Star Wars' Latest Rumor Is Too Good To Be True, But Disney Should Actually Do It

Published Aug 30, 2026, 8:10 PM EDT Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering movies. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions and interviewing actors. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera As much as Star Wars fans have repeatedly said that they are ready for the franchise to move on from the Skywalker family, the Jedi, the Sith, and even the Force, history has just as consistently proven otherwise. There are, of course, outliers, such as Andor, which actually performed incredibly well with Star Wars audiences and is considered among Star Wars' best TV shows. Likewise, the movie from which Andor spun out, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is one of Star Wars' best movies and perhaps even the single best Star Wars movie put out by Disney thus far. Despite these outliers, Star Wars movies and shows that bring back fan favorites—especially Skywalkers—tend to immediately draw audiences in. That was true of the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, as much as many fans grumbled about it, and true of Ahsoka as well (with Ahsoka season 2 seemingly on track to reflect the same turnout). Even with a show like Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord, which was performing well enough on its own, received considerably more attention once it was revealed that Darth Vader was going to be prominently featured in the final episode of season 1. In light of that, it's reasonable to wonder why Star Wars would do away with the Skywalker family or the original and prequel trilogy eras. Particularly in terms of the latter, there remains plenty of reason to continue rolling out stories tied to those movies, as prequel era actors Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, who played Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, respectively, have regularly reinforced their interest in coming back. This may very well be why yet another Star Wars rumor tied to the prequels is circulating, although this one seems too good to be true. A Darth Vader Movie Is Heavily Rumored To Be In The Works Over the last week or so, rumors have grown that Hayden Christensen is in talks to return to Star Wars yet again after his upcoming appearance in Ahsoka season 2. Specifically, the rumor suggests that he and Disney/Lucasfilm are discussing a Darth Vader movie. Although details are sparse, this would almost certainly be set sometime between the prequel and original trilogies, as it wouldn't really make sense to overlap with the original trilogy (too much risk of stepping on toes, which is an ongoing risk with Star Wars movies and TV shows). It would of course, by necessity, need to be set after the prequels, perhaps outside of any flashbacks. As exciting an idea as this rumor is, though, it does seem a little too good to be true. Disney has been incredibly careful with Star Wars movies they green light, now famously having turned down The Hunt for Ben Solo, a movie pitched by Adam Driver himself that would have seen Ben Solo—the last of the Skywalker bloodline, notably—return. Even when the House of Mouse does take risks, though, it doesn't always pay off. That was just unfortunately proven by The Mandalorian and Grogu's poor box office performance. The idea that Disney would invest in a full-fledged Vader movie at this stage therefore feels very unlikely. Disney Should Actually Make This Movie (With A Twist) Although a Darth Vader movie with Christensen reprising his role sounds like something Disney is unlikely to do, it would be incredible, and, as with The Hunt for Ben Solo, this is exactly the type of project the franchise actually should take a gamble on. In fact, what would make this movie even more exciting would be the choice to make it the first-ever R-rated Star Wars movie. After all, Vader is among the most violent characters to exist in the franchise, and already in Obi-Wan Kenobi we saw him dragging people's bodies and snapping kids' necks. If that doesn't sound like the stuff of horror movies, perhaps nothing would, and it therefore offers the perfect opportunity for Disney/Lucasfilm to break into this area. Unfortunately, this is far less likely to happen than even the Vader movie itself, especially because George Lucas himself has always said that Star Wars is for kids, and Disney has clearly upheld that tradition. Nevertheless, it would be absolutely amazing if Disney eventually did make a Darth Vader movie with Christensen—and all the cooler if it was rated R.