Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in movie history, and is set to make his return to the big screen in 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'.
Below are 26 awesome behind-the-scenes facts about the Sith Lord. Check them out!
Sources at the end.
1/26) Despite being the main villain of the first movie, Darth Vader only appears on screen for 12 minutes. He was also originally going to be killed off in the trench scene.
2/26) David Prowse, the actor in the Darth Vader suit, had his voice dubbed over because of his thick Bristol accent. Prowse was furious, believing he was a victim of 'reverse racism' because they had no black actors in the cast and the studio didn't want to look bad, although James Earl Jones, who ended up voicing Darth Vader, wasn't credited.
The cast and crew called Prowse 'Darth Farmer' because of his accent.
3/26) The sound of Vader's helmet being lowered onto his body was the sound of someone putting their hand over a vacuum tube while it was still sucking in dust.
4/26) In an early outtake in The Empire Strikes Back, when Vader entered the Hoth base, he tripped over a cable and fell down face-first.
5/26) Darth Vader was the first character that George Lucas created for the Star Wars universe.
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6/26) George Lucas originally wanted legendary film director Orson Welles to do Darth Vader's voice, but decided against it, feeling that Welles' voice would be too recognizable.
7/26) The original Star Wars movie is the only movie where Darth Vader's signature theme "The Imperial March" is not played in some form or another, as it had not been written at the time.
8/26) James Earl Jones and David Prowse, who play the voice and body of Darth Vader respectively, have never met.
9/26) Darth Vader being Luke's father was not a plot point when they made the first Star Wars movie. It was added in while writing the script for The Empire Strikes Back. This is why there's some plot holes in the dialogue when rewatching the first movie.
The secret that Vader was Luke's father was such a secret that only five people knew about it: George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan, Mark Hamill, and James Earl Jones.
While filming that iconic scene, David Prowse was told to say the line "Obi-Wan killed your father." to get the same reaction from Mark Hamill for when they dubbed the "I am your father" line over.
10/26) For Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas deliberately made the Darth Vader suit top-heavy by adding weight on the helmet to make Hayden Christensen not appear "too accustomed" to it in the movie.
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11/26) James Earl Jones specifically requested that he not be credited for voicing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars. At the time, the reason he cited was that he felt he had not done enough work to get the billing, but he later admitted that he didn't want his name associated with the film because he was still an up-and-coming actor, and didn't want to be typecast. Jones does receive billing in the subsequent sequels and the 1997 "Special Edition."
12/26) Darth Vader mask had to be padded with foam because it was much too large to fit over David Prowse's face properly.
13/26) Ben Burtt created the sound of Darth Vader's breathing by placing a small microphone in the second stage (mouthpiece) of a scuba regulator, and then recording the sound made by his breathing through the regulator.
14/26) Darth Vader sarcastically inviting Han to dinner in The Empire Strikes Back is the only time in any of the "Star Wars" films that Vader speaks directly to Han.
15/26) If you listen very carefully as Darth Vader picks up the Emperor and throws him down the Death Star shaft. This is the only time the Jedi theme music plays over a shot of Vader, reflecting his return to the light side of the Force.
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16/26) James Earl Jones admitted that he didn't believe that Darth Vader truly became a good guy at the end. When asked, he replied with, "Not necessarily. I didn't want to believe him. I thought he was lying."
17/26) David Prowse was unaware that Darth Vader was Luke's father until he saw the film and was quite upset with George Lucas afterwards, saying his physical acting would have been completely different if he'd known the real line.
James Earl Jones himself believed that Darth Vader was lying about being Luke's father until he read the script for the next film.
18/26) There's an actual science behind why Yoda told Luke that Darth Vader was his father: Lucas had consulted with a child psychologist during the making of Return of the Jedi. The psychologist said that unless it was unequivocally stated that Vader was Luke's father, moviegoers age 12 and under would dismiss Vader's claim to be Luke's father as a lie.
19/26) David Prowse only portrayed Darth Vader completely for the first half of the Return of the Jedi. In the second half of the movie, the character was played by Bob Anderson, a stuntman, during the fight sequence, and Sebastian Shaw after the character is unmasked.
Because of this, Ian McDiarmid, who plays the Emperor, and David Prowse have never met in real life.
20/26) Originally, when Luke takes Darth Vader's helmet before he dies, the scene was going to involve Luke putting on his father's mask and dawning himself the 'new Darth Vader'. Many fans loved the idea but George Lucas hated it since he deemed Star Wars as a film series meant for children.
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21/26) Shooting the scene of Vader's unmasking was handled with so much secrecy that the actor, Sebastian Shaw was not even told what he would be doing until he arrived at the set. He was spotted by his old friend, Ian McDiarmid, who played the Emperor. He asked Shaw what he was doing there, and Shaw answered, "I don't know. They haven't told me anything about it except that it has something to do with science fiction."
22/26) When Vader saves Skywalker by killing Palpatine, he fulfills the Jedi prophecy. He destroys the embodiment of the Dark Side and returns to the light. In doing so, he brings balance to the Force, just as the prophecy predicted.
23/26) Anakin Skywalker's original name was meant to be Anikan Starkiller.
24/26) Anakins mother claimed that her son was conceived without a father, Qui-Gon Jinn theorised that the will of the Force caused his birth.
25/26) Darth Vaders mask was designed by Ralph McQuarrie. It was originally supposed to be only worn as part of Vaders spacesuit, it wasnt intended to be part of the regular costume.
26/26) In the novel Splinter of the Minds Eye (1978), Darth Vader and Luke duel, and Luke cuts off Vaders right arm.
