Star Wars: Episode IX Might Feature a Recognizable Villain

In a galaxy far, far away, we might see some familiar, familiar faces.

? Spoiler alert! ? Rumor has it that the most iconic villain of the Star Wars franchise will return for Star Wars: Episode: IX. That’s right, we’re talking about Darth Vader.

The final installment of the Skywalker saga might feature Kylo Ren, Anakin Skywalker, and the return of Darth Vader, according to MovieWeb. There is concept art going around—albeit, not all concept art is always used—of a scene with the trio all in the same scene. MovieWeb reports, “(It shows) Kylo Ren standing in what appears to be a new throne room for himself. In front of him is a window, a wide window looking out to space. In the window is a reflection of what seems to be a hybrid Force ghost of Anakin’s face—half of which is Anakin, half of which is Vader.”

If this is true, it means that Vader and Anakin will come back as Force Ghosts—as we’ve seen before with Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Empire Strikes Back, for example. Vader could return in one of these Force Visions as Kylo Ren continues to be angsty AF as he struggles with his identity—and we know he’s obsessed with his grandfather a la his memorabilia collection such as the melted Vader helmet.

We already know that Luke Skywalker will also return to the third installment of the trilogy, but we also have confirmation that the Jedi is actually dead, so this theory seems more plausible. Director J.J. Abrams has allegedly been ambitiously wanting to tie in all of the trilogies, spin-offs, and TV shows together with this film, so this is his only chance. It’s also proven that the classic elements of the franchise are always the most popular—like when we saw Vader appear in Rogue One.

In other rumors, MovieWeb also reports that we may see Obi-Wan come back as a Force Ghost (yaaas) and that the ninth episode will be so long that we could even see a Star Wars: Episode X.

Star Wars: Episode IX has been filming for three weeks so far, so the rumors could also be a complete misdirection. Ahhhh, gotta love this speculation. See ya in December 2019.