Pick upEntertainment Weeklys collectors edition ofThe Ultimate Guide to Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyon newsstands now.
Star Warsfans have been counting down the days untilRogue Onesince the moment it was first announced.
But would any of us be this excited if the new film didnt include Darth Vader?
Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Thats because Darth Vader is, was and always will be the greatest movie villain of all time.
I suppose some people could make a case for Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates or Dracula.
Maybe even the Wicked Witch of the West or Lord Voldemort.
But to paraphrase a certain Sith Lord, I find their lack of faith disturbing.
Mostly, its his helmet that haunts usa sci-fi riff on the Japanese samurais Kabuto.
This swaggering onyx specter doesnt speak .
His entrance is beyond language.
All we hear is the echoing in-and-out rhythm of his breaths.
As Obi-Wan will later say with sadness, hes more machine, now, than man.
But soon Vader will speak.
Who is this person?Isthis a person?
Its the stuff of childhood nightmares.
And Vader haunts every frame of theStar Warsseries.
Hes the bogeyman we see even when we dont.
Especially when we dont.
If Vaders black-on-black iconography is a bit on the nose, nothing else about him is.
He was once a Jedi Knight (the best star pilot in the galaxy, according to Obi-Wan).
Its hard to imagine a more loaded Freudian backstory ever put on celluloid.
Its often been said thatStar Warsis Luke Skywalkers heros journey.
And thats true as far as it goes.
But the hero at the heart of George Lucass intergalactic saga pales next to the storys villain.
Luke doesnt have the same charisma or complexity.
Vader is on a different and more seductive journey the antiheros journey.
And its far more psychologically thrilling because its messy and murky and even more human.
He was the Chosen One meant to bring balance to the Force.
Ultimately he has to make a choiceand he makes two.
First, to become cinemas ultimate fallen angel.
Even for someone as evil as Darth Vader, theres a chance for redemption.
The circle, as someone once said, is now complete.
