Darth Vader has stood the test of time as one of the greatest villains in movie history.
Yet for all the Star Wars baddie's fame and popularity, Disney doesn't seem to have any
intention of giving Darth Vader his own movie despite mining Star Wars lore for all sorts
of other spinoffs and prequels.
Why?
Here's a look at some of the reasons Disney won't give Darth Vader his own movie.
Been there, done that
So far, Disney's stand alone Star Wars spin-offs have been prequels that fill in gaps in franchise
history.
Rogue One explained how the Rebellion got the Death Star plans in A New Hope, while
Solo explores the early life of everyone's favorite scruffy nerf herder.
But there's not all that much left to tell about Darth Vader's past, because the prequels
went into great detail about exactly how and why Anakin Skywalker grew up to become Darth
Vader.
Even the gap between the prequels and the original trilogy has been filled in some thanks
to shows like Star Wars Rebels.
And even if they wanted to revisit Vader's early days, there's one big problem…
Anakin Skywalker ruined Darth Vader
Few things kill the mystique and awe associated with a legendary villain like seeing him as
a love-stricken, whiny teenage brat.
Sure, it made some sense that Anakin had anger issues - he did fall to the Dark Side, after
all.
But while the journey of Anakin to Vader could and should have been compelling, the actual
story on screen was anything but.
On the plus side, thanks to his burned-up body being forever locked away in a robotic
suit, Darth Vader never had to worry about feeling sand ever again.
But the prequels also killed fan interest in seeing Anakin ever again.
A little bit goes a long way
Remember all those other Star Wars projects we mentioned?
Well, they're set early enough for Darth Vader to be an active villain, allowing for plenty
of cool moments like his scene-stealing cameo in Rogue One.
And if there's one thing the prequels taught everyone, it's that Vader actually works best
in small doses.
If you look at the original trilogy, Vader actually doesn't appear on screen very much.
For example, it's estimated that he only appears in 12 minutes of A New Hope.
With Vader, less is more, and the looming threat of him appearing makes his eventual
appearance all the scarier.
A full length Vader spotlight film would go against decades of tradition, while also working
against the character's strength.
After all, as we learned from the prequels, familiarity breeds contempt.
So for now, fans will have to settle for Darth Vader being used as a plot device to drive
other stories - and that is probably for the best.
The rise of other Star Wars villains
While films like Solo seemed designed to mine Star Wars nostalgia, that nostalgia can only
take you so far, which is why movies like The Last Jedi have worked so hard to break
from tradition and establish something new and different.
While Vader might be iconic, he also now belongs to the past.
And with Disney working to establish new villains in the films like Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma,
and General Hux - not to mention new villains in the comics like the morally ambiguous Doctor
Aphra - putting the spotlight back on the previous generation of villains like Darth
Vader seems counterproductive.
James Earl Jones
As much as we love James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, we have to face reality: he won't be
around forever.
And does anybody really want to see a Darth Vader film where Vader is voiced by anyone
except Jones?
With Jones now in his late 80's, and no Vader film currently in development, it's very possible
that Disney may decide out of respect for Jones and his fans to squelch any future plans
for a Vader solo film.
"I have one thing to say to people like you…
I LIKE STAR WARS TOO!"
The past is the future is the past
Let's face it: Hollywood is a reboot-happy place.
The odds favor currently popular franchises being remade within a decade or two.
So could the much reviled Star Wars prequels get a complete overhaul too?
Think about it: no poorly acted, petulant Anakin Skywalker, no Jar Jar Binks, and no
midi-chlorians.
Nope, none of it ever happened.
Wiping the slate clean and rebooting the prequels by replacing them with a Vader solo franchise
might be the best chance the character has at getting his own film - and fixing the mistakes
of the past at the same time.
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