Rumor: Does Darth Vader make an appearance in Star Wars: Episode VII?

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII has yet to reveal much about plot or characters and we have been relying on second hand sources and the ever-churning rumor mill to satiate our desire to know everything about J.J. Abrams‘ foray into George Lucas‘ galaxy far, far away. Aside from the casting announcement, we know next to nothing aside from the setting of the film being thirty years after RETURN OF THE JEDI. Hell, we don’t even know for sure how the original cast fits into any of this.

A couple of tidbits have hit the Internet the last few days and both point to the return of a major character from all six STAR WARS films: Darth Vader. Now, any fan knows Vader died at the conclusion of Jedi and that his Force Ghost appeared to Luke, but there are new indications that Vader may appear in STAR WARS: EPISODE VII in more than just spirit.

First up is a tweet from Bad Robot regarding the UNICEF Force for Change contest which raised a ton of money for a worthy cause. It also will send a lucky fan on location for STAR WARS: EPISODE VII to be involved in an actual scene in the film. Bad Robot’s tweet appears below.

Now, I may be crazy, but do you remember those rumors that two characters find a severed hand clutching a lightsaber and must return it? It sounded like nonsensical bullshit at the time, but what if that hand is a robotic one versus flesh? And, whose hand resembles that one above? First guess would be Luke, but his hand had a layer of skin over it. This hand closely resembles the one Anakin Skywalker sports during ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Sure, if Luke’s hand is severed and the skin is removed, it may look similar, but who knows for sure.

The other item that has been swirling surrounding Lord Vader have been posts from WWE wrestler Sheamus. The athlete has been seen in his home country, specifically on Skellig Michael Island where shooting for STAR WARS: EPISODE VII has been taking place. Sheamus, prior to becoming a wrestler, played Darth Vader for a STAR WARS: EPISODE I promotional tour. With David Prowse likely too old to don the black suit, could we be getting another on screen Vader, possibly in flashbacks? Sheamus even tweeted the following.

It may seem a stretch for either of these to be true, and you cannot trust anything on the internet, but there are too many things aligning to ignore that we may truly be seeing everyone from the original trilogy back on screen. We may have to wait until December 18, 2015.