Following last month’s correct report on who Scoot McNairy was really playing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (spoilers: it wasn’t Jimmy Olsen or Metallo), we’ve now got a Star Wars exclusive for you this morning on the casting of Darth Vader.
It was reported last year that the Sith Lord would feature in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and that Hayden Christensen would be reprising the role for the movie. We teased last month that the rumour was correct, but Christensen would not be playing the part. That’s because our sources are telling us that in fact British actor Spencer Wilding has been cast to play the body of Darth Vader in Rogue One.
Wilding is mostly a stunt actor and has had bit parts in Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman Begins, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Wrath of the Titans. We first heard of his casting last year, but waited for more confirmation on the story before running it.
Our source also confirms that Wilding has been running lines while on set, so Darth Vader will have a speaking role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. However he will likely be dubbed by James Earl Jones just as David Prowse was when he played Vader in the Original Trilogy. We sadly don’t have confirmation that Jones will be coming back to reprise his role, but it seems rather likely (Making Star Wars were very sure though, and they’re a good source to trust).
SEE ALSO: 4 Reasons to Be Excited About Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Oli Davis and I will discuss this further on the Flickering Myth Podcast this coming Wednesday.
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, is the first film in the new standalone movies from Lucasfilm. It tells the story of how a group of unlikely heroes unite to undertake a daring and seemingly impossible mission to steal the plans for the Death Star.
SEE ALSO: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer – Flickering Myth Reaction
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set for release on December 16th 2016, with a cast that includes Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Diego Luna (Milk), Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Alan Tudyk (Con Man) and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler).
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Originally published April 11, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
