When the original cast of 'Star Wars' join the thronging masses on the red carpets across the world for the highly-anticipated reboot of history's most bewitching sci-fi franchise, there will be one very noticeable absence in the lineup.
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While history has always cast actor Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker as the one banished to a faraway galaxy since he played very much the central character in the original trilogy, the actor has in fact been taken fully back into the fold, sharing the stage with co-stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher on the promo rounds, and, despite his absence in the trailer leading to all sorts of fan theories, he seems set to appear in JJ Abrams' new film, making its world premiere today at Comic-Con.
Everything went wrong when Darth Vader actor David Prowse was accused of giving away a massive plot twist
No, it's another equally significant actor from the original trilogy who has removed himself to a distant part of the empire, claims to have no interest in the new film, and doesn't even own the iconic mask that he, of all people, could claim a permit to wear.
David Prowse, who played Darth Vader so memorably in 'Star Wars', 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi', has told the Sun that he has been snubbed by film bosses ahead of the release of the seventh film, expected to break box office records when it goes on release this week.
"No one bothered to contact me about the new movie, and to be honest I don't care. I don't even own Darth Vader's mask anymore.
"Those behind the film cut me out and have continued to ignore me for years. So do I have any interest in watching the new movie? No, I don't."
Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford are all part of the new film, directed by JJ Abrams
According to reports, the seed of discontent between David and his director George Lucas was sown when the Darth Vader actor was accused of leaking a key plot twist before the release of 'The Empire Strikes Back' - namely, that his character was Luke Skywalker's father (sorry if that was a spoiler, but you have had nearly 40 years to watch it).
And then an interview with David appeared in a documentary in 2010's inflammatory 'The People vs George Lucas'.
Although he claims now to have had no idea how the interview would be used, it's clear the relationship between him and the rest of the cast and crew was not smooth sailing, as Carrie Fisher reportedly gave him the nickname "Darth Farmer" because of his West Country accent when the films were originally being made.
And although David's 6'6" frame made him perfect physically for the role, Darth Vader's words were eventually spoken by US deep-voiced actor James Earl Jones - purely because of logistics over recording, says David now.
While others were set for life following the success of the films, with Harrison Ford famously taking a percentage of profit over a big salary in a decision that rewarded him royally, David now makes his living with personal appearances at annual 'Star Wars' conventions, although not the official one, from where, he claims, he is banned.
David has better memories of his other enormously high-profile gig, playing the Green Cross Code man, teaching children how to cross the road safely on television for nearly two decades until 1990, what he calls "the best time of my life".
If it's any comfort to David Prowse, his nemesis George Lucas has had a taste of being equally out in the cold when it comes to the new franchise. George sold LucasFilm to Disney, and he has revealed since that his ideas for the latest franchise were unwelcome.
David says now the best years of his life were when he was the Green Cross Code man, helping children cross the road
He told CinemaBlend: “The ones that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn’t really want to do those.
“So they made up their own. So it’s not the ones that I originally wrote [on screen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens].”
Never mind, eh, George - while David Prowse is selling his autograph for £20 a pop, the brain behind the franchise set to break more box office records this week, the original brain behind the enterprise can use the time instead to sit and count his Disney dollars - all four billion of them.
In case you hadn't realised, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' goes on general release this week.