Vader Remembrances

Vader Remembrances (also known as Vader Remembrances: A Star Wars Fan Film) is an American space-opera fan film based on the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas and owned by The Walt Disney Company. It was produced by Fanatic Films and released on the official Raydon Studios Motion Pictures YouTube channel. It stars fans of the franchise in roles originated from the prequel trilogy.

Synopsis
"Five years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, a still grieving Darth Vader secretly travels to the planet of Naboo to visit his late wife Padmé Amidala's tomb where he is confronted by her Force ghost."

Cast

 * Elaine Harper as Darth Vader
 * Kevin Urban as the voice of Darth Vader
 * Kathleen Olson as the Force Ghost of Padmé Amidala
 * Brandon Baker as a Stormtrooper

Development
Raydon Entertainment began developing a Star Wars script in fall 2015 inspired by the hype surrounding the then-upcoming seventh Star Wars film The Force Awakens. The script was completed by March 2016 with production slated to begin later that year. Studio president Brandon Baker wrote the script and was announced as director and executive producer in April 2016. Baker is a life-long fan of the Star Wars franchise, having dressed up as Anakin Skywalker at three years old for Halloween in 1999 to celebrate Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and was extremely excited to get to direct his first Star Wars fan film. The film was given a very limited budget of only $500 to ensure its amateur status in order to avoid copyright infringement issues.

Casting
Brandon Baker announced his intentions to only hire his friends and colleagues in order to keep costs down and to once again ensure an amateur feeling. In June 2016, it was announced the 6'5" Elaine Harper would be physically portraying Darth Vader while her roommate Kevin Urban would provide the voice. Later that month, Baker's long-time friend Kathleen Olson was announced to be portraying the Force ghost of Padmé Amidala. Baker makes a cameo appearance as a Stormtrooper.

Filming
Principal photography on the short film began in August 2016 and lasted until mid-September. The film's opening sequence was shot over a month later in early November. Filming officially wrapped on November 7, 2016 and post-production work began on November 10.

Release
The short film was released on May 5, 2017 for free on the official Raydon Studios Motion Pictures YouTube channel.

Follow-up film
An unrelated follow-up film was released on May 3, 2019 once again starring Elaine Harper. In this film, Harper portrays the Togruta Jedi padawan Ryn Omelia, an original character created for the film.