Star Wars: 10 Things Rogue One Did Best
2. Darth Vader
Until Rogue One, Darth Vader’s only onscreen appearance since Revenge Of The Sith had been some very effective cameos in The Clone Wars and Rebels. And apart from that, he had been kind of neutered by a lack of serious screen-time, and the cumulative effect of plenty of parodies. Also, whatever the hell this was...
But Rogue One fixes all of that and hands him back his brass nuts thanks to the movie’s editor Jabez Ollson, who suggested the final scene of Vader going all slasher movie. If you want to be picky, you could argue that this second Vader appearance in the film wasn’t strictly necessary. Especially since it wasn’t part of the original plan. But it’s more Darth Vader so screw necessary.
As well as helping to restore the image of Darth Vader as a merciless force of evil, It actually manages to bring something new to the party. In the Original Trilogy, Darth Vader always enters the battle after the fighting dies down.
So this is the first time in the movies that we actually see him on the front lines, in a situation where everyone’s disposable except him. Cue as much as violence as a 12A certificate will allow.