The now-infamous Darth Vader scene from the end of Rogue One has officially been given the animated treatment from Lucasfilm. Recently, Disney and Lucasfilm announced a brand new series of shorts titled Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures, which are geared toward younger viewers and will recreate iconic scenes from the franchise. In this case, they’ve taken on one of the more memorable scenes from the recent movies and, even in animated form, it’s truly brutal.
When these shorts were initially announced, the creative team made it clear that these won’t be shot-for-shot recreations, and that is very evident here. While the sequence is quite faithful to what director Gareth Edwards did during the climax of Rogue One, there are some changes. Here, Lord Vader actually gets some dialogue, utilizing James Earl Jones’ voice tracks pulled from the original trilogy, for one. Some of the shots are also altered a bit and shown from a different perspective. But still, for an animated short that is supposedly geared toward a younger audience, this is all kinds of violent. That said, it is a stunning recreation and a new way for fans to relive the moment.
This short lives on the newly launched Star Wars Kids platform, which exists on YouTube and as its own website. Even though it’s intended for kids, there are things for adults to enjoy too. The first two episodes of the animated series Resistance are on the channel, for those who maybe don’t have access to Disney XD, in addition to several other shorts tackling different moments from throughout the Skywalker saga. They are similarly faithful to what was done in live-action, but with little changes to help bring something new to the table.
These shorts serve as part of Lucasfilm’s larger expansion of the franchise to the small screen. Not only in the world of animation with the revival of The Clone Wars for a final season and Resistance, but they also finally have live-action shows in the works for Disney+, the upcoming streaming service for all things Disney. First up is The Mandalorian, which takes place after Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens. But also related to Rogue One, it was announced recently that a prequel series centered on Diego Luna’s character Cassian Andor is also in the works and is expected to go into production next year.
As with most things related to Star Wars, these shorts have also inspired some new merchandise as well. Wal-Mart is now selling several action figures based on the animated version of these characters from the Galaxy of Adventures shorts, including Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and yes, Darth Vader. Each figure also comes with a mini comic, to help sweeten the deal and they retail for $9.99. But for those who are just here to see some animated Sith Lord carnage against some Rebel scum, be sure to check out the short from the Star Wars Kids YouTube channel below.