Over the forty-six years since the firstStar Warsfilm’s release,several actors have played Darth Vader. Like the formidable Sith Lord himself, the role of Vader is an amalgamation of several parts and players.David Prowsewore the suit in the original trilogy, butBob Andersonprovided the sword fighting andSebastian Shawlent his face to the unmasking scene. Then,Hayden Christensendonned the costume inRevenge of the SithandObi-Wan Kenobi,before bothSpencer WildingandDaniel Naprousgeared it up forRogue One. The actor best associated with the role, however, isJames Earl Jones, who never played the part on-set, but provided Vader’s iconic voice in nearly all of his appearances on the big and small screen alike. Before Jones was cast for the voice-over, though, directorGeorge Lucasactually considered a different actor for Vader’s voice — an actor far more recognizable than Jones in 1977, who would have brought an element of old Hollywood prestige to the galaxy far, far away –Orson Welles.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
A farm boy from a desert planet becomes an unlikely hero in the fight against the oppressive Galactic Empire. Guided by a former Jedi Knight and alongside a rebellious princess, a smuggler, and his co-pilot, he embarks on a mission to destroy the Death Star, a massive space station capable of annihilating entire planets. As he learns about the mystical Force, he discovers his destiny and the true strength within himself.
How Did George Lucas Cast the Role of Darth Vader?
In the late 1970s, while filmingA New Hopein London, David Prowse recited all of Darth Vader’s lines from behind the mask. Because the mask muffled Vader’s speech, though, all of the villain’s dialogue had to be dubbed over in post-production.Prowse assumed he would be the one to dub over his own voice, but the crew returned to Hollywood after filming, and it was too expensive to fly the English actor out for the job. Plus,Prowse had a thick Bristolian accentthat felt somewhat uncharacteristic of the role.
George Lucas hence started looking for someone to bring Darth Vader’s voice to life. He wanted a deep and distinguished voice, one worthy of a cybernetic archvillain that exuded darkness, novelty, and mystery. Two actors came to mind. One of them was James Earl Jones, a relative unknown whose biggest film role to date was Lieutenant Lothar Zogg inDr. Strangelove. The other, however, was one of the most celebrated men in cinema, who had just recently returned to the United States after a long hiatus from Hollywood filmmaking.
What Was Orson Welles Doing Before Star Wars?
Orson Welles first came to Los Angeles in the late-1930s. Just in his mid-twenties, Welles had already made a national name for himself in both theater and radio, sending the entire country into a frenzy via his misunderstoodWar of the Worldsbroadcast. His storytelling talent was so superb thatRKO Radio Pictures gave him unprecedented creative controlover his first-ever film, which ended up being none other thanCitizen Kane.
Revered by seemingly every filmmaker, critic, cinephile, and academic since its 1941 release,Citizen Kanecannot be overstated for its impact on the craft and industry. AfterKane, Orson Welles continued to work in both film and radio,directing and starring in several featuresincludingThe Stranger,The Lady From Shanghai,Macbeth, andThe Third Man(directed byCarol Reed). He also did occasional work in television and returned to the stage a few times, and while many of his projects were successful, none of them came close to the monumental accomplishment ofCitizen Kane. Following a troubled production and studio interference on 1958’sTouch of Evil, Welles rejected Hollywood and moved to Europe. He didn’t return to the States for over a decade, right around the time that a young George Lucas was coming onto the moviemaking scene.
Why Did Orson Welles Return to Hollywood?
According to Netflix’s 2018 documentary,They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, Orson Welles came back to the U.S. in part because of the1970s Hollywood Renaissance. With the studios broken up, he had the freedom to pursue his passion projects — mainly,The Other Side of the Wind, a daring film-within-a-film experiment that the director aimed to self-fund and produce. BecauseThe Other Side of the Windwas coming mostly out of Welles' own pocket, he spent much of the 1970s taking up any role that offered him a paycheck. He appeared on various talk shows, hosted documentaries and TV series, starred in commercials, and even made a cameo inThe Muppet Movie. Most of his work, however, required just his voice, which had aged finely since its early days on the radio, turning to something both fatherly and formidable. On top of providing voice-overs for several shows, Welles notably lent his baritone cords to the villainous role of the Unicron inTransformers: The Movie. Evidently, he was not above voicing a sci-fi antagonist in a comic book-style film.
Why Did George Lucas Choose James Earl Jones Over Orson Welles?
According to James Earl Jones himself in the bookThe Making of Star Wars, George Lucas personally reached out to Welles about voicing Darth Vader. While it is unknown whether Welles reciprocated interest, Lucas' eventual comments suggest that there was a distinct possibility that the aging director might’ve taken up the role. In fact, Lucas may have even turned down Welles because he preferred Jones' voice. In 2015, whenJones was honored at the American Theater Wing Gala, Lucas recalled his decision as an initially challenging, but ultimately easy one. “I knew the voice had to be very, very special,” Lucas said in his speech, “It was really a choice between Orson Welles and James Earl Jones. James Earl Jones won hands down.”
‘Rogue One’: Darth Vader’s Final Scene Was a Last-Minute Addition
There’s basically a whole other movie here that audiences will likely never see.
Jones told the American Film Institutethat Lucas was looking for a voice that felt “darker” and thus “hired a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, and stutters.” While the stutter is certainly not evident in the performance, the bass mix of slow southern pacing and midwestern articulation might be the secret to Vader’s iconic voice. As opposed to Welles, who always retained a touch of old-time-radio theatrics in his vocal cords,Jones spoke with clear, even stoic equilibrium, perfect for the Sith Lord. At the same time, Jones also claims he was only paid $7000 for the role, and that he thought it was “good money” at the time. One can reasonably expect that Welles, even at this financially precarious point in his career, would’ve asked for far more. BecauseStar Warswas just Lucas’ third feature and it had amodest budget of $11 million, Welles might have been outside the movie’s price range.
Orson Welles Legacy vs. Darth Vader’s Longevity
All arguments aside, most would agree that Lucas made the right decision, as Jones' voice has become inseparable from Darth Vader. Even though his performance initially went uncredited inA New Hope, Jones has been reprising Vader’s voice for nearly half a century and onlyannounced his retirement from the rolein 2022. Welles, on the other hand, passed away in 1985. His final appearance in a film wasSomeone To Love, released posthumously in 1987. Meanwhile,The Other Side of the Windremained unfinished untilNetflix acquired, completed, and released it in 2018. Had Welles been the original voice of Darth Vader, he would never have been able to give the role the same longevity that Jones has. He would only live to play the role in the original trilogy — and maybe the1978Star Wars Holiday Special.
Still, the concept of Orson Welles having a part inStar Wars— especially voicing Darth Vader— leaves much to cherish in the film lover’s imagination. It would be a gem to hear Welles' Vader exchange dialogue withAlec Guiness' Obi-Wan on the Death Star. There is also something poetic about the man behindThe War of the Worldsushering in a new era of science fiction towards the end of his life, and on that same point, bookending his career with a movie that could finally rivalCitizen Kanein terms of its influence on film history.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hopeis currently available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
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