One of the most exciting announcements from Star Wars Celebration is that Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker in Season 2 of Ahsoka. Following this big reveal, we had the opportunity to sit down with Christensen to discuss his return to the iconic role after nearly 20 years, his appreciation for the darker aspects of Star Wars, and even his favorite Anakin meme.
Our conversation kicked off with a discussion about potential future Anakin stories Christensen would like to explore. He expressed a keen interest in delving deeper into the Clone Wars era, saying, "I would love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era." This is understandable as, aside from his notable scene in Ahsoka and brief appearances in the films, much of the Clone Wars-era Anakin has been portrayed by Matt Lanter in animated form.
Christensen mentioned that his friend Ewan McGregor would also be interested in returning to this period. "It's a cool look. It's a cool sort of period in Star Wars and I think there are great stories that we could tell there. So who knows, maybe one day," he added. While acknowledging that such a project would require some "aging" magic, Christensen remains enthusiastic about further exploring Anakin's story, including more of the Darth Vader timeline.
"I love this character," Christensen stated. "I would love the chance to continue to explore Anakin's story some more and hopefully do the Darth Vader timeline a little bit more too. I think there are more stories there to be told."
Shifting gears, we discussed the upcoming 20th anniversary of Revenge of the Sith on May 19, 2025. This film is renowned for its dark themes, and Christensen appreciates when Star Wars delves into challenging subjects. "George Lucas made some very bold choices and I love that he did that," he said. "However, he did it in a way that we could still digest everything. For example, Anakin is killing younglings, but we don't actually see it. But yeah, I like it when Star Wars goes dark. That works for me."
Reflecting on returning to the role after almost two decades, Christensen shared, "Of course it feels different. I'm different. I've had 20 years of life that I didn't have before, and that just sort of changes your perspective on things. But in a lot of ways, I feel even more connected to Anakin now than I ever have because I've had more time to think about him and sort of try to understand him. It's a very unique thing coming back to a role after all of these years and an interesting sort of exercise in the craft of acting, having to sort of account for that passage of time. But I feel very fortunate that I have the opportunity to do it."
As we wrapped up our discussion, we touched on the ongoing debate about the best order to watch the Star Wars films. Christensen offered a balanced view: "Not really. I don't know that there is a right way or a wrong way, and I think there's merit to both. I think George Lucas would like you to start with episode one and experience the story in a linear fashion, but there's definitely something to be said for starting with episode four. I've thought about it myself as I have yet to show my daughter the films... I mean she is going to see her dad do some sort of gnarly stuff."
Finally, we couldn't miss the chance to ask Christensen about the numerous Anakin memes and which one is his favorite. While he's seen the infamous "sand" meme countless times and enjoys the one with him and Padmé in the field, his current favorite is a meme featuring Emperor Palpatine pleading with Anakin to not let Mace Windu kill him, to which Anakin replies, "He's just reflecting your lightning back you... just stop shooting lightning!"
Latest Downloads
Downlaod
Top News
