'Star Wars' Anthology Movies News: Darth Vader Cast in 'Rogue One,' James Earl Jones Returns?

While we can't wait to experience director J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens in theaters December 2015, we're also excited for the first of the Star Wars Anthology spin-off movies, Rogue One. Directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna (rumored), Ben Mendelsohn (rumored) and more, we know we're in for a wild ride in 2016, but new film rumors suggest a classic villain could round out the movie's characters. According to reports, Darth Vader will appear in this movie, with many speculating that James Earl Jones could come back to voice the Sith Lord. Read more on this news below!

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This rumor comes from birth.death.movies, which claims that Vader won't be a main antagonist in the movie. Apparently, he'll be in a much smaller role than the classic Star Wars film, interacting sparsely with the main characters of the story. In fact, this report isn't even sure if a new actor will have to fill the suit. Apparently, Vader will be on-screen only in "viewscreen or holo projection" form (via Slash Film). This makes the rumor a bit more believable than saying that Vader would be the main villain once again, leading to casting rumors and what have you.

Clearly this opens up a new question: Who is the villain of Rogue One? We'll have to wait and see to learn this information.

We also wonder if James Earl Jones is going to be involved in the film, but considering he voiced Vader in the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels, we think he'd be into the idea of a big-screen reprisal.

The Guardian points out that Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker was named in some casting rumors for Rogue One, but we're going to assume this is unrelated to the Vader news.

Let us know what you think of this movie news in the comments section below!