Star Wars: The Force Awakens Theory Examines How Darth Vader Could Factor Into Film

With just about three months before Star Wars: The Force Awakens makes its way to theaters, there's surprisingly little that fans know about the film's actual plot.

That hasn't stopped folks from speculating, though -- especially about where familiar characters might be.

One such character is Darth Vader who, despite having died in Return of the Jedi, has been featured in ads for The Force Awakens and has a toy in the new action figure line. So...what's his deal? Over at io9, they think they know.

The general idea -- and it's worth a read, certainly -- is that Kylo Ren is obsessed with Darth Vader and that he's either trying to resurrect Vader, to clone him...or possibly to "recreate" him by tempting Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side to fulfill what Ren sees as his Anakin's destiny.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in movie theaters on December 18, 2015