Two decades since his role in the franchise first ended, fans have fully embracedHayden Christensenas a member of theStar Warsfamily, and there have been countless suggestions about how to bring him back. The actor himself has taken notice and recently spoke about what may appeal to him in a return to playing Anakin Skywalker. Of these, a film focused on Darth Vader in his early years seems to be the one with the most promise, and Christensen already has experience in the suit.If the franchise is struggling to take risks and insists on reviving older characters, then Darth Vader is likely the most obvious option, and such an idea could help rally a divided fanbase if it’s executed properly.
Hayden Christensen Has Finally Been Embraced by Star Wars Fans
When the prequel trilogy first debuted more than twenty-five years ago, few films were as divisive and received as much backlash. Some criticisms about the writing and direction were entirely warranted, but the fandomtook things to unnecessary extremes, bullying the actors involved over a series of films that were flawed, but by no fault of theirs. Yes,Hayden Christensen sometimes struggled to create his performance, but even great thespians have had little to work with using the directions and the dialogue they were given.
As time passed and an entirely new generation grew up with the prequels, fans began to reevaluate Christensen and his performance. The actor himself had largely withdrawn from public life, which felt unfortunate because he was never really given a fair chance to get Anakin right. The fact thatThe Clone Warsgave anew dimension to his characteralso helped, and fans began hoping he might return to the role. Sure enough, Lucasfilm eventually took notice, and Christensen returned to the franchise with theObi-Wan Kenobiminiseries andAhsokaSeason 1. In both properties,the true talent of Christensen as Anakin finally became clear. The actor himself is certainly appreciative of the fandom’s response, as he has been attending plenty of conventions as of late, and he recently gave some ideas about how his character could make a return to the franchise.
Hayden Christensen Has Some Ideas for an Anakin Story
At Fan Expo Boston,hChristensen was recently askedwhat would compel him to keep going and play Anakin again. His response was encouraging and quite enthusiastic. “I’d love to get to do some more Clone Wars-era Anakin, too. I think there are some fun stories there to tell. And if it meant I got to swing a lightsaber with Ewan [McGregor] again, that would be amazing.”
Of course, it might be a bit late for that, sinceClone Warsdidn’t leave a lot to be explored. Fortunately, Christensen had another suggestion that is sure to turn some heads:
“I’d love to get to do some more stuff in the Darth Vader timeline… I think there’s some good, meaty stuff there to explore still. If the powers that be decided a Vader spin-off is something they want to see, I’d be there in a heartbeat. 100%. I would love to. It would be amazing to keep exploring this character in both eras. All of it would be good fun for me.”
This would not be the first time the actor has played Anakin during his Darth Vader era, as he did so briefly inRevenge of the Sithand remained behind the mask inObi-Wan Kenobimore recently, withJames Earl Jonesproviding the iconic voice. However,we’ve never truly had a story focused on Vader himself in his prime, so what exactly would that look like?
A Darth Vader Story Could Bring the Star Wars Fandom Together
At first glance, one might ask why Star Wars even needs a new Darth Vader spin-off. After all, the franchisealready remains too reliant on nostalgiafor previous characters, and Vader would be perhaps the most obvious example. However,everything we’ve seen fromStar Warsin the past couple of years indicates they intend to lingerin the same period. Certainly,it’s not an ideal situationto be in, but if they’re going to do that, it needs to be done right. At a time when the series is at a low point, bringing back its most iconic character is something the vast majority of fans should be able to get on board with.
From a character perspective, there are also plenty of things to explore.Focusing on the early years of Vader and his career would be a great way to show his evolution into a Jedi killerand true force of nature, which only the novels and comics have come close to portraying well. Films likeRogue Onehave also used modern filmmaking and camera techniques not available to the original trilogy, to shroud Vader in more of a horrific atmosphere when viewed from the other side, withthe famous hallway scenedeserving special mention. Either way, such an idea should be intriguing to even the most skeptical of Star Wars fans, and if it can be turned into a good story, that alone might make this worth exploring.
