Vader is the husband of Padmé Amidala, the father of Luke and his twin sister Leia Organa, and the grandfather of Ben Solo (later known as Kylo Ren).

[a] David Prowse physically portrays Vader in the original trilogy, while James Earl Jones provides his voice in all of the films and some television series.

[b] As part of the development for the original Star Wars film,[c] George Lucas hired the artist Ralph McQuarrie to create conceptual images for the characters.

[19][20] Although the names of some other characters have been reverted to the English versions over the years, Vader is still referred to as Dark Vador in recent French-language Star Wars media.

[23] In Italian-language editions of Star Wars films, Darth Vader was called Dart Fener (pronounced [ˌdar(t) ˈfɛːner]) starting with the original trilogy.

It was dropped due to what Lucas called "unpleasant connotations" with Charles Manson, who became a "star killer" in 1969 when he murdered the well-known actress Sharon Tate.

"[32] Lucas later clarified that the plot element of Anakin's virgin birth was meant to align the character with heroes from mythology in general and not specifically Jesus.

[33] After completing principal photography for Revenge of the Sith in 2003, Lucas made changes to Anakin's character by rewriting his turn to the dark side.

In previous versions of the script, Anakin had several reasons for turning to the dark side, including his sincere belief that the Jedi were plotting to seize control of the Republic.

[37] Lucas chose to have a different actor provide Vader's voice, because he felt Prowse's West Country English accent was inappropriate for the character.

[39][40] Jones initially felt his role was too small to warrant recognition, and he chose to be uncredited in Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.

[41][38] When filming the scene in The Empire Strikes Back in which Vader confesses he is Luke's father, Prowse was given modified dialogue to read that did not exist in the script.

Vader hires a group of bounty hunters to follow Luke's companions, and compels the Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian to set a trap for them.

Qui-Gon asks the Jedi Council for permission to train Anakin, but they refuse, concerned that the fear he exhibits makes him vulnerable to the dark side.

Qui-Gon is mortally wounded in a duel with the Sith Lord Darth Maul, and with his dying breath asks his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Anakin.

[68] Anakin, who is now a Jedi Knight and a hero of the Clone Wars, leads a mission with Obi-Wan to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from the Separatist commander General Grievous.

[72] After earning Anakin's respect during a dangerous mission, Ahsoka joins him on a quest to rescue Jabba the Hutt's infant son, Rotta.

In the standalone film Rogue One (2016), set immediately before the events of A New Hope, Vader summons the weapons developer Orson Krennic to his castle on Mustafar.

In the second-season premiere, Vader orchestrates the murder of Imperial Minister Maketh Tua, who tried to defect to the Rebellion, and confronts the two Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger.

[81] Hayden Christensen portrays both Anakin and Vader in the 2022 miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, set a decade after Revenge of the Sith and 9 years before A New Hope.

Flashback sequences in the series depict Anakin training under Obi-Wan in the years preceding the Clone Wars, as well as a newly minted Vader carrying out the massacre at the Jedi Temple.

[84] He leads her through visions of their shared past together, including her training, their battles during the Clone Wars, her departure from the Jedi Order and his fall to the dark side.

[96][97] The 25-issue Marvel comic series Darth Vader (2015–2016) focuses on the Sith Lord in the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction, as well as his life after learning about his son's existence.

It begins immediately after Vader wakes up in his armor at the end of Revenge of the Sith and explores his emotional transformation upon learning of Padmé's death, his adjustment to his mechanical suit, how he creates his red-bladed lightsaber, and his hunting of Jedi in the Inquisitor program.

[106] Its final arc, which depicts the construction of Vader's fortress on Mustafar, implies that Palpatine used the Force to conceive Anakin in utero,[107] as some had theorized that Revenge of the Sith indicates.

[118] In Brown's series, a hapless Vader sets out to be a father to a young Luke and Leia, with some scenes portraying light-hearted versions of their darker film counterparts.

Among other missions, he fights a duel with Dooku's apprentice Asajj Ventress, helps Obi-Wan capture a Separatist-controlled fortress, and rescues the Jedi Master Saesee Tiin during a space battle.

Vader plays a central role in the Legends game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008), where he is playable in the first level and later appears as a boss.

In response to Ronald Reagan's proposed Strategic Defense Initiative (dubbed "Star Wars" by his political opponents), German news magazine Der Spiegel portrayed the president wearing Vader's helmet on its cover in 1984.

[150][h] The Fedayeen Saddam, an Iraqi paramilitary organisation, was issued with fiber glass Darth Vader-style helmets from 1995, apparently at the instigation of their commander, Uday Hussein, who was said to have been an avid Star Wars fan.