One of the most exciting announcements from Star Wars Celebration is the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Season 2 of Ahsoka. In an exclusive interview following the reveal, Christensen shared his thoughts on reprising the role after nearly two decades, his appreciation for the darker elements in Star Wars, and even his favorite Anakin meme.
We started 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 depicted in animated form where Matt Lanter voiced Anakin. "I would love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era," Christensen said. He also mentioned that his friend Ewan McGregor would be interested in revisiting this time period 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," he added.
While acknowledging that bringing this vision to life might require some "aging" magic, Christensen remains enthusiastic about continuing to explore Anakin's journey, including further delving into the Darth Vader timeline. "I love this character," he 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."
Our discussion then shifted to the upcoming 20th anniversary of "Revenge of the Sith" on May 19, 2025. Christensen praised George Lucas for making bold narrative choices, particularly in how the film tackled darker themes. "George Lucas made some very bold choices and I love that he did that," Christensen 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 role after almost 20 years, Christensen noted the profound personal and professional growth he experienced during that time. "Of course it feels different. I'm different," he said. "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."
Christensen views returning to the role after such a long hiatus as a unique challenge and a rewarding exercise in acting. "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 debate over the best order to watch the Star Wars films. Christensen remained neutral, suggesting there's no definitive right or wrong way. "I don't know that there is a right way or a wrong way, and I think there's merit to both," he said. "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 many Anakin memes that have proliferated online. While Christensen has seen the infamous "sand" meme countless times and enjoys the one with 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. In the meme, Anakin replies, "He's just reflecting your lightning back you... just stop shooting lightning!"
