Hayden Christen Officially Back as Darth Vader, Prepares to Slaughter 'Kenobi'

The Star Wars universe is exploding with new behind-the-scenes of Hayden Christensen training as Darth Vader… or as someone even deadlier.

Related: Hayden Christensen: ‘Star Wars’ Fans “Finally Embrace Me”

Hayden Christensen’s road of redemption as legendary Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Sith Lord Darth Vader has been a long and twisting road throughout the Star Wars saga.

Following the immense backlash from critics and fans over Christensen’s performance in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), the Prequel-favorite actor stepped away from Hollywood.

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17 years later and Hayden Christensen is officially back as Darth Vader is shocking behind-the-scenes photos:

Hayden Christensen behind the scenes doing lightsaber duel training with Ewan McGregor’s stunt double.

Hayden Christensen behind the scenes doing lightsaber duel training with Ewan McGregor’s stunt double. pic.twitter.com/lEwpqen5VR

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 17, 2022

Related: Dave Filoni Fought Disney to Bring Hayden Christensen Back as Darth Vader

Hayden Christensen is going full force during these lightsaber training sequences. But that cape is throwing fans off.

Could this be Hayden Christensen training as Order 66 Anakin Skywalker?

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It’s been reported that every Star Wars fan would be seeing flashback sequences of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and new Sith Lord Darth Vader during the deadly events of Order 66.

While these photos of Hayden Christensen are purposely set us as a photo shoot, it’s still shocking to see the actor wielding Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber with a dark cape.

Seeing Christensen swinging his lightsaber in perfect coordination with a cape takes immense talent, confirming for many fans that this could be the first look at Anakin Skywalker slaughtering Jedi and Younglings in the Coruscant Temple:

THAT’S ANAKIN’S SABER NOT VADER’S.

THAT’S ANAKIN’S SABER NOT VADER’S pic.twitter.com/z3J9iSfDDo

— mel🧣KENOBI ERA -9 (@amisdalas) May 17, 2022

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A zoomed-in photo of the Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader training sequence of Christensen reveals that Hayden is practicing with Anakin Skywalker/s official lightsaber — not Darth Vader’s.

Given that each lightsaber duel between Kenobi and Skywalker and Kenobi and Vader requires different lightsabers for Hayden Christensen, it’s clear that these images show Anakin Skywalker coming out from the shadows to destroy the Jedi Order.

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Thanks to Vanity Fair’s cover shoot featuring Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano), and Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin/Mandalorian), fans are getting a sneak peek into the excitement of the actors behind the beloved characters in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, and The Mandalorian season three.

With only two weeks to go, Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to change everything about the Skywalker Saga and more.

More about Obi-Wan Kenobi

The new Star Wars story begins ten years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his most significant defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Related: ‘Kenobi’, ‘Andor’ Casting Leak Seemingly Confirms Satine Kryze

“The rematch of the century” teased by Kathleen Kennedy, director Deborah Chow, and Lucasfilm will be supported by Moses Ingram (Inquisitor Reva), Joel Edgerton (Uncle Owen), Bonnie Piesse (Beru Lars), Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie.

The world of George Lucas’ Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz), Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Darth Maul (Ray Parker), Anakin Skywalker (Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch/Temura Morrison), Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), and Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) the Millennium Falcon, the Death Star, and The Clone Wars.

Within the Star Wars franchise, Lucasfilm is moving past Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or the controversial Rian Johnson Star Wars film The Last Jedi (2018) as we dive into the Old Republic or explore new realities of the Star Wars universe with each new TV show or the upcoming Star Wars game like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 or Star Wars Eclipse.

Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts in less than two weeks on Disney+ on May 27th!

Do you think Hayden Christensen was posing as Anakin Skywalker? Comment below!