One of the most exciting announcements from Star Wars Celebration is that Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in Season 2 of Ahsoka. In an exclusive interview following this big reveal, Christensen shared his thoughts on returning to the iconic role after nearly two decades, his appreciation for the darker aspects of Star Wars, and even his favorite Anakin meme.
We started our conversation by discussing what other Anakin stories Christensen would like to explore on screen. He expressed a keen interest in delving deeper into the Clone Wars era, a period largely covered in animation where Matt Lanter voiced the character. "I would love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era," Christensen said, adding, "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."
Christensen acknowledged that bringing this vision to life would require some "aging magic," but his enthusiasm for the character remains undiminished. "I love this character," he affirmed. "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."
As Revenge of the Sith approaches its 20th anniversary on May 19, 2025, we shifted our discussion to this pivotal film, known for its darker themes. Christensen praised George Lucas's bold storytelling choices, saying, "George Lucas made some very bold choices and I love that he did that. 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 role after almost 20 years, Christensen noted the profound personal growth he experienced during that time. "Of course it feels different. I'm different," he explained. "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 described the unique challenge and joy of revisiting a role after such a long hiatus. "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."
Towards the end of our conversation, we touched on the ongoing debate about the best order to watch the Star Wars films. Christensen remained neutral, stating, "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 resist asking about the numerous Anakin memes. While he's familiar with the infamous sand meme and enjoys the one featuring him and Padmé in the field, his current favorite is a meme depicting Emperor Palpatine pleading with Anakin not to let Mace Windu kill him, to which Anakin replies, "He's just reflecting your lightning back you... just stop shooting lightning!"
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka. Image Credit: Lucasfilm
