Rogue One Writer Reveals Why He Thinks Darth Vader Lives On Mustafar

Darth Vader remains the most talked about part of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and he was only [...]

Darth Vader remains the most talked about part of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and he was only the movie for about ten minutes and three scenes. But those scenes were incredibly impactful, and thanks to supplemental material like the novelization, art book, and interviews, we're learning more and more about one of those scenes - no, not that one, his first appearance.

SPOILERS

When we first see Darth Vader in the movie, as we've discussed before, he is found in a mysterious castle on a firy planet. That planet is the only one in the film not explicitly named with a big title card, but fans instantly recognized it: Mustafar. The novelization and art book released this week for Rogue One confirmed their suspicions.

NEXT: Details on Darth Vader's Castle in Rogue One

That only fueled discussion further: why is Darth Vader living on the planet where his most tragic moments, his complete crippling and betrayal at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, happened? Well, during the Star Wars Canon Chat with Rogue One story writer Gary Whitta this week on twitter, he addressed it. He was careful to note that this was his personal take on things, not necessarily a canon reason, but it does make sense.

"In my opinion, it's his choice because he wants to punish himself," Whitta said of Darth Vader's domicile. "As Luke says, there's still good/conflict in him."

It's an interesting take - the idea that Vader chooses to live there, not that he was sent by the Emperor as some form of punishment/fuel for his anger.

The idea of it being sourced by his own internal conflict is something we've heard commonly with regards to another Star Wars villain: Kylo Ren. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren kills his father in a desperate attempt to push back the light side of the Force building within him. When he needs more strength in his final battle, having been shot by the Wookiee bowcaster, he literally punches his open wound. Sure, it's all a lot less subtle than "living somewhere with bad memories," but it's a nice parallel none-the-less.

darth-vader-mustafar-castle-concept-art
(Photo: Lucasfilm)

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is in theaters now. Directed by Gareth Edwards, it's the first of the new standalone features from Lucasfilm and Disney, which take place outside the core "Skywalker Saga" of films noted by an Episode number. Rogue One tells the story of the small band of rebels that were tasked with stealing the plans to the first Death Star. The story spins directly off the opening crawl from the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. In that crawl, it read: "Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet."

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