New plans for the Vader scene for this edit.
This is the first edit of Vader’s no (turned into an angry yell) that actually works. Someone actually did it. I’m quite impressed, honestly.
https://youtu.be/G8V0-vRYOAU
It matches better with the 2017 Darth Vader comics, which I always intended to be canon to my edits. They are my favorite Star Wars material after the OT, genuinely incredible stuff that understands Vader so well.
It starts with Vader angrily attacking Palpatine for failing his promise to save Padme, which is great. Vader’s rage is done similarly to his OT cold, tranquil rage (as generally for the comic) whilst also being fitting for this younger, angrier Vader that still feels like the same person (he’s even a bit more emotional in ANH then ESB and ROTJ).
While I liked the idea of having Vader just go cold upon hearing Padme’s death for the edit’s own sake, because I didn’t see a better alternative, it’s when I came across this new edit that I realized that including an angry reaction from Vader in the film itself could work and be in-line with the comic.
I also wasn’t entirely sure how to bookend the scene, originally. The scene is designed for a bigger payoff, so I didn’t want it to just end on Vader’s new line, but nothing else felt right.
I also feel like the intent could’ve easily gotten across wrong. The original plan of Vader saying his dead wife now means nothing to him wasn’t meant to be entirely honest, but rather another instance of using his cold persona to bury his feelings (like in ROTJ).
In the Vader comics, though it isn’t his focus until the final arc, Vader attempts to resurrect her, and the way it executes it is excellent. He’s still Vader, cold, selfish, and most importantly, in this instance, possessive, as he was of his children, in the OT. He wants to resurrect her to keep her as an object of lust in a very Sith fashion. The Emperor doesn’t even object to it. It’s brilliant, creepy, and expands on an already existent facet of Vader’s character, which is one of the many reasons why Fortress Vader is my favorite arc in an incredible comic run.
While the original version could still mesh with the comics on that front, I feel like the angry yell fits better with the overall throughline of the comic.
That being said, I would like to “de-soften” Vader when he says, “Where is Padme?”, especially removing him saying, “Is she safe, is she alright?”. It doesn’t feel in-character even for a possessive Vader. It almost feels like it wants me to think that this is Anakin and he doesn’t become Vader until the very last scene observing the Death Star… but then why does he have him act like Vader when he’s first knighted, and when he visits Padme after the massacre? He should be Vader when he’s in the mask. Seeing him act like Anakin here is so jarring.