Comic-Con is sure to bring all kinds of Star Wars-related goodies, but the good folks over at Birth.Movies.Death are already getting the ball rolling with a terrific tidbit about Star Wars: Rogue One, the Gareth Edwards-directed spinoff set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope that finds a group of scoundrels and saviors uniting to steal blueprints for the Empire’s fearsome Death Star.
According to the site’s Devin Faraci, a very familiar face will be menacing the characters, one we haven’t seen at the peak of his powers since 1983’s Return of the Jedi. That’s right – I’m talking about none other than Darth Vader himself.
[zerg]The report states that Darth Vader’s presence is keenly felt in the pic, and his name still commands unparalleled respect and fear:
Darth Vader will be in Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One. He will not be the main antagonist but he will be working behind the scenes, pulling strings and will appear onscreen. Literally, I’m told – he’ll be showing up via viewscreen or holo projection or something. Will our heroes actually run into the Dark Lord of the Sith in person? My source wouldn’t say. My source was also mum about Grand Moff Tarkin, who was of course the commander of the fully operational Death Star.
It makes a lot of sense that Vader and other key Empire players will be making an appearance, especially since the plot revolves around rogues attempting to steal crucial information out from under the Empire’s nose, and Vader was, at the time the spinoff takes place, one of the Empire’s most deadly weapons.
Still, even if it only follows that Vader would play a role in a movie set during his reign of terror, it’s exciting to hear it confirmed that the iconic supervillain, regularly ranked as one of the most legendary in cinematic history, will have a place in the new Star Wars universe beyond that image of his crumpled-in mask in The Force Awakens. He’s an integral part of the Star Wars mythology, and if Lucasfilm and Disney have a shot at conjuring the same majesty and terror he commanded originally in the character’s return to the big screen, Star Wars: Rogue One can’t get here fast enough.