“I knew the voice had to be very, very special,” Lucas said in his speech, "It was really a choice between Orson Welles and James Earl Jones. James Earl Jones won hands down."
Of course, George Lucas' shocking plot twist was tightly under wraps during the movie's development, and Darth Vader being Luke's father was never in his original plans for the story.
The Big Picture. Darth Vader's character design in Star Wars was heavily influenced by Date Masamune, a legendary samurai from Japan known as the "One-Eyed Dragon."
Granted, Palpatine told Vader that he wanted Luke to join them as a dark side ally. But in actuality, he wanted Luke to take Vader's place. Luckily, Palpatine underestimated Luke's growth as a Jedi, which led to his own demise.
Sheev Palpatine, also credited as The Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, was inspired by the likes of Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler, but most directly by former US president Richard Nixon.
Darth Vader couldn't kill Palpatine before Return of the Jedi because he was everything to him, as that's how consumed with hatred Darth Vader was. It wasn't until he allowed himself to be filled with love for his son, and look past Palpatine at something more important, that Vader was able to finally kill his master.
The director originally considered Orson Welles for the role, but selected James Earl Jones instead after deciding that Welles's voice would be too recognizable to audiences. 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.
Anakin is a variation on a race of giants in Genesis, and Skywalker is an appellation for Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief. The inspiration for Vader's face mask was in all likelihood the grille of a '56 Chevy.
R2-D2 was present when Padmé gave birth to Leia and Luke, so he knew Luke was Anakin's son – but what he didn't know was that Anakin became Darth Vader. In addition to that, Anakin's fall was surely a painful event in R2-D2's life, one that he definitely wouldn't like to remember or even talk about.
Yoda. Yoda's knowledge of Luke Skywalker's true parentage was also confirmed in Return of the Jedi. As with Obi-Wan, Yoda believed that Anakin's fall to the dark side made him unsalvageable, with the Darth Vader persona being his only identity following his ascension to Sith Lordship.
Since Anakin's defeat on Mustafar, he needed frequent visits to his bacta tank to survive, and even the Vader suit itself was crude enough for Palpatine to control him. So with an aged body, a mind out of balance and the surprise of Luke's attack, Vader was caught at his weakest point.
He is Vader's son. That's what made him very special to Vader. Connections were frowned upon by the Jedi, but this time it was this attachment that helped the Jedi tremendously. Vader, in all his darkness, had a connection to the light side in Luke.
Darth Vader didn't learn he had a daughter until Return of the Jedi, when he stood before Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor's power probed Luke's mind, attempting to goad him to fall to the dark side, and he discovered Leia's existence. "Sister," the Emperor taunted.
Yoda's presence on Dagobah was likely hidden due to his mastery of Force Stealth and the planet's connection to the Force. Yoda, with his enhanced Force abilities and potential home-field advantage, would have had the upper hand against Darth Vader if they engaged in a lightsaber duel.
The novel explained that, had Vader killed Obi-Wan on Mustafar, he would have tried to kill Palpatine too, but given how badly wounded he was after the duel, his power wasn't the same and he was weak, both physically and mentally.
He often refers to Vader as a tool that can be discarded when he is no longer of any use, and yet still Vader obeys. Despite wanting Vader to obey, Palpatine still sees his apprentice as pathetic and someone who could never surpass him.
Palpatine, motivated by pride and a desire to see his homeworld become a part of the greater galaxy, sought to quietly undermine his father's political agenda during the 65 BBY election season. More importantly, however, it was the rift with his father that indirectly led to his future as a Sith.
After his defeat in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Maul didn't return to the franchise until Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but Lucas considered resurrecting the character years earlier.
Yes. This is going to be unpopular, however, it's fairly clear from various sources, including Lucas himself, that Palpatine did let Mace Windu win. Lucas himself noted during hos commentary on the film But this part where he, he pretends to lose his power and be weak was something I added later.
