For reasons unknown, ‘Star Wars’ stans ponder which instrument Darth Vader would play

The nice thing about a fantasy series like Star Wars is that it allows its fans to escape the regular workaday world of woe, if only for a few moments respite, so as to imagine what it would be like to be a hero, a princess, a rapscallion with a heart of gold. Rich worlds of imagination like the galaxy far far away weave a tapestry of colorful characters and exotic locales that inspire endless works, and fans will often end up writing their own stories set in that universe, creating fan art around the characters, or even producing full-scale fan films of their own.

Then again, there are some people who are just bored on the Internet and raising questions for the hell of it. So it goes with “atmkrncnr13,” a user of the popular Internet bulletin board Reddit, who posted a question in the Star Wars subreddit, “What instrument would Darth Vader play?”

The post itself remains one of the forum’s less popular, with zero upvotes (every post automatically starts with one, so someone actually took the time to “downvote” it). However, it did spark a discussion of sorts. The most popular category proposed by fans was wind instruments, which certainly would be ironic considering that one of Vader’s defining characteristics is his heavy breathing.

Robsled8 suggested a harmonica:

Which prompted TheKizzy to remind us all of this wonderful fan edit of the unmasking scene at the climax of Return of the Jedi:

Several users proposed that Vader would use a saxophone:

Although the original poster nipped that suggestion in the bud with the most serious answer he could think of:

And lanwopc took the time to nail signature instruments for both Darth Vader and his alter ego, Anakin Skywalker:

Whatever the instrument, Vader would still most likely by unable to keep a band together because odds are good he’d insist on being the vocalist as well, which wouldn’t work.