Fans of George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy have seemed to remain cautiously optimistic (while quietly terrified) about Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and their plans to make the trilogy they thought would never ever happen just a couple of weeks ago.

This cautious optimism likely stems from Disney’s acquisition of Marvel and the movies that have been released since, including The Avengers, which has given them just enough hope that Star Wars Episode VII can bring the franchise back from that darkest and most depressing of places that Lucas’s prequel trilogy delivered it to. Bring it back from the dead.

Speaking of bringing things back from the dead, a new rumor has surfaced that Disney may be pondering bringing a one Mr. Darth Vader, who *Spoiler Alert* perished at the end of Return of the Jedi, back for the new trilogy.

This is to be taken with an ocean’s worth of salt, as it comes from the British tabloid Express. According to a “film mole,” Vader is just too important not to be part of the plan.

The source said:

Now…this is almost certainly going to end up being complete and utter B.S. when it’s all said and done. But there is one teeny tiny (but also incredibly large) reason the rumor isn’t completely ignorable: MONEY. Darth Vader is…well, he’s freakin’ Darth Vader. He’s the primary antagonist of the first trilogy, an integral part of the prequel trilogy, and perhaps the most iconic character from not only these movies but movies in general. If Disney thinks they have a way to bring him back into the fold (as the film mole says: “This is science fiction remember. Darth Vader will rise from the ashes.”), which would allow them to go all-out in the marketing department, they might just be too tempted to not do it.

On the other end of the spectrum, Vader was created after Anakin Skywalker was basically dead (or mostly dead, if you asked Miracle Max). To do that a second time with the same character would feel repetitive and unnecessary. Plus, Star Wars fans everywhere would probably blow a gasket if the rumor turned out to be true. That cautious optimism? It’s there because Disney seems to be handling Marvel properties with care, but it’s fueled by a hope that Star Wars Episode VII and its sequels will be fresh and original additions to the franchise and not a reunion of aging characters from the originals in hopes of making lots of money.

Which brings us to the reason we even bothered writing about this rumor. If there is even the slightest chance Disney is pondering such a thing, you the fans will likely sway it one way or the other using this wonderful tool called the internet.

Would you be okay with Darth Vader returning for the new Star Wars trilogy if they came up with an acceptable enough way to explain it? Or is the very mention of it unspeakable?

[Source: via /Film]