To literally bring Darth Vader back from the grave at this stage in the Star Wars series would be deemed blasphemy by many a fan, but in a cinematic world where the line between living and dead has always been a little blurry, we certainly can’t rule out getting some kind of reappearance from Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX.
But while most fans would assume this cameo to be in Force Ghost form (there’s even a rather dubious theory going round that Hayden Christensen could be making an appearance), this latest piece of speculation has suggested an alternative way in which Skywalker’s villainous alter ego could have a presence in J.J. Abrams’ next film.
The inspiration for this idea comes from the latest issue of the official Darth Vader comic. In this canonical story, Vader is given a helmet which once belonged to a Sith named Lord Momin, and when the character travels to Mustafar with the accessory, we see how this item is a medium through which Momin can speak to him.
Though Anakin ultimately turns back to the light side in Return of the Jedi, perhaps it’s not unthinkable that the essence of his dark side could somehow linger in the helmet he wore for so many years, suggesting that when Kylo Ren talks to the prop in The Force Awakens, the prop is speaking back. This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve heard such a notion being thrown around, and while The Last Jedi contained no references of Kylo’s tendency to speak to inanimate objects, maybe it’s not such a stretch to think that Abrams might bring back the element for the next film.
Of course, this is largely speculation for the time being, but we’ll see what callbacks to the past the ever-nostalgic director has in mind when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.