Facts about Darth Vader
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As a human, Darth Vader was 1.88 metres tall. After his transformation into a cyborg, he was 2.03 metres tall!
Anakin Skywalker was born 41 years before the Battle of Yavin and died 4 years after the Battle of Yavin as Darth Vader, making him 45 years old in total.
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Although Vader is the main antagonist in Star Wars Episode 4 - A New Hope, he only appears in the film for 12 minutes!
That's still 7 minutes longer than Tarkin's 5 minutes.
A variety of actors were involved in portraying the dark Sithlord:
Jake Loyd (Episode 1), Heyden Cristasen (Episode 2 & 3), Sebastian Shawn (Episode 6). David Prows played the iconic villain in episodes 4 & 5 and Bob Andason in the fight scenes. David Prows' voice was later replaced by that of James El Jones. In addition, 7 other actors have voiced the Dark Lord in various video games and series.
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It is rumoured that the swordsman Bob Anderson had to take over the fight scenes for Darth Vader in the original trilogy, as David Prows was too brutal and rough with the prop swords and they kept breaking as a result!
David Prows didn't realise until the release of Star Wars Episode 4 - A New Hope that his voice would be replaced with that of James El Jones. After learning of this, Prows simply stopped learning most of his lines in Episode 5 and Episode 6 and sometimes narrated nonsense on camera!
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The reason for replacing the voice of David Prows was that the voice of the embodiment of the iconic villain sounded so banal that the other actors simply called David Prows ‘Darth Farmer’.
A dispute between the creator of Star Wars George Lucas and David Prows escalated due to the teasing of David Prows' banal-sounding voice. The actor David Prows, who felt he had been treated unfairly, began to slander the Star Wars films in public, which ended in a legal dispute between George Lucas and Prows. The result of the dispute was that Prows was banned from all Star Wars conventions.
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Darth Vader is the most profitable character in the entire Star Wars franchise! Merchandise featuring Palpatine's dark henchman is the best selling item in the Star Wars franchise.
Darth Vader is described in both canon and Legends as a master of the aggressive Lightsaber IV form, which he had to adapt somewhat to his new circumstances after his transformation into a cyborg.
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The fact that Darth Vader is the father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa was kept a closely guarded secret during the filming of Episode 5 at the end of the 70s. The script said that Darth Vader told Luke that Obi Wan had killed his father! The only person who knew the truth was Marc Hemmel (Luke Skywalker), as he needed the information to be able to play his role authentically. After filming, the correct text was recorded by James L. Jones.
The idea that Darth Vader could be Luke's father only came to Lucas during the second revision of the script for Star Wars Episode 5. Until then, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were two different characters.
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Darth Vader is ranked third on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 most iconic film villains, just behind Hanibal Lekter and Norman Bades.
The film ‘A New Hope’ is the only film in which Darth Vader's musical theme - The Imperial March - is not played, as the piece had not yet been written at the time.
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Darth Vader is the only villain to lose his arm three times! Once in the battle against Count Dooku on Geonosis, once against Obi Wan Kenobi on Mustava and once against Luke Skywalker on the second Death Star.
Darth Vader is one of 4 characters who appear in all of the original 6 films. The other 3 are Obi Wan Kenobi, C3PO and R2D2.
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Darth Vader and C3PO share first place for ‘most limbs cut off in the first 6 films’. They amount to a total of 5!
Originally, the voice of Darth Vader was not supposed to come from James El Jones, but from Orson Welles. However, the creator of the Star Wars epic decided against the voice of Welles, as his voice was too well-known.
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Due to the decision against the voice of Orson Welles, the trailer for Star Wars Episode 4 was recorded by him.
In canon, Darth Vader has no father. In Star Wars Legends, it is heavily implied that Darth Plaigus created Anakin using the Force.
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In Star Wars Legends, Darth Vader's suit would not actually have been necessary. However, Darth Siddious had it made to weaken his henchman and subsequently keep him under control.
Darth Vader's suit, when closed, created a closed atmosphere that kept Anakin alive.
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In canon, it is known from several sources that Darth Vader became even stronger than before after his transformation into a cyborg! The canon refutes this statement.
In some early drafts of Star Wars Episode 4, Darth Vader wasn't always supposed to wear his suit. Originally, Vader was a normal Imperial general who was supposed to fly to Auntie-4 in a suit at the beginning of Episode 4.
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In another early version of Star Wars Episode 4 - A New Hope, Darth Vader was supposed to die at the end of the film to complete the film!
In Back to the Future, Darth Vader was described as a person from the planet Vulcan.
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Vader's helmet had to be filled with cotton wool because David Prows' head was too small for the helmet.
The idea of having Luke Skywalker cut off Darth Vader's arm in Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi came from the first Star Wars novel "Splinter of the Minds Eye"
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In the film Star Wars Rogue One, Vader's fortress is located on Mustava. In Legends, Vader also had a fortress on the planet Vjun.
Luke Skywalker was originally supposed to take Darth Vader's place at the end of ‘Star Wars Episode 6 Return of the Jedi’! It is speculated that this is where the actual title of the film ‘Revenge of the Jedi’ comes from. However, author George Lucas felt that the ending, which concludes two trilogies, was not suitable for children, which is why he wrote it into the version we know today!
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In Star Wars Legends, Darth Vader has the rank of ‘Supreme Commander in the Imperial Military’. This meant that he de facto had complete power over the entire Imperial military. The only person with a higher rank was Palpatine himself.
In Star Wars Legends, the public didn't know that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. They were told that the Chosen One had died in the Jedi Temple during Order 66.
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In Star Wars Legends, after the destruction of the second Death Star, the propaganda was spread that Luke Skywalker had killed both the Emperor and Darth Vader.
There are very funny translations for the famous antagonist Darth vader all over the world: In Italian he is called ‘Lord Darth Vener’ in French ‘Darqu Wador’ and in Finnish ‘Svatevoy’ which literally means black head.
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In an alternative version, which is known from the game for the film Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith, you can defeat Obi Wan Kenobi on Mustava as Darth Vader without armour. It is then possible to kill Palpatine and become the Emperor yourself as Darth Vader.
In the short scene at the end of Episode 3 ‘Revenge of the Sith’, where the Dark Lord can be seen in the suit, the actor who plays Anakin Skywalker was actually Hayden Christensen in Vader's suit.
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In the original version of the film Episode 6 ‘Return of the Jedi’, actor Sebastian Shawn appears at the end as Anakin's Force ghost. Since the 2004 Special_Edition of the films, actor Hayden Christensen can be seen in place of Shawn, who also plays Anakin in Episodes 1 & 2.
In Legends, Darth Vader can't summon Force lightning because his arms have been replaced by mechanical prosthetics.
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Darth Vader mostly relied on his suit to support his breathing. However, he could also use the Force to heal his lungs for short periods of time, so theoretically he wouldn't need a suit for a short time.
Canon sources indicate that Darth Vader weighed a total of 120 kilos with his armour.
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Despite the fact that Anakin Skywalker was born and raised as a slave on Tattonie, slavery continued to exist in the galaxy after the formation of the Empire and the resulting reign of Darth Vader.
Anakin Skywalker was the builder of C3PO, the same druid who decades later helped the Rebellion and his own children fight against him!
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Vader's helmet can be seen as a gargoyle at the Washington National Cathedral in Northwest, Washington, D.C..
Many people wrongly assume that Darth Vader says the sentence "Luke, I am your father!" to his son in Episode 5. In fact, the Chosen One spoke the following sentence: "No, I am your father!"
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The sound of Darth Vader's iconic breathing was recorded using a small microphone placed in a diving suit.
Darth Vader had several masters and pupils. Qui Gon Jinn took Anakin in for a short time. After his death, Obi Wan Kenobi continued his training. His last master was Darth Sissious.
Ahsoka Tano and Galen Marek (also known as Starkiller) (Legends) and Lumia (Legends) were also his masters.
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From the moment Vader learnt that he did have children, the Sith Lord plotted to overthrow the Emperor with his children.
Vader's armour was completely recreated for the short scenes in the film Star Wars Episode 3.
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Anakin Skywalker was the first Jedi to be given a seat on the Jedi Council, but did not become a Master himself!
Vader Tyfighter was a prototype and saved Vader's life after the destruction of the first Death Star because, unlike other Tyfighters, it had a hyperspace drive.
