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Vader’s Castle

The lair of the Dark Lord revealed

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Writers: Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy

Director: Gareth Edwards

In those dark days without the Internet, when you didn’t have the joy of hateful comments and aggressive debates, you only heard rumors. Tasty, tantalizing rumors. On the playground and in the neighborhoods, the behind-the-scenes stories of Star Wars were urban legends. Myths passed on like the stories of old. “Did you hear,” one friend would boast. “The Ewoks were supposed to be Wookiees in Return of the Jedi. My uncle knew a guy who knew George Lucas and it’s true.” Murmurs of doubt and amazement would wash over you and your friends.

The next day, someone else would whisper, “I read in this magazine that George Lucas has six more Star Wars movies ready to be made.” That seemed insanely improbable at the time but thinking about the possibilities was plain ol’ wizard. You’d head home and sit at your desk, pretending to do your homework, yet all the while you’d be planning out your version of Episode VII. (See, that’s the kind of pressure J.J. Abrams was under. We all started planning his movie in 1983.)

From my personal archives, I once tried to get into the action by convincing some of my friends that Lando Calrissian was Luke’s cousin and therefore had partial Force powers and could do things like call lightsabers to him. It worked for the length of exactly one lunchtime recess. However, the point remains, these rumors, half-facts, and, you know, bald-faced lies were the Internet chat rooms of the day.

One of the biggest myths floating around was that of Darth Vader having a castle. That’s right, Darth Vader had his own pad, where he could stretch out his cyborg legs, take a load off, and dream about new ways to go forth and rule the galaxy. It was both intriguing and oddly out of place. The Empire was cold and sterile. Vader having a castle or lair seemed to fall too far into the super villain realm. As if to insinuate that Superman would be heading to Vader’s castle for a final showdown. This couldn’t have been true.

However, later on, concept art became a big interest of fans and the obsession with looking back and beyond at what might have been became just as much a part of Star Wars fandom as watching the movies themselves. Vader was “supposed” to have a castle in The Empire Strikes Back. Designs exist. Old drafts of screenplays emerged. Vader, the menacing face of evil in the galaxy, did, in fact, have a home. It wasn’t until 2016’s Rogue One that we finally got to see the lair of everyone’s favorite Dark Lord.

On the surface and as it plays out within the movie, the reveal of Vader’s castle carries its own weight and has relevance to the new stories of Star Wars. More and more is being learned as to why Darth Vader went to the site of his defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith and set up shop. The Charles Soule-led Marvel Comics Darth Vader book that began in 2017 took a dark, disturbing dive into the hows and whys and it all makes great sense. Vader wants to be reminded of his defeat and rebirth. He wants to absolutely soak in the anger and loss he felt during his final moments as Anakin Skywalker, someone he only refers to as the Jedi. It is sublime layering of an already legendary character.

Yet there is an additional wrinkle to the moment in Rogue One. When Director Orson Krennic’s ship arrives on the surface of Mustafar, you immediately know what’s happening, Yes, Krennic is about to have a business meeting with one of his many bosses like it’s some sort of intergalactic scene from Office Space. But you’re about to see what you never thought you would. The moment we see this castle for the first time, on screen, in an actual, real Star Wars movie has an added impact for those of us who spent many years with those old playground myths rolling around our Star Wars loving heads. It means it was true. Darth Vader has a castle.

And it is everything you dreamed it could be. It’s everything the promise of the Ralph McQuarrie concept art contained. Darth Vader’s castle is menacing and medieval; a supervillain lair on pair with anything you’d find around Metropolis or Mordor. It is as cold and sterile as the Empire’s icy grip on the galaxy. It has secrets and a dark purpose. In this castle, Vader is alone, save for his assistant Vanee and two red cloaked Imperial Guards, and he is angry. It is truly a lair for a Dark Lord.