Star Wars franchise star Hayden Christensen opened up about the grateful experience he had reprising Anakin Skywalker in the latest episodes of Ahsoka on Disney+.
In a behind-the-scenes video detailing the surprise reunion between Anakin and his former Padawan, Christensen shared what it felt like getting back into the character 18 years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
“Putting on the Anakin costume, getting to wear those Jedi robes, it kind of blows your mind every time,” Christensen said in an interview recorded before the actors’ strike. “I just feel very grateful.”
Last year, Christensen reprised Anakin for a brief de-aged flashback scene and a vulnerable Darth Vader moment in Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series; however, his return in Ahsoka is far more significant as the fallen Jedi serves as a guiding force to his Jedi apprentice by re-training her in the World Between Worlds for a future showdown with Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson). Showrunner Dave Filoni felt that the episode, titled “Part Five: Shadow Warrior,” was the perfect opportunity to bring back Anakin during Ahsoka’s darkest hour. “You know, as I was figuring out the story for Ahsoka, I just really thought, ‘Well, there’s an opportunity,'” Filoni said. “‘I could bring Anakin and Ahsoka together.’ It’s just awesome.”
Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson’s real life friendship
This is not the first time Christensen and Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson have shared the screen. The two actors had previously played opposite one another in the 2003 drama Shattered Glass. Their long-standing friendship in real life played some part in their reunion pairing on Ahsoka. “I met Hayden when I was 16,” Dawson said. “We were in an acting school together over a summer. To have that kind of history with him, it really was like seeing my old friend.”
Ahsoka serves as both a follow-up to the animated series Star Wars Rebels and a spin-off of Disney+’s The Mandalorian, where Dawson originated the role in live action form. “Set after the fall of the Empire, ‘Ahsoka’ follows the former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy,” an official synopsis for Ahsoka reads. Created by Dave Filoni, Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ray Stevenson, Ivanna Sakhno, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn.
New episodes of Ahsoka drop on Tuesdays on Disney+. The series will run for a total of eight episodes, with the last scheduled for October 3.
