‘Ahsoka’ Changed One Big Part of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker Return

in Entertainment, Star Wars

Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) in 'Star Wars: Ahsoka'

Credit: Lucasfilm

Season 1 of Dave Filoni’s hit Star Wars spinoff, Ahsoka, has long completed its eight-episode run on Disney+. But with the first chapter of Ahsoka Tano’s (Rosario Dawson) story now in the rearview mirror, the cast and crew are now reflecting on some hidden details from its production, including a significant change that was made to Anakin Skywalker’s (Hayden Christensen) return.

Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) lifting her hood
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: Fans Furious After Disgraced ‘Star Wars’ Actress Is Once Again Linked to the Series

You can’t have Star Wars without the Chosen One himself, Anakin Skywalker — AKA, the Light Side alter ego of Darth Vader. Although the Sith Lord has played a vital role in the galaxy far, far away since the George Lucas days in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), audiences weren’t introduced to the Jedi he was before he fell to the Dark Side until Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), where Jake Lloyd played a nine-year-old Anakin.

Hayden Christensen then made his franchise debut as an older version of the character in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and rounded out his complete transformation into Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Although Christensen’s performance was widely criticized upon the arrival of the Prequel Trilogy, his iteration of Anakin Skywalker has since become a fan-favorite, helped only by the success of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show and, more recently, his return in the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries.

George Lucas Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: Fans Think Adam Driver Is Lying About Not Returning to ‘Star Wars’

Now, appreciation for Christensen’s Anakin is at an all-time high, especially coming on the heels of his latest appearances in the first season of Ahsoka. Given that Ahsoka was Anakin’s Padawan during the Clone Wars, it seemed inevitable that the show would have to, in some capacity, bring her former mentor into the picture. And luckily for fans, Anakin appeared in a handful of episodes, beginning with the final seconds of “Part Four: Fallen Jedi.”

Episode Five, titled “Part Five: Shadow Warrior,” saw the master-apprentice duo reunited in the mysterious World Between Worlds, with Anakin taking his Padawan back in time to the height of the clone wars, where a teenage Ahsoka was played by Barbie (2023) star Ariana Greenblatt. In the following episode, Christensen plays a hologram of Anakin recorded prior to the fall of the Republic before popping up as a Force Ghost in the series’ closing moments. But according to Dawson, Anakin’s return wasn’t always planned that way.

Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) Force Ghost in 'Ahsoka'
Credit: Lucasfilm

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the Ahsoka star talked about the emotional reunion between her and Christensen, as the two actors go all the way back to the 90s when they met as teenagers in a summer acting class. She said of her experience filming the show, “We just had so much fun,” before adding, “I tell you, the entire crew made an excuse to be on set those days. It just brought tears to all of our eyes. It was wonderful. I love Hayden. He’s such a wonderful man.”

Dawson then went on to discuss the inclusion of Sith Anakin in the Worlds Between Worlds sequence, explaining, “We never got to see that. We only got to see him become Darth [Vader]. We got the seeds of that a little bit in the films, but we didn’t get to sit with him for very long in that.” Following that memorable episode, a Clone Wars-era Anakin then appears via hologram, but supposedly, early versions of the script actually called for him to come to Ahsoka as a Force Ghost.

Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) fighting in 'Ahsoka'
Credit: Lucasfilm

“We ended up tweaking that and playing with it a little bit,” Dawson revealed. She expanded on the creative team’s decision to hold off on his appearance as a Force Ghost, adding, “That moment with him coming out of the World Between Worlds was so significant, so it didn’t make sense to necessarily have like another dialogue scene with him, because how could you really build on that in that way? So we transformed that.”

And based on Dawson’s remarks, it sounds like Filoni and Co. wanted to keep audiences guessing. You see, considering that Anakin isn’t visible to just anyone — even Ahsoka’s Padawan, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) — the Ahsoka team wanted viewers to ask whether or not the World Between Words was actually real, with the actress adding, “it’s nice to keep that as a question mark:”

We sort of shifted it a little bit so she was watching him as a hologram, rather than Force ghost conversation. It also makes that moment in the World Between Worlds more ephemeral, like, What was that? Is she just dreaming? Is she really talking to herself? It’s nice to keep that as a question mark.

Dark Side Anakin vs Ahsoka on Mandalore
Credit: Lucasfilm

Regardless of whether you view the World Between Worlds sequence as literal or more of a metaphor for Ahsoka confronting her dark past via the Force, there’s no denying that keeping Anakin’s appearance here ambiguous was a stroke of genius on Filoni’s part. Plus, that big cliffhanger on Peridea now leaves the door open to Anakin guiding his former Padawan back to her own galaxy as a full-fledged Force Ghost, as she’s finally ready to see him.

A similar approach was taken in Obi-Wan Kenobi, with the titular exiled Jedi (Ewan McGregor) trying and failing over many years to communicate with his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), from beyond the grave. However, Obi-Wan, stuck in a vicious cycle of blaming himself for his Padawan’s fall and the destruction of the Jedi Order, all while cutting himself off from the Force, was only able to reunite with Qui-Gon when he came to terms with his situation and his new role in the galaxy.

Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) as a Force ghost in 'Return of the Jedi'
Credit: Lucasfilm

Ahsoka seems to have followed suit and for a good reason. Having Anakin appear in full Force Ghost glory as he did in the DVD version of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) right off the bat would have robbed the ending of its emotional impact while making him too readily available to the title character in the second half of the season. Ahsoka, in a sense, had to earn the privilege of seeing her Master again, and only time will tell if they’ll meet again somewhere down the line — perhaps in Dave Filoni’s upcoming Mando-Verse crossover movie.

All episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming exclusively on Disney+.

Is it time for Hayden Christensen to hang up his lightsaber, or are you hoping to see him in future Star Wars projects? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Comments Off on ‘Ahsoka’ Changed One Big Part of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker Return