8 Ways Darth Vader Almost Turned Out Completely Different

4. He Was Going To Be A Minor Character (And Not Even Called Vader)

It's easy to forget in a galaxy full of Mauls and Tyranus' that Darth Vader was originally the character's proper name; during their duel in Star Wars Obi-Wan refers to Vader as Darth, implying that's actually his first name. This is evident from Vader's very early script origins where he was just another imperial with a cool name.

Called General Vader in the first draft, he was a rather unremarkable villain who only appears a couple of times. A Sith Lord was in the story in the form of Prince Valorum (a name that would be reused in The Phantom Menace), although he was still a world away from what the character would end up being. Had things gone differently in Lucas' mind on the day of the rewrite we could very easily ended up with a Darth Vader not called Darth Vader at all.

The second draft merged the two characters, marking the earliest recognisable appearance of the Vader we all know and fear. But there was one distinct difference; he was hardly in the film. Appearing only in the opening where he fights Deak (see the blue lightsaber) and again in the spacefighter finale.