Hayden Christensen Returns as Anakin in Ahsoka, Praises Dark 'Star Wars' - Celebration

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 reveal, we had the opportunity to sit down with Christensen to discuss his return to the iconic role after nearly two decades, his appreciation for the darker aspects of Star Wars, and his favorite Anakin meme.

We started our conversation by exploring what other Anakin stories Christensen would like to bring to life on screen. He expressed a strong 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 makes sense, given that most of the Clone Wars-era Anakin we've seen has been in animated form, voiced by Matt Lanter, except for brief moments in the films and the impactful scene in *Ahsoka*.

Christensen added, "I know my friend Ewan would be game for that as well. 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." While the idea is appealing, Christensen acknowledged that it would "require a little bit of aging" magic to pull off, yet he remains enthusiastic about continuing to explore Anakin's journey, including further delving into the Darth Vader timeline.

"I love this character," Christensen emphasized. "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."

Our discussion then turned to *Revenge of the Sith*, which is approaching its 20th anniversary on May 19, 2025. This film is known for its dark themes, and Christensen appreciates when Star Wars ventures into such territory. "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 his return to the character after nearly two decades, Christensen noted, "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."

He also found the experience of returning to Anakin/Darth Vader after so long to be a unique and enriching exercise in his craft. "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 our conversation drew to a close, we shifted our focus to the Star Wars saga as a whole, asking Christensen about the ongoing debate on the best viewing order for the films. He responded, "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 end without asking about the numerous Anakin memes. Christensen has seen the infamous sand meme countless times and enjoys the one with him and Padmé in the field, but his current favorite is a meme featuring Emperor Palpatine pleading with Anakin not to let Mace Windu kill him, to which Anakin replies, "He's just reflecting your lightning back at you... just stop shooting lightning!"