Disney+’s latest live-action Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered on May 27, 2022, releasing both parts of its two-part premiere simultaneously. The show has been highly anticipated for months, after it was revealed both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen were returning to the Star Wars franchise as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (now Darth Vader), respectively. So far, fans of Obi-Wan got a nice dose of him from the first two episodes. Viewers got to see firsthand the difficult stage of life he is in when the series takes place. He changes his name to Ben, suffers from flashbacks of the past, and struggles to find the man he used to be.
While we did get Skywalker flashbacks in Obi-Wan Kenobi, we haven’t gotten much at all of the present-day Vader. In fact, the only glimpse of him we got was the very end of “Part II.” We know it is Vader from the characteristic breathing, but he is hardly recognizable without his mask. In the scene, Vader has removed his outerwear for treatment in a bacta tank. His face is burned beyond recognition, but the credits confirm that it definitely was Christensen in that shot, with heavy make-up and prosthetics.
Since we’ve barely gotten visuals of Darth Vader, we still haven’t heard his voice. While we know that Christensen is portraying Vader’s body, Vader typically has two actors. One actor portrays his physical body, while another provides Vader’s voiceover. This is because the original Darth Vader actor, David Prowse, had the build of Vader, but couldn’t quite cut it voice-wise. Hence, James Earl Jones’ strong baritone was dubbed over Prowse. At the time, Jones didn’t even ask to be credited, not thinking the film would perform well. In rereleases, he has since been credited and has gone on to reprise his role as Vader’s voice numerous times.
Who voices Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Given Jones’ history portraying Vader, one would assume he’d be returning for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Of course, Star Wars always loves to keep us guessing whenever possible. This is how they subtly hid the Organa family’s prominent role in the series. Hence, they were quite tight-lipped on whether Jones would be returning or not. Meanwhile, we weren’t quite sure if it was safe to just assume he was returning.
What makes Obi-Wan Kenobi unique is that Christensen had never really portrayed Vader before. In the prequel series, he was Anakin Skywalker, for the most part. We only very briefly get a small glimpse of him as Vader at the very end of Revenge of the Sith. In this scenario, Jones was still utilized for Vader’s voice, though uncredited. Still, Christensen has opened up about getting to portray Vader more fully in Obi-Wan Kenobi. While it would’ve been strange for the series to use his voice, there was small chance he could be the first actor to play Vader fully.
Fortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi “Part III” gave us an answer to the question of Darth Vader’s voice. This was the first episode that the Sith Lord appeared in more than just a cameo. When he speaks, viewers will instantly recognize Jones’ iconic, ominous tone emitting from Vader. At the age of 91, Jones has once more returned as the iconic voice of Darth Vader, and we couldn’t be more happy to welcome him back.
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
