There are few movie roles more iconic than James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars universe.
Related: Thief Attempts to Steal Darth Vader’s Original ‘Star Wars’ Helmet
From the moment Jones first spoke as the famous Star Wars villain in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) — recently deceased actor David Prowse wore the suit — he was cemented in cinematic history.
Over the past 40-some years, Jones has provided the voice of Darth Vader for a wide range of Star Wars projects. Wookieepedia provides a full list:
- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- The Star Wars Holiday Special
- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
- Star Wars Rebels
- Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion (ABC premiere)
- Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
- Star Wars Rebels – “Shroud of Darkness”
- Star Wars Rebels – “Twilight of the Apprentice”
- Star Wars Rebels – “A World Between Worlds”
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
Related: Incredible Artwork Imagines Hayden Christensen’s Darth Vader Return
Now, following confirmation that Hayden Christensen — who played Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequel trilogy between 1999-2005 — will return to reprise his role in the upcoming Disney+ streaming mini-series, OBI-WAN KENOBI: An Original Series, fans are wondering if James Earl Jones will also be back, as the voice coming out of Darth Vader’s helmet.
This certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility — Disney and Lucasfilm executives are clearly open to having former Star Wars icons return to the Star Wars universe. Ewan McGregor is slated to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the standalone season of OBI-WAN KENOBI: An Original Series and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) both just did voice work for the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special (2020).
Rumors also abound that Darth Vader’s son, Luke Skywalker — who a CGI de-aged Mark Hamill recently played in The Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode alongside Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and the rest of the Mandalorian cast — is set to get his own series. These remain unconfirmed, but are certainly plausible given Star Wars’ current trajectory and the popularity of Grogu (AKA The Child AKA Baby Yoda), who is currently training with the famed Jedi Master.
Related: NEW Luke Skywalker Disney+ Series Reportedly In Development
The events of The Mandalorian occur approximately five years after Star Wars: Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi (1983), so it is also possible that James Earl Jones could do some type of voice acting for a Mandalorian spinoff series, depending on how the Skywalker and Grogu story arc progresses.
Social media is abuzz with the prospect of Jone’s return to what is, perhaps, his most famous role in an illustrious Hollywood career. Below, we take a look at what Star Wars fans are saying.
Twitter user Kory Mills seems confident in Jones’s return to a galaxy far, far away, writing:
So Hayden Christensen is coming back for Obi-Wan. So James Earl Jones is too, yeah?
So Hayden Christensen is coming back for Obi-Wan. So James Earl Jones is too, yeah?
— Kory Mills (@_k_Millz) December 14, 2020
David Betancourt shared a Darth Vader GIF that reads “If you only knew the power of the dark side” with the caption:
Man o man do I hope they get James Earl Jones to voice Vader for the Obi-Wan series
Man o man do I hope they get James Earl Jones to voice Vader for the Obi-Wan series pic.twitter.com/LRcTrU9BXb
— David Betancourt (@adcfanboy) December 18, 2020
Rampaging Elephant wrote:
If Hayden Christiansen is coming back as “Darth Vader” in Obi-Wan Kenobi and he’ll be in the suit, does that mean James Earl Jones will be coming back too? I feel like we’ll see Anakin out of the Vader suit, but I also feel like we gotta see the full Vader suit. Also they have to do some sort of flashback to the Clone Wars to see the comradery [sic: camaraderie] between Anakin and Obi-Wan.
If Hayden Christiansen is coming back as “Darth Vader” in Obi-Wan Kenobi and he’ll be in the suit, does that mean James Earl Jones will be coming back too? I feel like we’ll see Anakin out of the Vader suit, but I also feel like we gotta see the full Vader suit. Also they have to
— Rampaging Elephant (@rampagelephant) December 17, 2020
Craig Koban of Craig’s Cinema Corner asked his followers:
Everyone is gleaming about #HaydenChristensen returning to #StarWars to play Darth Vader in the Disney+ Obi-Wan series (which is definitely cool), but has James Earl Jones been committed to the cast as well?
Everyone is gleaming about #HaydenChristensen returning to #StarWars to play Darth Vader in the Disney+ Obi-Wan series (which is definitely cool), but has James Earl Jones been committed to the cast as well?
— ???????'? ?????? ?????? ??? (@CraigKoban) December 13, 2020
Right now, neither Lucasfilm nor Walt Disney Company executives have commented on whether or not James Earl Jones will return as Darth Vader’s voice for any upcoming Disney+ Star Wars streaming shows — though some unconfirmed online rumors have started to surface about Lucasfilm trying to bring the actor back to the Star Wars franchise as the Sith Lord.
It is important to remember the Hollywood icon will turn 90-years-old next year, so time may be of the essence in regard to his reprisal — Jones has not announced retirement from the public eye, however.
Stay tuned to Inside the Magic for the latest on all of Disney’s huge slate of new streaming Star Wars content, including OBI-WAN KENOBI: An Original Series, which will be set about 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and is set to begin filming in January in the United Kingdom.
Do you hope James Earl Jones comes back as the Dark Lord to perform Darth Vader’s voice again?