There have been many high points in the live action television era of Star Wars, more than we probably realise, and one of them has been the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skykwalker, We first welcomed him back in 2022’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and then we got even more of Anakin in the three years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith in Ahsoka, and speaking to Dagobah Dispatch, Hayden went into further detail regarding his return to the role.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So when you first signed on to come back for Obi-Wan Kenobi, did you know then that you would be also be appearing on Ahsoka?
HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN: No, I did not. I had heard about the Ahsoka project, but there was no mention of my involvement when we were doing the Obi-Wan show. And it wasn’t really until we wrapped on that when I got a really nice phone call from Dave Filoni and John Favreau sort of inviting me into the fold.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your reaction to that call when they explained what they wanted you to do?
HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN: I was thrilled. I mean, any opportunity to get to do more with this character is thoroughly exciting for me. And to get to work with Dave Filoni and follow his lead was just a real privilege. He knows this character so well and just the way he had conceived of incorporating him into this story I thought was just so smart and just a very sort of compelling take on the character and it was all just really, really thrilling.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So what is your take on the Anakin we see here in the World Between Worlds? Because you got to play a lot of different shades of the character in a pretty compact period of time.
HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN: I really just wanted to bring to life what was on the page. What Dave wrote was just so exciting. I was getting to play a version of this character that I hadn’t done before. And when we meet Anakin in the World Between Worlds, it’s sort of me getting to play the totality of Anakin and Darth Vader. It’s an understanding of everything that he’s been through. And then when we go back to the Clone Wars flashback, that was just awesome.
That was a version of the character that I was aware of when we were doing the prequels. When we went to go do Episode III, George [Lucas] spoke a lot about what had happened in between Episode II and Episode III. And, of course, that was what Dave Filoni spent a lot of time exploring in the animated world, but I never really got to play that. And I remember when George was describing Anakin during the Clone Wars as being this great hero and a great leader, I thought, “Wow, that’s really cool. I wish we could see a little bit of that.” And we do a little bit. At the beginning of Episode III, you get a taste of it, but then very quickly he becomes consumed with all of the inner conflict again.
And then when I went and was preparing for Obi-Wan, I went and I watched The Clone Wars and I got to see that version of Anakin. I was very taken with it and I thought, “Man, that would be really exciting to get to do that in live action.” And so when Dave told me that we were going to get to do that, it was a real gift and I was just felt very privileged to get to do it.
- Hardcover Book
- Wallace, Daniel (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 156 Pages - 11/12/2024 (Publication Date) - Insight Editions (Publisher)
