Lucasfilm wished to keep the "I am your father" moment under wraps
ahead of and upon the sequel’s initial release for obvious reasons.
However, Den of Geek notes that Dave teased the reveal to the press
beforehand, saying: "Father can't kill son, son can't kill father, so
they live again to star in Star Wars IV."
The information appeared in at least one newspaper and encouraged
Lucasfilm to try harder to keep plot details hidden from the press.
Although, Dave later claimed that he didn't know about the reveal and
that it was simply a lucky guess.
Later, in 1982 and a year prior to the release of Return of the Jedi,
a UK newspaper leaked that Darth Vader would die and the book How Star
Wars Conquered the Universe highlights that Dave was blamed for the
leak.
The previous source adds that this led to Dave being left out of many
of the third film's scenes and when the helmet did come off to reveal
Vader's true face, it was Sebastian Shaw's face underneath.
Diving deeper into the issue of the leak, Dave recalled that a
journalist called him one day to discuss his career as a weightlifter.
However, the journalist began to talk about Star Wars at some point.
Dave has since spoken about the moment:
"He turned up at my gymnasium that evening and halfway through he
says, 'You know you're being killed off in this movie, don't you? And
another guy's playing the dying Darth Vader?' I said, "They wouldn't
do that – they wouldn't go and unmask somebody else after I've played
the part for six years.' He asked if I had a call sheet, and he looked
at it and it said: 'Dave Prowse, Darth Vader, Studio 1,' and
underneath it 'Sebastian Shaw, Anakin Skywalker, Studio 10'."
Dave remembers that the Daily Mail published a piece headlined "Darth
Vader to be killed off in the next movie, in an interview with David
Prowse" the next day, saying "and that ruined my association with Star
Wars."
He added: "I was ostracized while on the movie, the producer and
director wouldn't work with me, and Lucas wouldn't speak to me. I had
six weeks of purgatory."
Den of Geek addresses that Dave and George lost touch after the
trilogy's production but notes that Dave was blocked from appearing at
official Star Wars conventions in 2010 due to his participation in a
documentary which took aim at George called The People Versus George
Lucas.
