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. Following this thrilling 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 even his favorite Anakin meme.
Our conversation kicked off with Christensen expressing his interest in exploring more Anakin stories on screen, particularly from the Clone Wars era. "I would love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era," he shared. This desire makes sense, as aside from a standout 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 also mentioned that his friend Ewan McGregor would be interested in revisiting that 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 optimistically. While acknowledging the need for some "aging magic" to make it work, Christensen remains enthusiastic about further exploring Anakin's journey, including delving deeper into the Darth Vader timeline.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of Revenge of the Sith on May 19, 2025, we discussed the film's darker themes. Christensen praised George Lucas for his bold 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 character after almost 20 years, Christensen noted the personal growth he has experienced. "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."
He added, "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."
Finally, we touched on the ongoing debate about the best order to watch the Star Wars films. Christensen offered a balanced view, 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."
We couldn't end without asking about the many Anakin memes. While Christensen has seen the infamous sand meme countless times and enjoys the one of him and Padmé in the field, his current favorite is the meme where Emperor Palpatine pleads 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!"
