Well, it was something that most of us assumed was going to be happening, but now it is confirmed. Iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader will be appearing in the franchise’s first spinoff film Rogue One.
Entertainment Weekly broke the news in a tease for what will be their cover story in their next issue. They don’t offer much additional information now about Vader’s involvement in the story. But it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he is in conflict with the “ambitious [Imperial] officer, who’s eager to earn the favor of the Emperor” being played by Ben Mendelsohn.
This should really come as a surprise to no one. We’ve known that for a while that the film’s storyline of the Rebels who steal the plans to the Death Star runs right up to just before the opening of the first Star Wars film. Since Vader was in charge of the pursuit at that point, it seemed like a no-brainer that he would come into Rogue One‘s story at some point to start that chase.
EW also teased that their coverage would contain more information Felicity Jones’s character Jyn Erso, leader of the rag tag group that sets out to capture the Death Star plans. They will also reveal more information, including character names hopefully, of the rest of the group being played by Diego Luna, Jiang Wen, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker, and Alan Tudyk.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens December 16th.
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