Hah... I should explain (Rogue 1 Spoilers) (Gaming)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, March 19, 2018, 12:49 (2446 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

About 6 months before the release of the film, I read an interview with one of the producers (can't find it right now, but I'll try to track it down). At one point, when asked about Darth Vader's role in the film, the producer said something to the effect of: It's a small, but significant role. At this point in the story, Vader isn't exactly public knowledge. He's kinda like the boogie man. Nobody in the rebellion is even sure if he's real. So he's basically this shadowy figure looming in the background.

Except, ya know, A New Hope established him as someone who was clearly known about, and who had a reputation. It was also clear that even he was subordinate to the Imperial Senate.

"Lord Vader, I should have known. Only you could be so bold."

Right... we care about him because of previous movies. But there is nothing done in this movie to justify his inclusion, other than some lightsaber porn.

I'm totally cool if the filmmakers are going to say "look, this movie is just one part of a long, complex series of movies, so don't expect us to explain everything or who everyone is". That's totally cool. I can run with that. But each movie in such a franchise still needs to tell a compelling and complete story. If you're going to include characters, the writers need to come up with a good reason for them to be there.

Right, but Vader's appearance in the end of the film is set up in the minutes leading up to it. It's stated that he's going to be the one taking care of the rebels in space, and when his ship shows up, it's massive and powerful. It's an "oh crap" moment in and of itself. That he appears again isn't out of nowhere, as his presence has been established and felt.

You could make the argument about his appearance earlier in the film when Krennic visits Vader on Mustafar. But the Star Wars series always does this. When the Emperor showed up in A New Hope, did we have an explained reason to care? When he showed up in Phantom Menace?
What about Snoke? Or almost literally everyone in The Force Awakens? Leia especially just shows up and everyone moves on. Why should we care about this character? The film assumes you do, and moves on. So I don't think the Rogue One ending is any more "egregious" about it than everything else in that film or franchise...