James Earl Jones to Voice Darth Vader for Small But Crucial 'Rogue One' Role

On Tuesday, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Darth Vader is returning for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first non-trilogy film in the series, one set between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope. The excitement was palpable, despite the information being brutally incomplete. Now the cover story's got a new online sample with the reveals we needed.

First, James Earl Jones, now 85, is returning to voice the character. Original in-the-suit actor David Prowse, age 80, will be replaced by "a variety of large-framed performers."

As for Vader's presence, should our hopes be sky-high or knee-high? “He will be in the movie sparingly,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “But at a key, strategic moment, he’s going to loom large.” Evidently the Rebellion is almost entirely in the dark about the Sith Lord, although, as director Gareth Edwards puts it, “Within the Empire, there is the culture of knowing of the existence of Darth Vader. There’s definitely an underlying feeling that there is a power—a dark power—available to the Empire and that if you overstep your mark, you will suffer the consequences.”