Rogue One: Darth Vader cameo rumoured to see return of James Earl Jones to the role

And not, as previously reported, Hayden Christensen.

James Earl Jones, the original voice of Darth Vader, is rumoured to be returning for a cameo appearance as the iconic villain in the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Though reports of Darth Vader making an appearance in the anthology tale have been making the rounds for a while, new claims now shoot down original assertions the prequels' Hayden Christensen would be taking on the role. 

Making Star Wars are reporting what they've described as "The Darth Vader Dream Team" has been assembled for the film, with Earl Jones indeed returning to voice Vader's lines in Rogue One. Further to this, the Darth Vader costume, as seen in A New Hope, has apparently been painstakingly recreated as a perfect match to the original.  

The production went so far as to bring back the man who had originally sculpted Darth Vader's helmet in 1977, Brian Muir, for the job. Because if there's one group of fans with a keen set of eyes, just waiting to point out mistakes and tear them to pieces, it's the Star Wars squad.

That said, there's no word on who might wear the actual Darth Vader suit on screen. Though Christensen was previously reported, that's obviously off the table if the role's been reduced to a mute part (come on, he's not done amazingly since Star Wars but let's give him a bit more credit than that); it may simply involve taking on an accomplished unknown to capture the villain's fearsome physicality. 

Plot details are thin on the ground, though rumours mostly surround Darth Vader playing a small, but prominent role in the film; a fearsome shadow threatening to collapse the rebels' plans to steal the plans for the Death Star. 

James Earl Jones would be starring alongside the likes of Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jian Wen, Forest Whitaker, Alan Tudyk, and Riz Ahmed. 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits UK theatres 16 December.