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 revelation, we had the opportunity to sit down with Christensen to discuss his return to the character after nearly two decades, his appreciation for the darker aspects of Star Wars, and his favorite Anakin meme.
Our conversation kicked off with Christensen expressing his desire to explore more stories from the Clone Wars era. "I would love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era," he shared. This makes sense, given that aside from a standout scene in Ahsoka and brief appearances in the films, most of the Clone Wars-era Anakin we've seen has been in animated form, voiced by Matt Lanter.
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka. Image Credit: Lucasfilm
"I know my friend Ewan would be game for that as well," Christensen added. "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 fans would relish the chance to see this come to fruition, Christensen acknowledges it would "require a little bit of aging" magic. However, this doesn't dampen his enthusiasm or his willingness to continue playing the character if given the opportunity.
"I love this character," Christensen 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, our discussion turned to this film, which remains one of the darkest in the Star Wars saga. Christensen appreciates when Star Wars delves into challenging themes.
"George Lucas made some very bold choices and I love that he did that," Christensen remarked. "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 nearly 20 years, Christensen shared his evolved perspective on Anakin. "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."
"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."
Lastly, we touched on the ongoing debate about the best order to watch the Star Wars films. "Not really," Christensen responded when asked if he had a preferred viewing sequence. "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."
To wrap up, we asked Christensen about the numerous Anakin memes and which one he enjoys the most. While he's seen the infamous "sand" meme countless times and appreciates the one with him and Padmé in the field, his current favorite is a meme featuring Emperor Palpatine pleading with Anakin not to let Mace Windu kill him, to which Anakin replies, "He's just reflecting your lightning back at you... just stop shooting lightning!"
