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

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 news, 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 the Star Wars universe, and even his favorite Anakin meme.

Our conversation kicked off with Christensen expressing his interest in exploring more stories from the Clone Wars era. He mentioned how much he would "love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era," a period mostly depicted in animation with Matt Lanter voicing Anakin. "I know my friend Ewan would be game for that as well," Christensen added, highlighting the appeal of this era. "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 acknowledging that bringing the Clone Wars era to live-action would require some "aging magic," Christensen remains enthusiastic about continuing to explore Anakin's journey, including more of the Darth Vader timeline. "I love this character," he said. "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 we approached 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 role after almost 20 years, Christensen noted the personal growth and deeper connection he feels with Anakin. "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. 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."

We also touched on the ongoing debate about the best order to watch the Star Wars films. Christensen remains 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."

Lastly, we couldn't resist asking about the numerous Anakin memes. While Christensen is familiar with the sand meme and enjoys the one of him and Padmé in the field, his current favorite is a meme where Emperor Palpatine pleads with Anakin not to let Mace Windu kill him, and Anakin responds, "He's just reflecting your lightning back you... just stop shooting lightning!"