Darth Vader Comic Series Will Reveal The Origin Of The Dark Castle On Mustafar
While fans knew that Darth Vader would be making an appearance in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story long before the movie hit theaters, there was one surprise waiting for them when they saw the entire movie. One of concept artist Ralph McQuarrie's unused set designs finally made it into Star Wars canon: Darth Vader's castle.
Rogue One revealed that Darth Vader's castle was located on the lava planet Mustafar, where Anakin Skywalker faced off with his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi and truly turned to the dark side. But there's much more to be told about the residence of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and the Darth Vader comic series will explain how this imposing structure came to be.Star Wars comics writer Charles Soule revealed on Twitter that "the next big arc in the Darth Vader series is called Fortress Vader." In case it's not clear from the title, it will explain what fans have been wanting to know about the castle's origin, as the villain is sent there by Emperor Palpatine to "reclaim" himself. However, we've already gotten some possible hints about the history of the castle.
What We Know About the Castle
Early in 2017, not long after Rogue One hit theaters, LucasFilm's executive creative director Doug Chiang sat down for an interview with StarWars.com, and he explained they came up with a little bit of backstory for the castle in question. Chiang said they determined "perhaps this place had special meaning for him, and that this is where he comes to meditate and to heal himself."
The comics have already shown that this location has some kind of energy that has called to Darth Vader. It's the location where Vader had definitively denied any remnant of the light side that resided in his heart. He then took all of the pain inside him and channeled it into a kyber crystal that resulted in the creation of his red lightsaber. So it seems as if maybe the presence of dark side energy has been there for awhile. In fact, more background details from Doug Chiang seem to indicate as much. He previously explained:
"If you look at the finished design, it has this very strong element of a structure that was there for a purpose, and that purpose was to draw energy from the lava lake. If you look at the design of the base, it feels very much like a dam, and how the lava flows through it, possibly getting energy. And so we thought, 'Okay, well, that's the foundation. Maybe even deeper, or underneath that, is an even more ancient part, which is a natural cave where Vader goes to meditate.' Visually, we're trying to create a sort of history for the tower. The bottom is the most ancient, the lava lake dam part was perhaps what Vader built his foundation on, and then the tower was Vader's addition."
A Connection to New Star Wars Movies?
So Fortress Vader will explain more about the foundation of the castle, providing details as to why Vader was inspired to build the rest of the structure on that spot. But perhaps it will also expand details about the new Star Wars movies.
Further confirmation that Darth Vader's castle has dark side energy that lies beyond his personal connection to the planet comes from Star Wars The Last Jedi: A Visual Dictionary. The book revealed that the ring Supreme Leader Snoke wears in Star Wars: The Last Jedi contains a fragment obsidian taken from the volcanic stone beneath Darth Vader's castle. Perhaps Fortress Vader will give us some explanation as to why Snoke would have a ring like that.
Plus, let's not forget that Doug Chiang previously said that he hoped some of the details on the origin of Darth Vader's castle would be revealed in a future Star Wars film. Perhaps there's a chance Kylo Ren will venture to Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar in Star Wars: Episode 9 as a way of fully tapping in to the dark side now that he's the Supreme Leader of the First Order. If Vader used it as a place to reclaim himself, it would be interesting to see Kylo Ren do the same. But if Ren is no longer trying to emulate his grandfather, maybe that's out of the question.
The Darth Vader comic series has been one of the best to come from Marvel Comics as new stories in the Star Wars canon have taken off. While fans have grown adverse to origin stories thanks to the bad taste left in a lot of people's mouth from the prequels, the stories within these comics have provided some satisfying background stories for iconic characters and locations. So hopefully Fortress Vader will do the same.