Star Wars: Will Darth Vader’s helmet play a role in Episode IX?

Darth Vader has always been a symbol of the dark side in Star Wars, but what if there is more to the icon when Episode IX hits theaters.

One of the most iconic symbols of Star Wars has been Darth Vader’s helmet. It symbolizes the dark side, the depths one could fall if they allow it to consume them.

In the prequels, when the helmet was finally put on Anakin, it meant the end to the man and the beginning of the Sith. When Vader’s helmet is removed again, it’s so he can see his son Luke Skywalker and we get a glimpse of the man he once was.

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In The Force Awakens, it’s still a symbol of the dark side. Kylo Ren owns the melted, charred mask but looked at it as a connection to the dark side.

So what role will Vader’s mask play in the Skywalker Saga finale?

Warning: While we are talking Star Wars theories, there is a potential for spoilers ahead.

It seems as though there is a lot more traction around what it could actually mean. Perhaps it could more than just a symbol, but right now those are just theories and rumors from poor sources.

Yet to wrap up the Skywalker Saga, there would have to be a way to bring it all together.

Here are the possibilities:

Vader’s helmet as a symbol

Perhaps it’s still just a symbol — a way for Kylo Ren to feel connected to the Dark Side since he killed Snoke. Without Snoke, there isn’t someone to guide him, lead him deeper into the Dark Side and use his powers for a different purpose than the Jedi.

Vader’s helmet as an essence holder

With Palpatine having an undefined role in Star Wars: Episode IX, the interesting thing fans are talking about is how will he come back. We’ve seen objects holding vessels before and Darth Plagueis’ goal was to extend life beyond its normal confines.

Perhaps Palpatine learned how to do that as well and had his essence transferred to Vader’s helmet before his death.

Which leads to another interesting possibility.

Vader’s helmet as the puppet master

While the helmet itself isn’t leading anyone, perhaps the essence inside is what has been really pulling Kylo Ren’s strings and not Snoke.

One redditor mentioned this as a possibility and it certainly seems plausible.

The idea takes me back to The Force Awakens and Kylo Ren talking to the helmet. He talks about his feelings and asks the helmet for forgiveness when he feels the urge to go to the light side. He asks the helmet to show him the power of the darkness.

He specifically says, “Show me again the power of the darkness and I will let nothing stand in our way.”

OUR! That implies there is at least two people involved in it. While we are taking aback that Kylo is talking to a charred Vader helmet, what if he actually heard a voice back. What if the helmet — or an essence in the helmet — has been speaking to Kylo and leading him the entire time and the audience just wasn’t in on the big secret yet.

What is he thought it was his grandfather, but has been Palpatine all along?

We’ll find out more when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20.