Darth Vader May Still Be Voiced By James Earl Jones In 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'

Yesterday (10 March) we got our first proper look at yet another Star Wars project. This time, it is the turn of Obi-Wan Kenobi to make his TV bow in a soon-to-release show named after him.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is set directly at the mid-point between the movies Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope, and depicts how Kenobi went from screaming on the side of a lava pit, shredding his apprentice limb from limb, to a zen-like master out in the desert. However, it's not the return of Ewan McGregor reprising his role as the Jedi master which people are eager to see. Rather, it's the return of our boy in black, Darth Vader.

The best of the Darths was last properly seen on screen in 2016's Rogue One, when he was played simultaneously by a former professional boxer and a stunt actor. However, for Obi-Wan the team has gone for something a little more nostalgic. While he may not be able to pull off the moves of those athletes, we are being blessed with a wave of warmth in seeing Hayden Christensen reprise the role he slowly grew into in the prequel movies.

Watch the new trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi below...

While Christensen will be inside the suit, Vader is infamous for having a number of different actors play the character simultaneously. Fans will most fondly remember the voice of the original Vader of 1977, played in the deep tones of the now-91-year-old James Earl Jones (while the role was acted by the late David Prowse).

While it might seem a given that we won't hear James Earl Jones as Vader again, due to his age, you would be mistaken. If a 92-year-old Dick Van Dyke can jump on a table and do a little tap dance for the Mary Poppins reboot, frankly anything is possible in Hollywood. James Earl Jones is also very much still in the business, appearing in last year's Coming To America 2.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Obi-Wan writer Joby Harold said: "It was so important to have Hayden be a part of this project because he is such a massive part of that character. It was a priority to all of us that we did it with as much care as possible, so as to honour one of the greatest villains and antagonists in the history of entertainment."

Well, we can name one other person who is "such a massive part of that character". However, Harold and the team at Disney are currently tight lipped on whether we'll see Jones reprising the voice of one of history's greatest fictional bad guys. It's all a waiting game for now. 

Topics: Star Wars, TV And Film, Disney