Credit: LucasfilmAnakin and Ahsoka are back together again.
Last week’s episode of Ahsoka (2023) officially broke the Internet. “Part Five: Shadow Warrior” delivered what fans had been waiting for since the animated series Star Wars: Rebels (2014 — 2018) first introduced the World Between Worlds to the franchise.
The mystical dimension where time and space do not exist finally made its live-action debut in the fifth episode of Ahsoka. But it turns out fans were more excited to witness the long-awaited reunion between master and padawan, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano.
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Reprising their roles are Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson, respectively. Dawson has so far appeared as Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian Season 2, The Book of Boba Fett (2021), and Ahsoka.
Christensen has a long history in the franchise, having portrayed Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in George Lucas’ Prequel Trilogy films, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005).
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Since then, he has returned as Anakin Skywalker in a “corrected” scene at the end of Star Wars: Episode V — Return of the Jedi (1983), in which Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) sees the Force Ghosts of his father, Yoda (Frank Oz), and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness).
More recently, he reprised his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), opposite Ewan McGregor’s version of the titular Jedi Knight. And now, he has returned once again for the live-action series Ahsoka.
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But Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson had never crossed paths in Star Wars until now. Last week’s Ahsoka episode was an epic reunion between their characters, who hadn’t been seen on screen together since Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 — 2020) Season 7, in which they’re voiced by Matt Lanter and Ashley Eckstein, respectively.
While some would argue that the Rebels Season 2 finale “Twilight of the Apprentice” first reunited the two, Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) comes face to face with Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) and not Anakin Skywalker (long consumed by the Sith Lord he has become by this point).
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But last week, that all changed when Ahsoka Tano was finally reunited with Anakin Skywalker — and Darth Vader — in the World Between Worlds. Although it still isn’t entirely clear what this version of Anakin/Vader is. A Force Ghost, or something else?
We also saw the younger version of Ahsoka (Ariana Greenblatt) reunite with her old master, as we get a strange, time-travel-esque flashback to the Clone Wars.
Now, Anakin and Ahsoka can be seen together for a second time, as Entertainment Tonight has shared behind-the-scenes footage with Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson on the set of the fifth Ahsoka episode.
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“It was amazing to have Ahsoka and Anakin back together again,” Dawson says in the video.
Creator, writer, and EP Dave Filoni talks about the inspiration behind this long-awaited reunion, saying, “You know, as I was figuring out the story for Ahsoka, I just really thought ‘well there’s an opportunity I could bring Anakin and Ahsoka together.’ It’s just awesome.”
“When I got the phone call to talk about being part of the Ahsoka project, I was thrilled,” Christensen says. Dawson then reveals that they both met long before Ahsoka. “I met Hayden when I was sixteen, and we were in acting school together over a summer. And to have that kind of history with him, it really was like seeing my old friend.”
Check out ET‘s video below:
While fans are praising “Shadow Warrior” for bringing these two iconic characters back together, there’s no denying that it’s a little bittersweet — there’s no real heart-warming recognition between the pair (which also lends to the fact that Anakin isn’t actually real).
This BTS footage, however, will undoubtedly fill in that blank for many fans.
As per Disney and Lucasfilm, here’s the official trailer for Ahsoka:
Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren), Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Hera Syndulla), Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma), Ivanna Sakhno (Shin Hati), Diana Lee Inosanto (Morgan Elsbeth), and the late Ray Stevenson (Baylan Skoll).
Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+. New episodes will be available to stream every Tuesday, with the eighth and final episode airing on October 3.
Were you thrilled to see Anakin and Ahsoka reunited in “Shadow Warrior”? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!