The Reveal Shot of Darth Vader in ROGUE ONE Was Found By Accident
Darth Vader is going to be making an epic comeback to the big screen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It's going to be so cool to see him back up on the big screen and fighting against the Rebels. Apparently, Vader made his big reveal in an exclusive trailer for the film that screened at Star Wars Celebration this past weekend.
The character's reveal came in the reflection of a red glowing console. This is the first shot of Vader that fans will see in the movie, and according to director Gareth Edwards, the way the villain was revealed came by accident. While talking to ComicBook.com at the event, Edwards said that they had built 360-degree sets so that he could shoot at any angle and that's how the reveal shot of Vader was discovered. He says:
“That was born out of all the experimenting we were talking about. You don’t go, ‘I want this, this is the shot I want.’ They built the whole set, they had a reflection, Vader went in there and we’re looking at the reflection going, ‘That’s fucking cool!’ So as we’re filming, we’re like, go down, go down, and just playing around, and things happen that you wouldn’t have asked for. That was a great example of it. I would’ve never picked that shot, but then it’s in front of you and you get excited about something, and he’s such an iconic – he’s the most iconic character in all of cinema, potentially. To hear everyone cheer when they saw his silhouette, you feel like, ‘that is worth everything.’”
I really hope that they show this trailer at the Comic-Con panel for Rogue One! I'm bummed that they didn't release it online this weekend, but it gives us something to look forward to. Edwards went to explain that it was a process of him to figure out the right way to use Vader in the film as he has such a gravitational pull. So, instead of focusing on that he just focused on the story and characters and just dropped Vader in the places where he was needed. He then talked about his goal for the film:
"Hopefully, the goal, is that you come to the film for all the reasons we love Star Wars, and you get sucked in, and care about the new people, and then as you’re in the midst of all that, familiar things start to pass by."
I think that's what all the fans are hoping for as well. When previously talking about the character, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said that Vader "will be in the movie sparingly. But at a key, strategic moment, he’s going to loom large.” Edwards added:
“Within the Rebellion, it’s not commonly spoken about. Within the Empire, there is the culture of knowing of the existence of Darth Vader. There’s definitely an underlying feeling that there is a power – a dark power – available to the Empire and that if you overstep your mark, you will suffer the consequences.”
Darth Vader will once again be voiced by James Earl Jones, which is fantastic. The movie is set to be released on December 16th, 2016.