Darth Vader certainly comes to mind when it comes to iconic villains in movie history. Whether you’re a fan of, or have even seen, the Star Wars movies, Vader’s deep voice, distinctive breathing and memorable lines are instantly recognizable. Even more recognizable as a piece of cinematic iconography is his helmet. Dark and menacing, Darth Vader’s helmet is the ultimate visual for evil.
Given the 80s makeup and effects, as well as George Lucas’ tendency to re-edit his films, audiences may not have seen the most accurate depiction of Anakin’s face in the big reveal. Plus, given all the mechanized aspects of his suit, it’s clear that Darth Vader’s helmet serves a greater purpose than just sowing fear into the hearts of his enemies. Here’s a look at the overall function of the helmet and the face it hides (yes, protective).
Updated October 18, 2022: If you love Star Warsyou will be pleased to know that we have updated this article with additional information about Darth Vader.
What Darth Vader actually looks like
This image of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi isn’t the most accurate representation of the man, especially when you’ve seen how he got his scars Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In reality, the scar on his left cheek would probably cover his entire face. When Anakin’s body was set on fire after his fight with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, he was severely burned both inside and out. This is clearly not the case in the image above. Unless the Star Wars galaxy has highly advanced healing techniques that have restored most of his skin, he would more likely look unrecognizable compared to before his sacrifice. He would most likely look like Jackie Earl Haley in the remake of A nightmare on Elm Street from 2010. In addition to his facial deformities, damage to the inside of his body has left him dependent on his suit. Mustafar’s intense heat completely melted his eardrums, so he hears through sound waves transmitted to the implants in his inner ear. His eyes were also severely damaged and the lenses of his mask are used to filter light rays and frequencies so he can see his surroundings properly. But how necessary are the mask and suit for his survival?
Why Darth Vader needs the helmet to survive
In short, as outlined by CBRVader’s legendary helmet is the centerpiece of his life support system. It contains an air pump that runs to a filtration system on the back of the suit that continuously circulates air through his ruined lungs. There is also a backup air handling filter in the mouth portion of the mask, which doubles as a breathing intake system. His life support also includes a chest-worn computerized control unit to help manage his respiratory functions. From this panel comes a cable in his chest that connects to a breathing apparatus and a heart rate controller to keep blood flowing to his brain. There is also a series of tubes that run through his chest to his lungs and to his burnt throat, allowing him to breathe for a short time without this advanced system should his life support suffer serious damage.
If he took off his mask, the Sith Lord would quickly suffocate. So it is the most crucial part of his armor. The only time he can breathe without needing his mask is when he is seen in one of his meditation rooms in A new hope. This environment is so pressurized and controlled that he can survive in it without using his helmet, and it’s the only time he can eat normally. Outside the room, he eats through tubes built into his mask. He also spends time in his room trying to repair his body with the Force and other techniques he picked up in the galaxy, but none of them helped him in the least.
The Future of Darth Vader’s Character
Star Wars Voice actor James Earl Jones has withdrawn from the role of Darth Vader. The Oscar-winning actor, now 91, first debuted in the original 1977 film and has lent his iconic voice to the character for 45 years. Along the way, however, he has had a little help. Ukrainian start-up Respeecher uses archive recordings and a proprietary AI algorithm to create a new dialogue with artists’ voices from long ago.
Respeecher has signed a deal with Lucasfilm to not only recycle and reuse archived audio recordings from Jones for future Star Wars projects, as well as through Respeecher’s proprietary deep learning software, creating new lines of dialogue using Jones’ speech patterns. His unique tone and dialect are deciphered and copied by the artificial intelligence, digitally stored and then synthetically layered on future voiceovers, refining the sound until it matches the almost cyborg-esque yet raspy voice that made Jones famous. The deal gives us hope for more Vader appearances in Star Wars projects down the line.
Meanwhile, Hayden Christensen returns to play Anakin in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi earlier this year was a treat for everyone Star Wars die-hards. His flashback scenes with Ewan McGregor show a conflicted Anakin before he officially turned to the Dark Side, so many wondered: What would Anakin look like as a Jedi master years later, if he had stayed with the Light Side? In any case, it looks like Christensen isn’t quite done with the role; per screen frenzythere have been rumors that Darth Vader will return in the near future Ahsoka series in some capacity.