The Star Wars: Episode IX rumor mill has been in full effect these last couple of months, suggesting everything from the return of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi to Ed Harris playing a younger version of Supreme Leader Snoke. If even half of these predictions turn out to be true, then we’re in for an exceedingly eventful trilogy-capper, making it all too appropriate that one recent rumor is that this final film could be split into two parts.
Another possibility to add to this rapidly growing list is that our old friend Darth Vader will be making a return in the J.J. Abrams-helmed sequel, and he’s bringing his less menacing alter ego Anakin Skywalker with him. Though the late Sith lord passed away several decades ago in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, this hardly seems like the most out-there of notions, seeing how the franchise has already had its fair share of ghosts, the most recent being Yoda in The Last Jedi. The basis for this rumor is reportedly some leaked concept art that shows the legendary character as a hybrid of his two sides, positioned face to face with his similarly divided grandson.
“(It shows) Kylo Ren standing in what appears to be a new throne room for himself. In front of him is a window, a wide window looking out to space. In the window is a reflection of what seems to be a hybrid Force ghost of Anakin’s face – half of which is Anakin, half of which is Vader.”
While this is far from conclusive proof that the classic hero-turned-villain-turned-hero will be making an appearance, it would certainly make a lot of sense for a sequence like this to appear in next year’s movie, tapping into Kylo’s ongoing idolization of Vader and his internal conflict, while also rhyming quite neatly with the aforementioned Luke and Yoda meeting from the last movie.
In any case, with a known nostalgist like J.J. Abrams on directing duties, you can expect to find plenty of callbacks to the saga’s extensive history when Star Wars: Episode IX comes out on December 20th, 2019.