for Anakin to appear to someone that has never met him, as no force ghost has ever done that before. BUT...I feel JJ needs to pull out all the stops to make up for what was done to TLJ. So nullifying Luke's death and having Anakin show up to speak with him would be something that I think needs to be done to save this trilogy. I would even settle for something as totally wild as having Anakin be resurrected by some new force phenomenon and fighting Kylo himself lol

 

The TLJ visual dictionary says that Kylo is afraid to visit the helmet of his grandfather after his defeat on Starkiller Base, but I think we'll see him come to it one more time for guidance because of that. If he was to appear in force ghost form, it would be a good time to use some of the scrapped concepts from TFA:

 

Makes all the sense in the world to finally have Force ghost Anakin show up. As was stated previously, if this is the conclusion of a 9 episode series, it only makes sense for the character that directly impacted all these events to transpire to show up. This trilogy is essentially about his legacy so I think it would be important for Ani to make an appearance.

 

TBH I feel that if Anakin was going to show up, he probably would have done so already. As for Force Ghost duty, Luke has that covered now.

R.E. the "Skywalker Saga" dilemma: I suspect the Skywalkers themselves might be phased out after the ST concludes, their story does appear to have run it's natural course. Regardless of whether Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is redeemed or not, I get the feeling he is intended to represent the last of a dying breed.

 

I voted yes because why not? If you want to tie all the trilogies together, then you need Anakin to show up since he is the cornerstone of the whole saga.

 

From a narrative standpoint, I think it makes all of the sense in the world. Will it happen? I really don't know at this point. I like the movies they have made a good deal, but they don't seem to be approaching each movie from an "overall saga" point of view so much; they are more going movie to movie. I like what Rian did a lot, but I think he would be less likely than JJ to have Hayden, so in that way, it bodes better for Hayden in 9 than TLJ. I am iffy on the odds though.

 

What if this apparition appears to Kylo claiming to be the ghost of Vader, Kylo believes it to be Vader?

To all intents and purposes it appears to the audience that this is Vader and it has been haunting Kylo for a very long time, but it could also be something else, something so powerful that Luke could not sense it....the real power behind Snoke.

 

Luke said “see you around kid” before becoming one with the Force. I hope IX has Luke visit Ben twice - kinda like a haunting. And the third time he appears Ben lashes out at the spectre and it ends up being Anakin. Or Vader. Or both.

 

I truly hope they get Hayden to appear as Anakin, but I just don't see it happening. Which sucks, because, as the other poster said, this trilogy is, on some level, about the legacy of Anakin Skywalker, and how he's still affecting the Galaxy long after his death.

 

Really?
I would have said the opposite. Rian Johnsons seems to be far more open and complimentary towards the prequels than JJ Abrams. I would expect RJ to be more likely to include Hayden than JJ Abrams. Though Episode IX would probably be a better fit to have him appear than VIII would have been, so there's that.

At this point I wouldn't bet on it happening, though I certainly wouldn't mind it if it fits to the story.

 

I meant that Rian was less likely because he appeared to really go at the story with reckless abandon (in a good way), and did not stick to the textbook narrative rules, which IMO would more likely dictate that you have the sagas biggest character reappear, or give some kind of explanation as to where he was and what his perspective on the situation was. JJ on the other hand, like the prequels or not, is more conventional.

I agree that 9 is a better place than 8. Also, it would be a good way to wrap up the ST as you allude to, and I'm sure they wouldn't shoehorn him in, I think there is a very good opportunity to make him fit in the story.

 

I hope he does. If they want to redeem Ben then it would make sense. In TFA he was trying to follow in Vader's footsteps. Luke has acknowledged he won't be the one to redeem Ben, Rey seems to have shut the door on him (literally and metaphorically). Using Anakin to help guide Ben back to the light would be a nice way of bridging the PT and the ST and bringing the saga together.

 

I'd like to see it, makes sense to see Anakin's force ghost again.

 

I reaaally want to see this happen. It would tie all the eras together. We have seen Anakin’s childhood, his nightmarish adulthood and now the legacy of his Vader persona through his grandson. It would be a nice bookend. And IX could do with some familiar faces.

 

JJ hates the prequels? Ever heard of PPOR

And JJ said they’re going to tie everything up in IX.

 

Ehh, not sure. Obviously can't judge till IX's out, but that being said, I believe Rian considered having Ewan appear to talk to Luke, but he cited nostalgia as a reason to have it be Yoda instead. Not sure if he mentioned anything about Hayden appearing as Anakin's ghost

 

I think it's obvious in that they chose to use a puppet of Yoda that resembled virtually exactly the TESB/ROTJ puppet, if they used Ewan I think they would've been so much time wasted trying to decide what his appearance should be like, Ewen cgi'd with Alec Guinness or make up to make him look similar etc... and in the end it was just easier to go with puppet Yoda.

 

With that I meant that Rian Johnson - who has been very respectful and complementary of the prequels - would seem to be the more likely choice to make a big reference to the prequels than JJ Abrams, who seemed to be ambivalent at best towards them. Not that they ever directly stated their personal opinion in a direct fashion, but their public comments certainly lead to the impression (for me at least ) that Johnson likes them more than Abrams does.

I may remember it incorrectly, but I thought Yoda was eventually chosen because Johnson thought it would make little sense for Ewan McGregor Obi Wan to appear to Luke, when Luke has only ever seen the Alec Guinness version Obi Wan. Hence Yoda made more sense. That, and he wanted to work with Yoda

 

I was in an asian culture exhibition today and between the Han dynasty, the geisha, the child emperors, I was hit over the head with Lucas’ inspirations. Then I saw this notion of Ancestor worship and it reminded me of what Kylo does to Vader. I was looking at wiki and some things really stick out:

- Ancestors, their ghosts, or spirits, and gods are considered part of "this world", that is, they are neither supernatural (in the sense of being outside nature) nor transcendent in the sense of being beyond nature. The ancestors are humans who have become godly beings, beings who keep their individual identities.

- People keep shrines to their ancestors, like Kylo keeps Vader’s mask

- Ancestors are believed to be a means of connection to the supreme power of Tian as they are considered embodiments or reproducers of the creative order of Heaven (Anakin is literally the connection to the supreme power of The Force in Star Wars)

- The eldest male would speak to the altar on a regular basis. In some belief systems where special powers are ascribed to the deceased, he may supplicate the spirit to bless the family. (Show me again the power of the dark side and I will finish what you started)

I obviously don’t know very much but its interesting to think about. I wonder if that was the inspiration and if it will go anywhere. We still don't know who 'showed' Kylo the power of the dark side.