How ‘Vader: Shards of the Past’ Unified the Star Wars Fandom

The last few years have been turbulent ones for the Star Wars fandom. The releases of The Last Jedi in December 2017 and Solo: A Star Wars Story in May 2018 disappointed legions of fans. While there were some in the fandom who liked The Last Jedi and Solo, the two films left many in the community hopeless about the fate of the franchise. Some disgruntled fans even started a campaign to remake The Last Jedi. Given the tense environment surrounding the Star Wars franchise, when a film released on December 21, 2018 that gave the fandom everything it wanted in a piece of Star Wars media, it was a welcome surprise. And that film, ironically enough, was made by a member of the fandom itself.

In a matter of hours after its release, Star Wars Theory’s Vader: Shards of the Past unified the Star Wars community like never before. Its viewership grew exponentially over the days and weeks since it was uploaded to YouTube. As of the time of this writing, the film currently has over 8 million views, as well as 564,000 likes. It even has a score of 9.1 on IMDB.

This enormous outburst of support from the Star Wars fandom is both spectacular to behold and a rare occurrence. The fandom is known to be extremely passionate about the franchise. And, as The Last Jedi and Solo demonstrate, Star Wars fans do not bestow heaps of praise on any given project. So, the question must be asked: Why has this film been so well-received? Why did it resonate so much with the fan base and leave people clamoring for a sequel?

Visual Authenticity

One of the most compelling aspects of Shards of the Past is the film’s appearance. The costumes, set design, special effects, and lighting feel like they were ripped straight from the minds at Lucasfilm. Take Darth Vader’s suit, for example, not only does it nail every detail but it’s also extremely polished, reflecting light off of its menacing dark exterior. His lightsaber, with its trademark crimson hue, is also spot-on. This was the Vader we’d come to know and love.

Emperor Palpatine‘s design is equally impressive. The filmmakers used makeup to give his face its classically deformed appearance. And his use of purplish-blue, crackling Force lightning is as fearsome in the fan film as it is in the originals. Other notable elements include the impressive costumes of the Empire’s clone troopers and the gargantuan design of the Venator-class Star Destroyer. Even the peaceful-yet-ominous aesthetic of Naboo feels perfect.

Just as in the original films and the sequels, Shards of the Past placed special focus on using practical costumes and makeup instead of CGI. Fans maligned George Lucas’ prequel trilogy for its overreliance on CGI. So, many saw the fan film’s return to a realistic visual style as a relief. One impassioned fan wrote on IMDB, “Stunning visuals, some better than I’ve seen in any Disney Star Wars property, took my breath away.” Another reviewer proclaimed:

“The star here is the visual design, which captures a live-action Star Wars look perfectly. It’s particularly thrilling to see Clone Wars-style clone armor in live action. It’s well worth a watch for that alone.”

Put simply, Shards of the Past exudes a visual authenticity that the Star Wars fandom craved. Its visual style and art direction mirror the practical design of the original and sequel trilogies, thereby captivating legions of fans.

Musical Mastery

In addition to its mastery of visual style, Vader: Shards of the Past’s musical score enthralls fans as soon as the film begins. Jacob A. Cadmus, the film’s composer, crafted his score to resemble the musical themes of the Star Wars franchise. The score evokes all of the emotions we’ve come to associate with John Williams’ compositions. We feel Vader’s desperation, unbridled rage, and fury on the battlefield thanks to Cadmus’ spot-on music. Conversely, following the appearance of Padmé Amidala in one of Vader’s visions, his theme is juxtaposed with a far calmer, romantic melody. Later in the film, the music becomes more melancholy and contemplative, reflecting the conflict between Vader’s hatred of and subservience to Palpatine. Finally, the film ends with a dramatic and swelling score that anticipates the massive battle that Vader must fight against a mysterious Jedi.

Cadmus’ music deeply resonated with Star Wars fans, and many of them praised its authenticity on Reddit. Reddit user Zaja123123 wrote that “the music was the best part of the film, it was really well done and I could even imagine it being… from a spin-off movie.” Fan Jay Rojas praised Padmé’s theme on YouTube, writing, “The fact that this theme sounds so unique yet so familiar is what blows my mind [about] how well this blends into the Vader fan film.” All of the different emotional threads of the film’s music combined to create an experience that immediately drew in Star Wars fans. Cadmus’ score resembled John Williams’ work and took the franchise’s musical style in new directions, creating a scintillating experience for Star Wars fans everywhere.

An Emotional Story

Vader: Shards of the Past‘s impactful story may be the biggest reason the fandom embraced the fan film. The film explores the complex psychological struggle of Darth Vader, delving into his darkest thoughts and his most desperate aspirations. We see Vader’s internal conflict about his desire to kill his master, Emperor Palpatine. The urge to kill the man who ruined his life is a strong one for the newly-minted Sith Lord. Yet, Vader knows he doesn’t have the power to destroy Palpatine; he is still weakened by the loss of his limbs on Mustafar and the death of his wife, Padmé. The film’s powerful, emotional tone won the hearts of many Star Wars fans, who took to the Internet to express their praise.

Fans enjoyed seeing Vader’s personal side, something the Star Wars films and TV series have yet to fully explore. For years, many fans wanted Star Wars media to examine Vader’s personal side, and they got their wish in the form of Charles Soule’s brilliant Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic series. Shards of the Past seemingly draws inspiration from these comics, focusing on the series’ dark, personal themes. Redditors even noticed the similarities.

Shards of the Past gave fans exactly what they wanted when it came to Vader: the chance to dive into the psyche of a broken man, one who hadn’t yet fully embraced the power of the dark side.

Shards of the Past: A Compelling Tale

Vader: Shards of the Past captured the essence of the franchise. The film’s visual direction and art style echoed that of the original films. Every aspect of the costumes, weapons, sets, and special effects felt firmly grounded in the Star Wars universe. Similarly, its music was evocative of John Williams’ score, using grand, swelling orchestral arrangements. But the film didn’t simply mimic those that preceded it. Shards of the Past explored a repentant, guilty, and emotional side of Darth Vader that fans had barely seen. In short, the film did a masterful job of combining the old and the new. Ultimately, it was this combination of visual, musical, and narrative style that captivated and unified Star Wars fans worldwide. In one Reddit post, a jubilant fan encapsulated the sentiment of the Star Wars fandom, saying: