Hot Toys Rogue One Vader MMS388

[WhoaItsJBot]

I thought the helmet looked great in ROTS. I don't like the connected chest and shoulder armor though.

 

[LoveMinusZero]

Yeah I know the costume looks a bit different in every movie, but his underlying proportions usually remain the same. I did a quick comparison from the same basic angle, and you can see Prowse's shoulders slope down a lot more and don't appear nearly as wide.


View attachment 305942


I agree it'll still be awesome to see Vader again in the movie. I just wish they had captured what he looked like a bit better.

Vader definitely had sloping shoulders throughout ANH, it's not just Prowse's posture in this particular scene. It has to do with the chest armor and shoulder bells not being attached to each other, allowing the shoulder bells to sit more properly/closely on his shoulders. It seems to have be changed in ESB and the pieces are attached to each other, you can really see this in the film when Vader defeats Luke on Bespin.

ANH with separate shoulder and chest plate allowing for the natural sloping:
The inner robe hides it, but the shoulder bells sit slightly under the chest plate armor.

ESB with the three pieces fused together making Vader look more wide shouldered and beefy (when caped) :

These are just minor details to many people, and most don't/won't even notice it, but to me this stuff really make ANH Vader look like ANH. The one thing that bugs me about these "updates" is the confirmation that the filmmakers believe that the suits in ANH are crappy and only look the way they do because Lucas didn't have enough money and not because that's the way they wanted them to look. Lucas himself helped this by making Vader look ridiculous in ROTS. To me, Vader looks awesome in ANH because he looks awesome, the end. Make the materials better but do as much as you can to make the thing look like it did.

That being said, Vader still looks great and I can't really complain considering what could have happened.

 

[TaliBane]

Ha yeah, I definitely agree there. Much like with Chewie in TFA, it may not be a great match with the original, but it's still lightyears better than the atrocity that we got in ROTS.

This is definitely way better than it could have been, but this RO Vader feels about 50% ROTS and 50% ANH to me. Other than the chin triangle and chestbox style, there's really nothing that defines this as ANH Vader, other than to casual fans who just see generic "Vader."

What's weird is you'd think the Lucasfilm archives would have versions of the OT Vader outfits. Things on this RO Vader like the hemorrhoid cushion codpiece, the high gloss and clean, brightly painted gunmetal/black chest armor and helmet, and even smaller things like the coin slots on the chestbox being different, you could have easily gotten around.

Stuff like the shoulders and the tuck of the inner robe seems to vary and is easily changed but even those seem to be an open question at this point.

Vader's probably only onscreen for a total of 60 seconds, half of it covered by steam and dim lighting - even if they had used a few parts from the actual OT costumes it might have worked because ANH Vader is so beat-up anyway.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Doesn't seem like anyone really did the research they claimed.

 

[TaliBane]

Doesn't seem like anyone really did the research they claimed.

Well, it's not like it's the return of Admiral Ackbar or Nien Nunb to the big screen...


What is a little sad is that it seems the one opportunity to see ANH icons like ANH-style Vader, sandtroopers and stunt-style ANH stormies on the big screen again - exactly as they appeared in ANH - has been lost. It's fine for the casual fan, but to see those costumes in action on the big screen again would have been nothing short of magic.

But a 50/50 ROTS-ANH Vader and redesigned stormies/sandies is fine I suppose, and maybe in a way it's good - keeping the OT icons where they belong... in the OT.

 

[EVILFACE]

They need to fit the helmet better, it looks like it's just sitting on his shoulders. Looks too low, like the guy doesn't have a neck.

Movie is in the can and shipping out. They ain't fitting anything better.

 

[Wor-Gar]

maybe in a way it's good - keeping the OT icons where they belong... in the OT.

I think that's the best way to look at it.

Nothing can ever capture that magic again. So why even try.

 

[Asta]

Nothing can ever capture that magic again. So why even try.

That must have been Lucas' maxim when he made the PT...

 

[TaliBane]

That must have been Lucas' maxim when he made the PT...

Touche, sir.

 

[davejames]

I think that's the best way to look at it.

Nothing can ever capture that magic again. So why even try.

Maybe, but I still would have expected them to get closer than they did. Especially when even amateurs on the RPF can put together a more convincing ANH Vader costume:

 

[cmiller99]

Nothing can ever capture that magic again. So why even try.

That must have been Lucas' maxim when he made the PT...

Pretty close.

 

[SilverStar17]

From what I can tell by that picture, I wish they would have made the chain of his cape a little more visible at the neck like it usually is. Though it does seem a little dark at the neck area in that picture, so not sure if it's just obscured by darkness. Perhaps it's just me, but it also seems like the cape seems to slant inward towards his neck a bit more.

RO Vader feels about 50% ROTS and 50% ANH to me.

Sounds about right to me, given that it's a filler between RotS and ANH. Much closer to ANH, yes, but technically still between the two.

 

[TaliBane]

Sounds about right to me, given that it's a filler between RotS and ANH. Much closer to ANH, yes, but technically still between the two.

Rogue One starts about 20 years after ROTS and ends about 20 minutes before ANH starts.

Based on that, RO Vader should be about 99% ANH Vader and 1% ROTS Vader..

 

[TaliBane]

Maybe, but I still would have expected them to get closer than they did. Especially when even amateurs on the RPF can put together a more convincing ANH Vader costume:

View attachment 305945

Very true but that guy's collection is pretty #@%$ing amazing and not your base-level RPF/amateur effort.

Considering the budget and archives reference the RO people had to work with, in some ways this RO Vader is a pretty lame effort in terms of recreating ANH Vader.

 

[SithThundercracker]

I think it's safe to assume they just deliberately (and wrongly, of course) didn't want an ANH looking Vader. Probably the outside-armor-shiny-look is considered somehow the "canon" Vader look...
If this was a Lucas idea he'll probably edit ANH with a new shiny looking Vader in it.

 

[Rudimus]

I think it's safe to assume they just deliberately (and wrongly, of course) didn't want an ANH looking Vader. Probably the outside-armor-shiny-look is considered somehow the "canon" Vader look...
If this was a Lucas idea he'll probably edit ANH with a new shiny looking Vader in it.

Nah. This is Disney's Vader.

 

[SithThundercracker]

The one thing that bugs me about these "updates" is the confirmation that the filmmakers believe that the suits in ANH are crappy and only look the way they do because Lucas didn't have enough money and not because that's the way they wanted them to look. Lucas himself helped this by making Vader look ridiculous in ROTS. To me, Vader looks awesome in ANH because he looks awesome, the end. Make the materials better but do as much as you can to make the thing look like it did.

I agree completely (minus probably the fact that I prefer the ESB look)...they chose not to go ANH but they should have.

 

[Asta]

Nah. This is Disney's Vader.

 

[greygoose]

So how does the Hot Toys RO Vader compare to the on-screen RO Vader? I imagine someone has all the details.

 

[fatmarco]

Well we don't really have detailed enough images of either version yet.

Does anyone have an idea when the photos of this Vader will start coming in? It's been released in HK already no?