Will They Ever Re-Cast Darth Vader?

Assuming they continue to make movies that feature Darth Vader (and as popular a character as he is, I suspect that with the key portions of his story having already been told, his appearances in future SW films will probably be rather limited) I would assume that they would eventually have to find another voice actor to take James Earl Jones' place. Jones is way into his 80s now, and though we all wish him the longest and happiest life possible, time marches on a lot more rapidly than we realize.

Obviously, though, if they do end up using a different voice actor for Vader at some future time, they would need to find somebody who can do a spot-on JEJ/Vader impression. Nobody is ever going to mimic that voice with 100% accuracy, but if they really take their time and keep looking, I'm sure they can eventually find somebody who can get the inflections and other idiosyncrasies pretty darned close. It's just a matter of finding one of the small handful of people out there who can do that.

And they really need to do this if they're going to use Vader in movies after Jones can no longer do the voice. Simply going with an entirely different voice for the character - THAT is what would get a negative fan reaction. That's where a lot of the criticism of the Han Solo recast stems from - they ended up settling on an actor who looks a helluva lot more like Leo DiCaprio than he does Harrison Ford, which is going to make suspension of disbelief a good bit more difficult for a lot of fans.

Think it doesn't matter? That Vader is Vader no matter what his voice sounds like? Go check out the Star Wars radio drama from 1981. Brock Peters is a very good actor, and he did a fine job with Vader's lines - but his characterization doesn't sound at all like Vader. I hear that voice and my mind just doesn't conjure up an image of the Vader mask. To me, that's a big problem. Either the v/o actor makes you believe, creates that illusion, or they don't. Peters didn't.

Hell, look at The Clone Wars TV series. Ian Abercrombie did a phenomenal job of recreating Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine voice while he was on the show. When Tim Curry came in to fill those vocal "shoes" after Abercrombie passed away, well... I have always been a big fan of Curry as an actor, and god love him for trying, but IMHO his Palpatine voice fell quite a bit short of the mark. I never believed his Palpatine the way I did Abercrombie's.

With Vader, when the time comes and IF the time comes when they need to recast his voice they need to take the time and make the effort to get it EXACTLY right. Or as close as they possibly can.

 

If you could listen to the official French versions !! we have so many differents "Dark Vador"(*) voices between ANH, ESB/ROTJ, then ROTS, then Rebels...
... well, you know what? when you love a piece of music, somewhere, it doesn't matter if you listen it played by a guitar, an organ, a piano... it remains the same music and you still love it, anyway.
Our brain is phenomenal, it can admit things we were sure, on the first thought, we couldn't bear , so: yes, personnaly, I think the voicing doesn't matter too much, it matters, but not that much





(*) yes, Dark Vador, this is how we call him here in France

 

Great. Now you've got me visualizing Woody Allen as the voice of Darth Vader... so much for me actually getting to sleep tonight!!

It's actually a shame that they've never bothered to give you all a consistent Vader voice. I never realized that the French dubs of the SW films and TV shows had such wildly varying voice actors playing the roles.

To me, that's as much a continuity problem as it would be to have completely different sound effects for, say, the blasters or the lightsabers in each SW film. Granted, your point about a piece of music being played on different instruments is well taken, but when we're looking at a movie series that is designed to be watched in sequence, one after the other, it breaks the illusion tremendously if the films don't have a consistent sound and look. Like I said, when they did the SW radio drama back in 1981, Vader just didn't come across as Vader, because the voice didn't sound right.

I admit that I was never a huge fan of the prequel trilogy, but at least it tended to sound like a Star Wars film should sound. To me, Darth Vader's voice is and always has been a part of that consistent soundscape. And, given the fact that Vader's face is hidden, in terms of onscreen presence, Vader IS the voice and the mask.

At least that's true for the US and other parts of the world. Again, I never realized that LFL was so inconsistent in the voice actors they use for foreign language overdubs. I can definitely understand why Vader's voice isn't nearly as important to your Star Wars experience over there in France.

 

Off course they will. Darth Vader could cause a lot of trouble for the rebels during this period.

 

They can pull vocal patterns from his past performances already. I forget where but I think someone else has voiced Vader once or twice before. Also, if you can buy a Vader voice changer helmet then I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem even a hundred years into the future.

 

I don't want to think about another voice as Vader! But you're right, we must.

Honestly, even at the risk of it sounding robotic, I'd have the JEJ voice library idea as my first choice, if the character really needs to appear onscreen again (more on that below). His Vader really is unique, even among the list of decent imitators. That being said, that would be a lot of work for him, and performances thrive on humanity. So if they really have to use Vader in future projects when JEJ isn't around, I guess the best imitation actor they can find is the way to go. Otherwise, this would be the vocal equivalent of the CGI Tarkin and Leia.

But really, my biggest preference? Just don't use Vader in the movies after James Earl Jones passes away. His essential story has been told, and his presence in Rebels and Rogue One was an awesome bonus, but we don't need him in future (vocal) projects. The character can easily be used in books and comics.

*C3PO voice* "I wish I had your optimism!" I guess having a single Vader-voice is something the English-speaking world has been spoiled with.

 

This one changes too, between the originals and TFA, due to the first dubber actor death. Roger Carel (was his name) had also a unique timbre, and the current is slightly not the same

 

They will, but JEJ kinda sounds nothing like he did in the 80s anyway.
I personally thought he sounded really weird in R1 even comapred to his few lines in ROTS which sounded way more like the vader from the OT.

Maybe they fu.cked up the mixing or its really just his age.

 

It's his age. Most of the sound mixing crew that worked on the Prequels is still working in Skywalker Sound, so I don't see why wouldn't they, from a technical standpoint, alter the voice the same way as they did in Epiosde III. Remember, James Earl Jones is 86, (!) so it's no surprise he sounds different than he used to, despite him still working as an actor.

 

Really? Donald Glover looks nothing like Billy Dee Williams to me. Yet, I don't recall any complaints when his casting was announced. And Genevieve O'Reilly looked nothing like Caroline Blakiston to me.


I do recall complaints that Alden Ehrenreich was not as tall as Harrison Ford. And considering that I'm taller than Harrison Ford, this didn't really bother me.

 

James Earl Jones doesn't sound the same as he did 40 years ago anyway. Rogue one and his Rebels cameo he sounded different. So when he does pass on it wouldn't be that drastic to find a voice similar to Vader's.

 

I think Darth Vader's story will be limited to comics and novels in the future. So I don't think there will be an issue finding an appropriate replacement for JEJ.

 

Yeah, this is my thinking, too. I doubt he'll have any necessary presence in future movies (his presence in Rogue One felt more like a bonus item than being essential to the plot), and besides, Vader is a character who thrives in any medium he's presented in, so I hope they just go the comic book/novel route in the future.

I mean, heck, if they want to put Vader in another movie in a few years, if JEJ is still willing to voice him at 90, and if he's able to keep doing a good job, I won't object. But retiring Vader from films once JEJ isn't available is the best option to me.

On another note, I'm not sure what else he could appear in that would require a vocal performance. True, there's the gap from Ep. III to Rebels, which is about 15 years, but the new comic is exploring some of that, and books have done some of that area as well. Add in Vader's appearance in Rebels a few years before A New Hope, and then his appearance in Rogue One just before it, and Vader's story has been "told and then some," as far as I'm concerned.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking when I made my post. I just didn't type it. There is also the gap from ESB to Jedi, which probably won't be explored on screen either. I do want to read what happens between the two movies, though.

 

I don't see him being necessary in future films per say. While it would be nice to see him, I think that his story has been told for the most part. Now with that being said some of the stories coming out in the comics is pretty awesome and would be interesting to see them on the big screen. So with my previous statement stated, maybe there is a reason to have him in future films.

Wonder what the reaction from fans would be if they did recast him for a film but showed an accident occurring that caused his suit to be damaged that would cause there to be a voice different emitting out.

 

too many stories to still be told, James can only live so long (sadly) and there is an infinite amount of ways to use Vader. They will and should re-cast. I hate to lose James but the character of Vader needs to live on.

--- Double Post Merged, Apr 8, 2018, Original Post Date: Apr 8, 2018 ---

if they make the Obi-Wan Stand Alone movie.....Vader could and should be in that. Vader says to Luke that "Obi-Wan once thought as you do" in regards to him coming back to the light. we have yet to see that. In that movie is a good place to explore that. A Vader samurai movie hunting down jedi would work for me as well.

 

Darth Vader has been recast several times already since the original David Prowse and James Earl Jones combo.

For instance, British sword-fencing champion Bob Anderson was the physical Darth Vader for most of the sword fighting scenes in TESB and ROTJ.

 

You're right but I don't think it's who is in the suit of Vader, but rather who is the voice of Vader.