# So... Darth Vader will return in Ep. VII. How d'ya think they'll do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822 "2012-11-12T20:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/21 "2012-11-12T22:57:58Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Didn’t they just find a script writer for this like, two days ago? I’m a little sceptical of any leaked plot details. Well he’s actually been on the job for six months, but even so I also think this entire article is complete nonsense by somebody who has only seen the Star Wars movies once, in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/22 "2012-11-12T23:29:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Actually, it might be even better if he had his arm and legs cut off and fell into molten lava, and came back in a bionic suit of armor. [Like this?](http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2010/151/4/a/Darth_Jar_Jar_by_pcsamurai.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/23 "2012-11-12T23:39:16Z")
Time travel! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/24 "2012-11-12T23:40:13Z")
He may return as a Force Ghost to advise Luke. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/25 "2012-11-12T23:45:47Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [Like this?](http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2010/151/4/a/Darth_Jar_Jar_by_pcsamurai.jpg) Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/26 "2012-11-12T23:50:27Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > What could turn him back to the Dark side? A 3-day weekend in Reno with Andy Dick? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/27 "2012-11-13T00:01:29Z")
Let’s just keep it simple: Flashback. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/28 "2012-11-13T00:12:00Z")
Two scenarios come to mind that might work: 1. “Darth Vader” turns out to be Old Man Wilson trying to scare people away from a cave full of light saber crystals he was planning to sell to the New Jedi Order at an exorbitant markup. And he would’ve gotten away with it if not for those meddling kids(the children of the Original Heroes, including Lando Jr. and Lil’ Jar Jar in the name of diversity and comic relief(it is a Disney movie after all)) 2. Luke returns to Dagobah to do the Cave Test properly and has a long heart to heart with the Vader Thing/Nega Luke inside. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/29 "2012-11-13T00:14:53Z")
I hope the new Star Wars is a take-off of _The Usual Suspects_ with Darth Vader as Keyser Soze. “Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader!” “Nooooo!” “The kind of man who can wrangle the wills of people like Padme and Obi-Wan. The kind of man who could engineer a police state, for all these years of contacts in the Imperial Senate. The kind of man who could kill all the young Jedis at the academy?. _3 Seconds of silence_ Yes, they were all found dead, lightsaber wounds to all of them. He used all of you to get him on that ship. He couldn’t get on alone and he had to pull the trigger himself to make sure he got his man. The one man that could identify him.” “This is all bullshit.” “He left you to stay behind and tell us he was dead. You saw him die, right? Or did you? You had to hide when Obi-Wan showed up. You heard the shot, just before the fire but you didn’t see him die.” “I knew him. He would never -” “He programmed you to tell us just what he wanted you to. Customs has been investigating him for years. He knew we were close. You said it yourself. Where is the political pressure coming from? Why are you being protected? It’s Vader making sure you tell us what you’re supposed to. Immunity is your reward.” “BUT WHY ME? WHY NOT C-3PO: OR Lando: OR Chewie:? I’m a Gungan. I’m stupid. Why me?” “Because you’re a Gungan, Jar-Jar. Because you’re stupid. Because you were weaker than them. If he’s dead, Jar Jar - if what you say is true, then it won’t matter. It was his idea to hit Alderran? Tell me the truth.” “It was all Anakin. We followed him from the beginning. I didn’t know. I saw him die. I believe he’s dead. Christ.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/30 "2012-11-13T00:15:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Let’s just keep it simple: Flashback. _Nooooooooooooooo!_ ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/31 "2012-11-13T00:17:05Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > He may return as a Force Ghost to advise Luke. This is the only thing I would accept, I think. Though that’s Anakin, not Vader, a key difference. But I don’t think it would happen anyway. Just seems like it was an entirely made up rumour, and there will be thousands of them over the next three years. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/32 "2012-11-13T00:33:36Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I hope the new Star Wars is a take-off of _The Usual Suspects_ with Darth Vader as Keyser Soze. > > “Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader!” > “Nooooo!” > “The kind of man who can wrangle the wills of people like Padme and Obi-Wan. The kind of man who could engineer a police state, for all these years of contacts in the Imperial Senate. The kind of man who could kill all the young Jedis at the academy?. _3 Seconds of silence_ Yes, they were all found dead, lightsaber wounds to all of them. He used all of you to get him on that ship. He couldn’t get on alone and he had to pull the trigger himself to make sure he got his man. The one man that could identify him.” > “This is all bullshit.” > “He left you to stay behind and tell us he was dead. You saw him die, right? Or did you? You had to hide when Obi-Wan showed up. You heard the shot, just before the fire but you didn’t see him die.” > “I knew him. He would never -” > “He programmed you to tell us just what he wanted you to. Customs has been investigating him for years. He knew we were close. You said it yourself. Where is the political pressure coming from? Why are you being protected? It’s Vader making sure you tell us what you’re supposed to. Immunity is your reward.” > “BUT WHY ME? WHY NOT C-3PO: OR Lando: OR Chewie:? I’m a Gungan. I’m stupid. Why me?” > “Because you’re a Gungan, Jar-Jar. Because you’re stupid. Because you were weaker than them. If he’s dead, Jar Jar - if what you say is true, then it won’t matter. It was his idea to hit Alderran? Tell me the truth.” > “It was all Anakin. We followed him from the beginning. I didn’t know. I saw him die. I believe he’s dead. Christ.” Genius ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/33 "2012-11-13T00:48:22Z")
Somebody once pointed out that the aftermath of _Return of the Jedi_ was not going to be as wonderful as the Ewok dancing party would indicate. Yes, Palpatine and Vader are dead and the Death Star is blown up. But the Empire is still out there. There must be dozens of Admirals and Generals in command of intact Imperial forces who have no reason to surrender to the Rebel Alliance. Think of it as being like we killed Hitler in 1943 - it wouldn’t have ended WWII, it just would have created a power struggle in Berlin as Himmler and Goering and Goebbels and Bormann fought over who got to be the new Fuehrer. So there’s good potential for drama and action as the Rebel Alliance has to try to come out on top in the middle of a galactic civil war. You might even see Luke and Leia and Han being forced to make deals with some of the Imperial factions. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/34 "2012-11-13T01:01:46Z")
I have trouble believing that Vader would return - yes, he’s the most recognizable of any Star Wars character and Disney loves making money - but I just can’t see a good way to bring him back (assuming the movies are sequels). Clones are lame. Only half-decent idea I can think of is some sort of imposter/inheritor to the title. It seems strange for someone to be wearing his armor (as opposed to say, a stormtrooper’s, or Boba Fett’s) as it was full of life-support stuff, but then again Cade Skywalker wore the pants in Legacy. Returning as some sort of Force ghost is possible, I suppose… a non-visible ghost animating his armor would be pretty cool, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/35 "2012-11-13T01:07:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Somebody once pointed out that the aftermath of _Return of the Jedi_ was not going to be as wonderful as the Ewok dancing party would indicate. Yes, Palpatine and Vader are dead and the Death Star is blown up. But the Empire is still out there. There must be dozens of Admirals and Generals in command of intact Imperial forces who have no reason to surrender to the Rebel Alliance. Think of it as being like we killed Hitler in 1943 - it wouldn’t have ended WWII, it just would have created a power struggle in Berlin as Himmler and Goering and Goebbels and Bormann fought over who got to be the new Fuehrer. > > So there’s good potential for drama and action as the Rebel Alliance has to try to come out on top in the middle of a galactic civil war. You might even see Luke and Leia and Han being forced to make deals with some of the Imperial factions. The Extended Universe deals with this. Summary–after years of fighting the New Republic, tired of war, signs a treaty with the Imperial Remnant, ultimately leading to the Fel Dynasty. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/36 "2012-11-13T01:13:37Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > When Vader was tossing Palpatine down the shaft, Palp used his powers to grab the dark side of Vader’s spirit and take it with him. The good half passed on to the spirit world, but the evil Vader half is still out there, waiting for a new body. Didn’t they actually do this, in one of the EU novels? Oh! I know! After his death, the villain uses fiendish cybernetic technology to ressurect Vader as a half-man, half machin… …oh. Right. … Yeah, I’m going with “Force Ghost,” too. The only question is if he’s going to be an _[evil](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100110203602/starwars/images/b/bd/WhiteVader.jpg)_ ghost or not. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/37 "2012-11-13T01:14:29Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > He may return as a Force Ghost to advise Luke. That’s my thought. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/38 "2012-11-13T02:03:59Z")
However they do it, I’m sure weak minds will be impressed. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/39 "2012-11-13T02:17:59Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > However they do it, I’m sure weak minds will be impressed. Oh, they will be. They will be. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822/40 "2012-11-13T02:44:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > However they do it, I’m sure weak minds will be impressed. This\* is \*the film you came to see. -Obi Wan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-darth-vader-will-return-in-ep-vii-how-dya-think-theyll-do-it/640822.md?page=3)