Star Wars: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Darth Vader's Suit

7. His Mask Originally Had A Different Purpose

Rogue One Darth Vader
Disney

The script for the original Star Wars movie went through several changes over many years, and Vader was the subject of more than a few of these changes.

An early draft described him as a "tall, grim-looking general", before a later revision upgraded him to the destructive Sith Lord we're all familiar with today. Plus, the character's famous mask was initially meant to be an optional feature that he would sport on certain occasions, and not a permanent one that he needed to stay alive.

An early draft of the script had Vader crossing between two ships in space, so Ralph McQuarrie, who worked on the original trilogy, only created the mask to be used as a breathing apparatus in this situation.

But by the fourth draft, George Lucas had written in more of Vader's backstory, including the notion of the character needing a suit and mask after being badly burnt. From here, Vader was changed significantly, and was written and designed with the suit and mask being integral parts of his persona.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!