ST Will Darth Vader Be in Episode VII?

Oh myyyyyy.

 

I think even a spin off Vader story/film is problematic in terms of it appealing to a mass audience. I think either leave Vader out of it completley, bring him back as a supporting character 'only' (in a a spin off film) or just bring back his likeness in the ST e.g. his armour being used by the villain/villains.

 

Vader could have a role as big as that of Magneto in First Class, but as the main protagonist? He is ****ing evil and people prefer to root for the good guys. So even though it's Vader, it would be a huge challenge to make a Vader spinoff work.

 

The only real spin off IMHO, strongly featuring Vader, which would have the legs (so to speak) to appeal to a wider audience... would be a Jedi purge one i.e. straight after the events of ROTS, Vader is tasked with hunting down the remaining Jedi. I think there's enough wiggle room in the events of the PT and OT that Obi-Wan and Vader could have met again. I'd have liked to have seen Obi-Wan try to turn Anakin back from the Darkside. But yes, any spin off will need a central protagonist for it to have wide general appeal.

 

T

They could have a clone of Vader leading the Empire at the start of Episode VII. Shameless money grab, sure, but I can't say I wouldn't do it myself if billions were on the line.

 

Legacy comics volume 1 issue 11 Ghosts Part 1. That's the only way I want to see Vader.
Or the Cave.

 

I agree with this. In fact, I'd really like for this to happen so that Vader's line about how "Obi-Wan once thought as you do" will finally make sense.

 

Not sure what angle to reply to: Will Vader be in Ep 7 or Should Vader be in Ep. 7?

My answer to both is no...at least I sincerely hope not.

 

It would have to be in a flashback or vision. Why? Because he's dead, in fact he's dead twice. He's literally dead & he's "spiritually dead". As we saw at the end of Jedi the spirit form has reverted back to the form of Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader could only appear in a flashback or vision, & if it's done well & is an important & natural part of the story then I'm all for it.

 

Unless JJ decided that there were copies of Vader's mask lying around on Coruscant or force ghost Anakin (I really don't care about whether or not it's Hayden or Shaw) counts as Vader, no.

 

Copies of his mask or someone wearing a Vader suit isn't Darth Vader the character, so that's not what this thread is asking.

 

I want to see someone wearing a t-shirt that says, Darth Vader force choked my father and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!"

 

I guess my idea of a recording is unpopular.
I have all these pictures in my head. Vader in a lab, coldly doing something evil on test subjects. Maybe draining life energy into some artifact of sorts.
How chilling would that be?

 

A recording is another good option. If/when the Alliance gets hold of all of the Emperor's archives & dark secrets, who knows what they'll find.

 

Works for me.

 

Exactly. Who knows what unfathomable evil was committed by Vader and the Emperor during those two decades? Except for sexual violence, there is basically no limit to what they could've done. And in my opinion, rectifying the sins of the father (or grandfather) would be a great motive for the ST and a meaningful connection.

 

I could see Vader showing up in either a vision or a holorecording. I don't think either will be enough to hang marketing on, but I also don't think Disney will be as worried about not being able to use Vader to market these movies as some people seem to.

 

Yeah he was a focus of the marketing for RotS & was on screen for 2 minutes. I don't think that was entirely unjustified, but if he shows up briefly in Ep7 I hope they don't focus on it in the lead up. I'd rather they try & keep it under wraps & make it a surprise. A bit like they did for the Arnold/T-800 in Terminator Salvation.

 

I agree. It made sense to use him extensively in the marketing for Episode III because the whole point of the story in the prequels was about how Anakin became Vader, and that was the film in which it actually happened. If he were glimpsed for some reason in the ST, there wouldn't be a strong enough narrative reason to lean on the imagery, and if someone else were to don the suit, I think the chances are high that many people would call foul.

 

I don't quite agree... As it stands, and IMO, most people perceive Darth Vader as the suit, rather than Anakin Skywalker. So I think the question 'Will Darth Vader be in Ep VII' is more figurative than literal (based on the mask rather than the man) because even a flashback or a recording would be a 'figurative' rather than 'literal' representation of him. I'm not discounting the notion of him being a vision or recording... it's highly probable. But I think the most effective way to bring Vader back, or at least bring back what he represented, would be for someone else/others to be wearing the same/similar costume. I think that's the best way of bringing back Vader figuratively, without having to literally bring back a fallen Anakin Skywalker. As I pointed out prior... that's basically what they did with Jango Fett and the clonetroopers. Jango and the clones were the figurative representation of Boba and the stormtroopers for the PT. And I personally thought that idea worked well.

 

Pretty lame, imo. Vader is more than the suit. He isn't Boba Fett. His personality, his voice, his body language, all of that is important in the Vader package.

 

His voice is synthetic isn't it? Why would that have to change? As for the body language... yes I'd agree that Prowse had a unique gait... but that's really not going to put anyone off making another film with Vader in it if... 1) There's a compelling narrative reason. 2) There's a good commercial reason.

I think it's also worth remembering that back in 98/99, there were many fans who balked at the notion that Darth Vader was a Sith title. That there were several other Darth's in the PT only helped enrich canon and didn't take anything away from Darth Vader in the OT (IMHO)...

 

You're right, his voice wouldn't change. But the personality would be different and thus the replacement would be nothing more than a weak pretender.

I would hope they are not so creatively broke that they now create copycat characters.

I don't know. Would there be a great difference if all the Sith were simply called Lord soandso? Probably not.

 

PJ, what are you not agreeing with? That a guy in a Vader suit isn't Darth Vader? That's not open for debate - he's not. DV is a person & at the time of Ep7 he's a dead person. If a guy turns up in the suit anyone who's seen RotJ will be pretty sure it's not really him. It will also be the first thing Luke, Leia & everyone in the film will say about him.

That you could have an imposter is a valid point. That's a possibility in the story...but that's not Darth Vader, it's an imposter. So it's not what this thread is asking.

Also, a flashback of a character is a literal appearance. If a character appears in a scene, who cares what time frame that scene is set in? That character has appeared in the movie. Plenty of films play around with timelines & include flashbacks & flash forwards. That doesn't mean if someone appears in a flashback he's only appearing "figuratively".