Hot off the success of Longlegs and The Monkey, director Osgood Perkins has presented a superb idea for a Star Wars movie. Speaking to fans during a Reddit AMA, Perkins was asked by one fan, “Is there a story you wish you had the budget or technology to make into a movie?” Perkins responded by saying, “The collected dreams and nightmares of Darth Vader told as short stories.” In just this one answer, Perkins has pitched what could be phenomenally captivating and different Star Wars movie or Disney+ series.
Videos by ComicBook.com
With Longlegs, The Monkey, and other popular horror movies to his name like The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel and Hansel, Osgood’s pitch seems to allude to his desire to bring some horror elements into Star Wars that have never really been seen before in the franchise. The idea of Darth Vader’s dreams and nightmares forming the basis for an anthology of what he’s experienced in his mind could facilitate some genuinely scary nightmares indeed given all that Anakin Skywalker has been through. Given the description that Perkins offers of his idea being a collection of short stories, a Disney+ series seems like a good format for what the director has in mind, though theoretically, five or six Darth Vader nightmares could form the basis for a two to two-and-a-half hour movie, as well.
The Star Wars pitch offered by Perkins also acknowledges how much trauma Anakin Skywalker has experienced before and during his life as Darth Vader. Recruited by Qui-Gonn Jinn (Liam Neeson) to train as a Jedi in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Anakin’s Jedi upbringing is full of sacrifice and tragedy, from being separated from his mother to his gradual disillusionment with the Jedi Council. Anakin’s falling out with his Jedi mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), the death of his love Padme (Natalie Portman), and his near brush with fiery death and loss of numerous limbs in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith further exemplify how much pain Anakin has gone through.
[RELATED: 10 Best Star Wars Costumes From the Original Trilogy]
In turn, Anakin falling under the influence of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and his seduction to the Dark Side of the Force doesn’t erase the PTSD Anakin is burdened with from his dark past. Only in his final moments of reuniting with his son Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) does Anakin experience happiness for the first time in decades. Perkins’s idea for a Darth Vader-centric Star Wars movie or series steeped in Anakin’s tormented life could really be a deep Darth Vader character study, while his concept also seems to allude to his pedigree as a horror director playing an essential part in the story.
In being such a key figure among both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire, Anakin has seen the events of the Star Wars prequels and original trilogy in a way that few other characters have. The fact that his alignment with Palpatine comes after his life being ruined and what he regards as the betrayal of Obi-Wan leaves him overcome with anger, bitterness, and vengefulness towards his old mentor, as seen in the literally fiery payback that Anakin puts Obi-Wan through on Disney+’s Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Cleary, Anakin has inner demons that he is battling right up until the moment of his heroic redemption at the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
That offers even more reason to think that Anakin would be haunted by terrible nightmares throughout much of his life, and especially in his post-Jedi life. Osgood Perkins’ concept for a Darth Vader movie or series focusing upon the worst nightmares that Anakin has experienced is a refreshingly different take on where the Star Wars universe could go next. Even better, under the direction of Perkins, his proposed Darth Vader project could be the first real foray into outright horror that Star Wars has ever made, terrorizing audiences with the worst of what Anakin Skywalker has had to live through in his mind every time he closes his eyes.
All Star Wars movies and TV shows are available to stream on Disney+.
What do you think of the filmmaker’s Star Wars pitch? Let us know in the comments below!
