Darth Vader

The Darklord is a fictional character . The character is the primary antagonist in the original trilogy and, as **Anakin Skywalker**, is a primary protagonist in the prequel trilogy. *Star Wars* creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader". He has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever.

Originally a slave on Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker is a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine and becomes a Sith Lord, assuming the title of Darth Vader. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, in which he is severely injured, Vader is transformed into a cyborg. He then serves the Galactic Empire for over two decades as its chief enforcer. Vader ultimately redeems himself by saving his son, Luke Skywalker, and killing Palpatine, sacrificing his own life in the process. He is also the secret husband of Padmé Amidala, the biological father of Princess Leia, and the grandfather of Kylo Ren (Ben Solo).

The character has been portrayed by numerous actors: David Prowse physically portrayed Vader while James Earl Jones voiced him in the original trilogy, and Sebastian Shaw portrayed the unmasked Anakin in *Return of the Jedi*, as well as the character's spirit in the original release of that film. Jake Lloyd played Anakin Skywalker as a child in *The Phantom Menace*, the first film of the prequel trilogy, while Hayden Christensen played him as a young adult in the following two films.

In addition to the first six *Star Wars* films, the character appears in the anthology film *Rogue One*. He also appears in television series (most substantially *The Clone Wars*) and numerous iterations of the *Star Wars* Expanded Universe, including video games, novels, and comic books. Due to Vader's popularity, various merchandise of the character, such as action figures and replicas of his lightsaber, has been produced.

## Creation and development

### Name

George Lucas, who conceived of Vader

According to *Star Wars* creator George Lucas, he experimented with various combinations of names for the character built upon the phrase "Dark Water". Then he "added lots of last names, Vaders and Wilsons and Smiths, and ... just came up with the combination of Darth and Vader". After the release of *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980), Lucas stated that the name Vader was based upon the German/Dutch-language homophone *Vater* or *vader*, meaning 'father', making the name representative of a "Dark Father". Other words which may have inspired the name are "death" and "invader", as well as the name of a high-school upperclassman of Lucas's, Gary Vader.

As no other character with the title "Darth" was introduced until the release of *The Phantom Menace* (1999), some viewers interpreted it as the character's first name, in part because Obi-Wan Kenobi addresses him as "Darth" in the original film. The moniker is bestowed upon Anakin in *Revenge of the Sith* (2005) upon his turn to the dark side of the Force.

Director Ken Annakin's films *Swiss Family Robinson* and *Battle of the Bulge* influenced the original trilogy, leading some to believe that Anakin was named after him. Lucas' publicist denied this following Annakin's death in 2009. Anakin and Luke's original surname "Starkiller" remained in the script until a few months into filming *Star Wars*, when it was dropped due to what Lucas called "unpleasant connotations" with Charles Manson and replaced with "Skywalker".

#### In other countries

In France, the character's name was changed to "***Dark Vador***" starting with the original film. The names of other characters were changed too, but his is the only name that has been maintained even in the most recent films. The title "Dark" was used in place of "Darth" for the other Sith lords as well.

In the Italian-language editions, Darth Vader is named "***Dart Fener***". In 2005, before the release of Episode III, an on-line survey asked Italian fans whether they would rather maintain the Italian name or switch it to the original: the first option won. In 2015, when Episode VII had to be released, the Italian localisation decided to change the name to the English "Darth Vader".

In Iceland his name is "***Svarthöfði***" (which means "blackhead").

### Concept and writing

In the first draft of *The Star Wars*, tall, grim general "Darth Vader" was already close in line with his final depiction, and the protagonist Annikin Starkiller had a role similar to that of his son Luke's as the 16-year-old son of a respected warrior. Originally, Lucas conceived of the Sith as a group that served the Emperor in the same way that the SS served Adolf Hitler. In developing the backstory for *The Empire Strikes Back*, Lucas condensed this into one character in the form of Darth Vader.

After the success of the original *Star Wars* film, Lucas hired science-fiction author Leigh Brackett to write the sequel with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke. Lucas was disappointed with the script, but Brackett died of cancer before he could discuss it with her. With no writer available, Lucas wrote the next draft himself. In this draft, dated April 1, 1978, he made use of a new plot twist: Vader claims to be Luke's father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the year-long struggles writing the first film. Lucas has said that he knew Vader was Luke's father while writing the first film, though the relationship is not explicitly evidenced before said draft of *The Empire Strikes Back*.

The new plot element of Luke's parentage had drastic effects on the series. Author Michael Kaminski argues in *The Secret History of Star Wars* that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under a storyline where Vader was a separate character from Luke's father. After writing the second and third drafts in which the plot point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin had been Obi-Wan Kenobi's brilliant student and had a child named Luke, but was swayed to the dark side by Palpatine. Anakin battled Obi-Wan on a volcano and was badly wounded, but was then reborn as Vader. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan hid Luke on Tatooine while the Galactic Republic became the tyrannical Galactic Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi. An early draft of *Return of the Jedi* ended with Luke taking Vader's helmet and declaring, "Now I am Vader."

After deciding to create the prequel trilogy, Lucas indicated that the story arc would be a tragic one depicting Anakin's fall to the dark side. He also saw that the prequels could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death, in what he has termed "the tragedy of Darth Vader". This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "saga". For the first prequel, *Episode I: The Phantom Menace* (1999), Lucas made Anakin nine years old to make the character's separation from his mother more poignant. Movie trailers focused on Anakin and a one-sheet poster showing him casting Vader's shadow informed otherwise unknowing audiences of the character's eventual fate. The movie ultimately achieved a primary goal of introducing audiences to Anakin, as well as introducing the concept that he is the Chosen One of an ancient Jedi prophecy, destined to bring balance to the Force. Lucas states in an interview recorded around the time of the third prequel, *Revenge of the Sith* (2005), that "Anakin is the Chosen One. Even when Anakin turns into Darth Vader, he is still the Chosen One."

Michael Kaminski offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make fundamental story changes, first revising the opening sequence of *Revenge of the Sith* to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice, Count Dooku, killed by Anakin in cold blood as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side. After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas re-wrote Anakin's turn to the dark side; Anakin's fall from grace would now be motivated by a desire to save his wife, Padmé Amidala, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 2004.

During production of the animated *The Clone Wars* television series, Ahsoka Tano was developed to illustrate how Anakin develops from the brash, undisciplined Padawan apprentice in *Attack of the Clones* (2002) to the more reserved Jedi Knight in *Revenge of the Sith*. *Clone Wars* supervising director and *Star Wars Rebels* co-creator Dave Filoni said that giving Anakin responsibility for a Padawan was meant to place the character in a role that forced him to become more cautious and responsible. It would also give him insight into his relationship with Obi-Wan and depict how their relationship matured. Ahsoka and Anakin's relationship was seen as an essential story arc spanning both the animated film and *Clone Wars* television series. Filoni began thinking about the final confrontation between Ahsoka and Vader ever since he created the former; different iterations had different endings, including one in which Vader kills Ahsoka just as she slashes open his helmet to reveal his scarred face. A similar scene is included in an episode of *Rebels*, in which Ahsoka slashes Vader's helmet open, and the Sith Lord recognizes her. According to Filoni, Ahsoka's presence in the series allows Vader to encounter the show's lead characters without the latter being "destroyed", as Ahsoka can "stand toe-to-toe" with her former master.

### Design

Ralph McQuarrie incorporated samurai armor into his conceptual designs for Vader's costume in 1975.

The original design of Darth Vader's costume did not originally include a helmet. The idea that Vader should wear a breathing apparatus was first proposed by concept artist Ralph McQuarrie during preproduction discussions for *Star Wars* with George Lucas in 1975. McQuarrie stated that Lucas's artistic direction was to portray a malevolent figure in a cape with samurai armor. "For Darth Vader, George just said he would like to have a very tall, dark fluttering figure that had a spooky feeling like it came in on the wind." McQuarrie noted that the script indicated that Vader would travel between spaceships and needed to survive in the vacuum of space, and he proposed that Vader should wear some sort of space suit. Lucas agreed, and McQuarrie combined a full-face breathing mask with a samurai helmet, thus creating one of the most iconic designs of space fantasy cinema. McQuarrie's 1975 production painting of Darth Vader engaged in a lightsaber duel with Deak Starkiller (a character prototype for Luke Skywalker) depicts Vader wearing black armor, a flowing cape and an elongated, skull-like mask and helmet. Its similarity to the final design of Vader's costume demonstrates that McQuarrie's earliest conception of Vader was so successful that very little needed to be changed for production.

Darth Vader designers

Ralph McQuarrie

Brian Muir

Working from McQuarrie's designs, the costume designer John Mollo devised a costume that could be worn by an actor on-screen using a combination of clerical robes, a motorcycle suit, a German military helmet and a military gas mask. The prop sculptor Brian Muir created the helmet and armour used in the film.

The sound of the respirator function of Vader's mask was created by Ben Burtt using modified recordings of scuba breathing apparatus used by divers. The sound effect is trademarked in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under Trademark #77419252 and is officially described in the documentation as "The sound of rhythmic mechanical human breathing created by breathing through a scuba tank regulator."

Commentators have often pointed to the influence of Akira Kurosawa's films such as *The Hidden Fortress* (1958) on George Lucas, and Vader's samurai-inspired costume design is held up as a significant example of the Japanese influences on *Star Wars*.

### Portrayals

#### As Vader

David Prowse physically portrayed Vader in the original film trilogy.

Darth Vader was portrayed by bodybuilder David Prowse in the original film trilogy, with fencer Bob Anderson performing the character's lightsaber fight scenes. At 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall, George Lucas thought Prowse "brought a physicality to Darth Vader that was essential for the character ... with an imposing stature and movement performance to match the intensity and undercurrent of Vader’s presence."

Lucas chose to have a different actor be the voice of Vader, since Prowse had a strong West Country English accent that led the rest of the cast to nickname him "Darth Farmer". Lucas originally intended for Orson Welles to voice Vader, but after deciding that Welles's voice would be too recognizable, he cast the lesser-known James Earl Jones instead. Jones initially felt his contributions to the films were too small to warrant recognition and his role was uncredited at his request until the release of *Return of the Jedi* (1983). When Jones was specifically asked if he had supplied Vader's voice for *Revenge of the Sith*—either newly or from a previous recording—Jones answered, "You'd have to ask Lucas about that. I don't know." Hayden Christensen and Gene Bryant alternately portray Vader in *Revenge of the Sith*. During the production of *Revenge of the Sith*, Christensen asked Lucas if a special Vader suit could be constructed to fit his own body, rather than have a different actor don one of the original sets of Vader armor worn by Prowse. Brock Peters provided the voice of Darth Vader in the NPR/USC radio series. Both Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous portrayed Vader in *Rogue One* (2016), with Jones reprising his role as the character's voice.

Vader's character has also been portrayed in several video games; in games such as *Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire* and *Dark Forces*, visual effects artist C. Andrew Nelson appears in short sequences in the Vader costume, voiced by Scott Lawrence. Matt Sloan, who appeared in the YouTube parody *Chad Vader*, provided the voice of Darth Vader in *The Force Unleashed*. As a result of his video game appearances, Nelson was cast to appear as Vader in brief sequences inserted into the Special Edition of *The Empire Strikes Back*, in which Vader is seen boarding his shuttle.

#### As Anakin

Hayden Christensen portrayed Anakin Skywalker in the latter two episodes of the prequel trilogy, as well as other minor film appearances.

During production of *Return of the Jedi*, the casting crew sought an experienced actor for the role of Anakin Skywalker since his death was unquestionably the emotional climax of the film, and Sebastian Shaw was selected for the role. When Shaw arrived at the set for filming, he ran into his friend Ian McDiarmid, the actor playing the Emperor. When McDiarmid asked him what he was doing there, Shaw responded, "I don't know, dear boy, I think it's something to do with science-fiction." His presence during the filming was kept secret from all but the minimum cast and crew, and Shaw was contractually obliged not to discuss any film secrets with anyone, even his family. The unmasking scene, directed by Richard Marquand, was filmed in one day and required only a few takes, with no alteration from the original dialogue. Lucas personally directed Shaw for his appearance in the final scene of the film, in which he plays Anakin's Force spirit. Shaw's likeness in this scene was replaced with that of Christensen in the 2004 DVD release. This attempt to tie the prequel and original trilogies together was one of the most controversial changes in a *Star Wars* re-release. Shaw received more fan mail and autograph requests from *Return of the Jedi* than he had for any role in the rest of his career. He later reflected that he enjoyed his experience on the film and expressed particular surprise that an action figure was made of his portrayal.

When *The Phantom Menace* was being produced, hundreds of actors were tested for the role of young Anakin before the producers settled on Jake Lloyd, who Lucas considered met his requirements of "a good actor, enthusiastic and very energetic". Producer Rick McCallum said that Lloyd was "smart, mischievous and loves anything mechanical—just like Anakin." During production of *Attack of the Clones*, casting director Robin Gurland reviewed about 1,500 other candidates for the role of the young Anakin before Lucas eventually selected Hayden Christensen for the role, reportedly because he and Natalie Portman (the actress who plays Padmé Amidala) "looked good together". When *Revenge of the Sith* was being produced, Christensen and Ewan McGregor began rehearsing their climactic lightsaber duel long before Lucas would shoot it. They trained extensively with stunt coordinator Nick Gillard to memorize and perform their duel together. As in the previous prequel film, McGregor and Christensen performed their own lightsaber fighting scenes without the use of stunt doubles.

Anakin has also been voiced by Mat Lucas for the 2003 micro-series *Clone Wars*, and by Matt Lanter in the CGI animated film *The Clone Wars*, the television series of the same name and for Anakin's small roles in the animated series *Rebels* and *Forces of Destiny*. James Earl Jones reprised the voice role for Vader's appearances in *Rebels*. Both Lanter and Jones contributed their voices for the second-season finale of *Rebels*, at times with identical dialogue spoken by both actors blended together in different ways.

### Characteristics

In *Attack of the Clones*, Anakin Skywalker feels "smothered" by Obi-Wan Kenobi and is incapable of controlling his own life. By *Revenge of the Sith*, however, his "father-son" friction with his master has matured into a more equal, brotherly relationship. Once he becomes Darth Vader, each evil act he commits shatters any hope or connection towards his previous life, which makes it harder for him to return to the light, but he ultimately escapes the dark side and redeems himself by sacrificing his life to save his son, Luke Skywalker, and kill the Emperor in *Return of the Jedi*.

Eric Bui, a psychiatrist at University of Toulouse Hospital, argued at the 2007 American Psychiatric Association convention that Anakin Skywalker meets six of the nine diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD), one more than necessary for a diagnosis. He and a colleague, Rachel Rodgers, published their findings in a 2010 letter to the editor of the journal *Psychiatry Research*. Bui says he found Anakin Skywalker a useful example to explain BPD to medical students. In particular, Bui points to Anakin's abandonment issues and uncertainty over his identity. Anakin's mass murders of the Tusken Raiders in *Attack of the Clones* and the young Jedi in *Revenge of the Sith* count as two dissociative episodes, fulfilling another criterion. Bui hoped his paper would help raise awareness of the disorder, especially among teens.

1. ↑ Darklord