No one's ever really gone. Since being bought by Disney in 2012, the Star Wars franchise has brought back many of its beloved old characters, including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia. Now it has added another unexpected name to the list – the villainous Sith Lord Darth Vader.

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At least, that's what people are taking from the latest advertisement for the upcoming Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, which follows Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) as he journeys into an ancient temple to meet with the Emperor, played by Ian McDiarmid.

“At last, my boy... I have been every voice you have ever heard... inside your head,” says the voiceover, which switches from McDiarmid's Emperor, to the voice of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis' CGI villain from the sequels), and finally to that of Darth Vader.

It remains to be seen whether Vader has solely a peripheral appearance in the film, or whether his presence will manifest in a more tangible way.

You can watch the clip here:

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James Earl Jones voiced the character in the original Star Wars trilogy, and reprised the role for a cameo in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. His powerfully deep vocal delivery helped make the role iconic, and his potential return will be exciting news for many Star Wars fans.

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are just some of the actors from the original Star Wars films to return in the Disney-produced sequels. Anthony Daniels (who plays C-3PO) and Billy Dee Williams (who plays Lando Calrissian) are set to feature in Rise of Skywalker.

Disney had also announced that Ewan McGregor, who played legendary Jedi Obi-wan Kenobi in the divisive prequel trilogy, would be returning to the Star Wars universe for a Kenobi-centric TV series, which will be released on their streaming platform, Disney+.

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Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker will be released in the UK on Thursday, 19th December 2019.

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