No, it’s not Hayden Christensen as we all had hoped, and no, it’s not David Prowse (respectively he’s an elder statesmen now), but thanks to a confirmed source we now know the name of the man who will don the mask of the most feared Sith Lord in the Galaxy…
Thanks to a report from Flickering Myth, we now know the name of the actor who will don the mask and cap of the dread Sith Lord, Darth Vader, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, when it hits theaters worldwide in December, later this year. Here’s what the site had to say:
"“Our sources are telling us that in fact British actor Spencer Wilding has been cast to play the body of Darth Vader in Rogue One. Wilding is mostly a stunt actor and has had bit parts in Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman Begins,Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Wrath of the Titans. We first heard of his casting last year, but waited for more confirmation on the story before running it.”"
FM does go on to say that James Earl Jones has not been confirmed to do the voice of Vader, but that Wildling has been seen reading lines on set as the Sith Lord, which leads one to believe, either Wildling has the deep voice to pull-off a Vader voice in post-production, or there will be a new Vader voice brought in, to do all the voice work, once post-production begins.
"“Our source also confirms that Wilding has been running lines while on set, so Darth Vader will have a speaking role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. However he will likely be dubbed by James Earl Jones just as David Prowse was when he played Vader in the Original Trilogy. We sadly don’t have confirmation that Jones will be coming back to reprise his role.”"
Next: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Official Poster
There you have it. Now, I’m sure James Earl Jones wouldn’t pass up a chance to bring that deep and menacing voice to Vader, once again, especially since he has reprised the role for Star Wars Rebels. I fully realize the rigors of shooting a film is much more menacing and hard on the vocal chords that shooting an animated series, but Jones is a legend, and if he’s able, I’m hoping he’ll do it. Thanks to Flickering Myth for the scoop.