Credit: Lucasfilm/Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Star Wars has been one of many older franchises that feature iconic villains that have remained popular characters among pop culture, and Darth Vader has been at the top of that seemingly endless list. With the influence that came with Darth Vader, he appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy in the 70s, all the way up to 2022 with Obi-Wan Kenobi. While the appearance of Darth Vader has been seen across various pieces of Star Wars material, the voice of Darth Vader has been just as, if not more, important than the physical appearance of the Darth Vader character. Below we’ve detailed Darth Vader appearances, both physically and vocally, but more specifically, the voice of Darth Vader appearances and their importance throughout the franchise.
Credit: Lucasfilm/Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Darth Vader
Darth Vader made his debut in our hearts and Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977, but since then, the character has appeared in various Star Wars projects, vocally and physically, and both versions of the character have been menacing in their way. Another that somehow doesn’t know that Anakin Skywalker was the man before the transformation would have been initially called Anakin Starkiller had Mark Hamill’s character of Luke Skywalker kept the name change. The character of Darth Vader may have started as one of the darkest and most cynical forces in the Star Wars franchise, but the prequel trilogy of Star Wars showcased the inevitable turn to the dark side that the young prophecy holder had faced. With the prequel trilogy of Star Wars leading audiences to the events of the movies they saw in the 70s and 80s, many factors and questions were answered decades later, from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. However, as the second trilogy of movies was the earlier stories of the Star Wars universe, different actors had to play roles of the reestablished characters from the first Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope to Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.
Credit: Lucasfilm/Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Darth Vader Actors
As Darth Vader was technically two different characters within the different Star Wars trilogies, George Lucas has referred to the original trilogy, Episode IV to Episode VI, as the tragedy of Darth Vader, which very much falls in line with the space opera genre that Star Wars has dominated for the last few decades. However, the actors and the voice appearances of Darth Vader have made a monumental impact on the entire Star Wars franchise and future media released after the original film that introduced the character. In the original Star Wars trilogy that contained Episode IV to Episode VI, Darth Vader was physically portrayed by David Prowse, an actor but, most interestingly, a bodybuilder and weightlifter. Although David Prowse had the physique to portray the massively dark and ominous character of Darth Vader, a fencer was used by the name of Bob Anderson for the lightsaber battles, for incredibly authentic fight scenes. As Hayden Christensen has portrayed Darth Vader’s transformation in the prequel trilogy as he went from young palatine of the prophecy to the Empire Sith Lord Darth Vader, the character has universally been used as the current and younger Darth Vader candidate. The role of Darth Vader has also been portrayed in live-action outside of the Star Wars trilogy films, as the character also appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which also increased the chance of a Darth Vader headlined movie.
Credit: Lucasfilm/Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Darth Vader Voice
Initially, for Darth Vader’s role, George Lucas intended to use the actor that portrayed Darth Vader physically. Still, when David Prowse had too strong of an English accent, George Lucas proposed George Orwell, one of the most famous voices in entertainment even today. However, as the voice was too recognizable, George Lucas went with the now famously Darth Vader, James Earl Jones. James Earl Jones, who was uncredited for his vocal roles as Darth Vader until the release of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, most recently signed the rights to the voice of Darth Vader over to Respeecher, as the company successfully recreated Darth Vader’s voice for use in Obi-Wan Kenobi, as James Earl Jones has decided to retire from the role. While the menacing appearance of Darth Vader as a character has been dark enough on its own, the voice of Darth Vader supplied a surprise additional darkness to the character and the entirety of the Star Wars franchise as the character has been featured almost endlessly across various forms of Star Wars media. Outside of the live-action Star Wars Darth Vader appearances, additional appearances of Darth Vader’s voice were made in other extensions of the Star Wars universe with radio shows and animated media such as the Clone Wars series and movie and the other animated series Rebels.