Darth Vader Confirmed to Return in Han Solo Movie?

We have some pretty big news for the still untitledHan Solomovie. It may be exciting to some and groan-worthy for others, but it is still undoubtedly huge. We now have a report that confirms the presence of Darth Vader in theHan Solomovie. It is completely unclear at this point how large of a role the famedSith Lordwill have, but it appears that he is going to be on screen, which brings up a great many questions.

The news comes courtesy of That Hashtag Show, who site “a source close to the production” that has revealed someone was on the set of theHan Solomovie in Darth Vader’s armor as recently as two weeks ago. They couldn’t confirm who it was in the armor or how much the actor filmed, but he was there. So it appears that onceRon Howard stepped into do some very extensive reshoots on the movie, Lucasfilm also decided it might be a good idea to bring one of the most iconic figures in all ofStar Warshistory into the mix.

In the originalStar Warstrilogy, David Prowse actually played Darth Vader on screen, though, most people associate the role with James Earl Jones, since he provided the voice. David Prowse has always embraced his turn asDarth Vader, but at the age of 81 wasn’t able to put on the suit again forRogue One: A Star Wars Story. In came Spencer Wilding, who was in part responsible for what we see of Darth Vader in that movie. Daniel Naprous is also credited with playing Darth Vader inRogue Onein certain scenes. But since Spencer Wilding was said to be in theHan Solomovie, that led to initial speculation that Vader will appear in theHan Solomovie. However, Wilding did make a pretty definitive statement making it clear that he wasn’t portraying the Sith Lord this time around.

This doesn’t leave us with a whole lot to go on, but if Darth Vader is indeed going to appear in the untitledHan Solomovie in any capacity, that has big implications. Han Solo never encountered Darth Vader untilStar Wars: A New Hope, so unless Lucasfilm wants to rework the timeline a bit, it isn’t likely thatAlden Ehrenreich’s Han Solois actually going to cross paths with Darth Vader. However, Ron Howard has teased a massive Imperial presence in the movie and even hinted that the Death Star may be making an appearance. With that, it is entirely possible Darth Vader could show up for a quick scene that may help get some meat in the seats. Even if it may not be totally necessary.

After directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired just weeks before production was scheduled to end on the {Han Solo] {16} spin-off, Lucasfilm had to reassess the situation and do some damage control. Bringing in Ron Howard was part of that plan, but giving people reason to get excited about this movie is surely another. While it may annoyhardcore Star Wars fans,Rogue Oneproved that Darth Vader sells tickets. So why not put him in theHan Solomovie? At least from a marketing perspective.