George Lucas secretly replaced Darth Vader in Star Wars

Darth Vader is finally four in one. If David Prowse slipped into the costume of the legendary Sith Lord in the original trilogy, on the other hand, it was the actor Sebastian Shaw, who was still in costume in the scenes of the lightsaber battle, while Bob Anderson gave his features. The Return of the Jedi sequence where the character finally appears unmasked, defeated by his son and firstly realizes his mistake. And, of course, it’s also the inimitable and unforgettable voice of James Earl Jones.

There has been much speculation about Lucas’ real motives for hiring Bob Anderson to reveal his character’s face. Return of the Jedi, even though he had already hired David Prowse. A long and very interesting article was published on the site Collider It clearly suggests that this will in fact be the result of a great deal of tension between the filmmaker and Prowse…

Did David Prowse accidentally screw up The Empire Strikes Back?

At a fan convention in Berkeley, California in 1978, David Prowse seemingly botched one of the most famous twists in movie history; A famous revelation that Vader makes to his son The Empire will respond During their duel. The comments, which were reported in a local newspaper, were headlined in an article May the sequel be with you.

In a 2015 documentary, I am your fatherDavid Prowse clarified that his comments at the time were distorted and merely speculation; Although he had not yet seen the script The Empire will respond.

When the famous article was published in July 1978, George Lucas had not yet finished writing the screenplay, which he completed the following month. Moreover, the answer “I am your father” And the further irony was that only Mark Hamill among the actors knew, as he already said. So Prowse had a solid alibi.

The second incident

A similar incident would occur between releases The Empire will respond and Return of the Jedi. According to the site Geek’s Den, spoke to Prowse again. According to the actor, it was the reporter who suggested the idea that Vader would be killed at the end of the third film; And although Prowse claimed he was in the dark, the journalist apparently didn’t hesitate to write the claim in an article published in the Daily Mail the following day.

When this case came to the attention of George Lucas, who over the years has more and more protected the story of the saga (we have to measure the impatience and pressure of the fans who were waiting for the 3rd part…), the collapse. It would be done between the director and the prose. Not only was the cast completely ignored for the sequel, but the famous scene where Vader takes off his mask was filmed without the rest of the cast even knowing about it.

Banned at Star Wars conventions

David Prowse complained in 2009 that he was cheated out of a signed contract Return of the Jedi. The contract stipulated that he would receive a percentage of the net profits generated by the film, which grossed no less than $475 million upon its release. Of course, aside from acting, Prowse hasn’t seen the color of that famous percent cent…

“Sometimes I get emails from Lucasfilm saying they regret to inform me that Return of the Jedi never made a profit and therefore they have nothing to send. Talk about one of the greatest releases of all time!” David Prowse said legitimately bitterly. add: “I don’t want to seem like I’m abusing it, but if there’s gold somewhere and I’m entitled to a share, I want to see it.”

In the face of his insistence, the reaction did not hesitate. In 2010, LucasFilm (and subsequently George Lucas) banned any convention or event organized around the Star Wars saga… atmosphere.