So its been some time now since officials have confirmed that the famed antagonist, Darth Vader, will be making his return to the big screen this winter when the new "Rogue One" film comes out. Whether thats a good thing or not remains to be seen.
As both a Star Wars and a Disney fan, I've spent some time contemplating how I feel about this move. Sure theres already been both very negative and very positive feedback, but what should we really expect from the upcoming spinoff? Well, we know that (for the most part) Star Wars: The Force Awakens- Disneys first attempt to expand the Star Wars universe- was a major success. Many had asked this time last year: How will they be able to make a sequel good enough to carry on the Star Wars legacy without trashing it? Well now we know, so Disney is especially ready to take on its next project: recapturing the famed villian that is Vader. One area of concern thats often overlooked is that "Rogue One" director Gareth Edwards has made movies in the past that haven't lived up to the hype. Just look at his 2014 release of "Godzilla". Its fanbase had looked forward to the release of that movie, but when it came out, people were disappointed to say the least. It had its moments, but overall, I'd say the trailers gave it more quality than the movie itself. At this point, all we can do is hope and pray that Edwards pulls off a major Abrams-eque move with Vader and the spinoff.
What will be nice is the fact that my generation has never really grown up with Darth Vader on the big screen; we've grown up with Anakin Skywalker in those sorry-excuse-for-prequel movies. Having the old Dark Lord of the Sith return on screen- and at a time were he's in his prime- should be a site to see. I admire Disney's spirit of optimism, given not many would even dare to think about bringing him back. However, they better make sure it pays off. Otherwise, they've got blood on their hands. Many have said he will be used in moderations, which is definitely a wise thing to do; but still: its Darth Vader we're talking about. I have full faith in Disney, but hopefully they don't get too carried away.
As much as i embrace the fact that Kylo Ren is the Star Wars villain of my generation, its kind of easy to forget how powerful Vader was. Some of the stunts that Ren pulled off- like killing his father, Han Solo-were darker than anything i had ever seen Vader do in the original trilogy. It surely made Kylo Ren look like an even stronger menace of the dark side than poor old Darth. But thats precisely why I mostly agree with bringing in Vader to do a film oncemore. I want to be reminded (and shown), for the first time ever, the chaos that Darth Vader is capable of creating in his prime. I want to be reminded of why he is essentially the face of the Star Wars franchise. I want to be reminded of why he is still the most powerful villain of all. Thats why people should get excited about Darth Vaders return.
