Darth Vader is set to appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but will he be voiced by Hayden Christensen or James Earl Jones? Both actors have taken on the role of the Sith Lord in various installments of the Star Wars franchise, and the point in time in which Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place makes it possible for either one of them to be voicing the character. At the moment, there isn’t a lot of information on how the character will be handled, but there’s plenty of room for speculation, regardless.
In December 2020, it was announced that Hayden Christensen would be reprising his role as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the specifics of his involvement haven’t been elaborated on. Not only that, but with the show taking place ten years after Revenge of the Sith, Vader would already be wearing his iconic suit, meaning that it would make more sense for James Earl Jones to voice him as he has done in most projects since the original trilogy. However, there’s been no word on Jones having any involvement with the series.
The most likely solution is that both Hayden Christensen and James Earl Jones will be voicing Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi, though it's not something the show's crew will admit. Since Christensen played Vader in the brief period of time before he obtained his iconic suit in Revenge of the Sith, the upcoming series could show him as Vader through flashbacks to Episode III as a means of fleshing out both the character and Obi-Wan’s trauma. Not only that, but both Luke in The Empire Strikes Back and Ahsoka in Star Wars Rebels had Force visions of Vader, with Ahsoka even seeing him as he originally looked, so it's plausible something similar could happen with Obi-Wan.
Given how iconic Jones has become as the voice of Vader, the show would be remiss to not bring him back; nothing has been said about Jones returning, but it would be easy enough for his involvement to simply be kept under wraps to surprise the audience. Whatever scenes Vader has in the "present-day" of Obi-Wan's timeline would more than justify Jones providing his voice again, and there would even be a way to have both actors play him at once. When Ahsoka fought Vader in Rebels, his helmet was partially broken and his voice changed from Jones’ to Matt Lanter’s, who voiced Anakin Skywalker throughout Star Wars: The Clone Wars, so Star Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi could do something similar.
Again, there are currently no concrete details about how Darth Vader will be handled in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but there’s more than enough room for speculation. Since Hayden Christensen was explicitly announced for the role, he could be voicing the character by way of flashbacks, visions, or the destruction of Vader’s suit. However, since James Earl Jones’ voice has become such a vital part of the character, it would make sense for him to return and for the show to find a way to balance out both actors’ portrayals of Star Wars' Darth Vader. Regardless, there likely won’t be any way of knowing until the show actually premieres on May 25, 2022.
