Even though he hasn't made an appearance in the Sequel Trilogy (thank God), Star Wars is still Darth Vader's story. No other character has played as integral or influential a role as Anakin Skywalker, with each and every period of the canon bearing his imprint on one way or another.
At a base level, there is so much to love about Vader. He was tall and imposing - thanks to the work of David Prowse - and sounded absolutely terrifying, with James Earl Jones doing much to make the character such an imposing figure.
Yes, Hayden Christensen was pretty abject as Anakin in the Prequel Trilogy, but he only did the best with the material he had at hand. Besides, it detracts nothing away from the Vader we see in the Original Trilogy - or even Rogue One for that matter - who remains a provocative and tragic figure throughout.
Factor in all the various tie-in media Vader has starred in, along with the fact his legacy is still being felt 30 years on from his demise, and it's pretty obvious Vader is the most revered villain in the franchise's history.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
