One of the most thrilling announcements from Star Wars Celebration is that Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in Season 2 of Ahsoka. Following this exciting reveal, we had the opportunity to sit down with Christensen to discuss his return to the iconic role after nearly two decades, his appreciation for the darker themes in Star Wars, and even his favorite Anakin meme.

Our conversation kicked off with Christensen expressing his interest in exploring more stories from the Clone Wars era. He mentioned, "I would love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era." This makes sense, as apart from a standout scene in Ahsoka and brief appearances in the films, most of the Clone Wars-era Anakin we've seen has been in animated form, voiced by Matt Lanter.

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka. Image Credit: Lucasfilm

Christensen also noted that his friend Ewan McGregor would be interested in revisiting this period as well. "It's a cool look. It's a cool sort of period in Star Wars and I think there are great stories that we could tell there. So who knows, maybe one day," he added. While this idea excites fans, Christensen acknowledges it would require some "aging" magic to pull off. Nevertheless, his passion for the character remains strong, and he hopes to delve further into Anakin's journey, including more of the Darth Vader timeline.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of "Revenge of the Sith" on May 19, 2025, our discussion turned to this pivotal film, which remains one of the darkest in the Star Wars saga. Christensen appreciates when the franchise explores challenging themes. "George Lucas made some very bold choices and I love that he did that," he said. "However, he did it in a way that we could still digest everything. For example, Anakin is killing younglings, but we don't actually see it. But yeah, I like it when Star Wars goes dark. That works for me."

Reflecting on his return to the role after almost 20 years, Christensen shared, "Of course it feels different. I'm different. I've had 20 years of life that I didn't have before, and that just sort of changes your perspective on things. But in a lot of ways, I feel even more connected to Anakin now than I ever have because I've had more time to think about him and sort of try to understand him."

He finds the experience of returning to a role after such a long time to be a unique and interesting exercise in acting, one that accounts for the passage of time. "It's a very unique thing coming back to a role after all of these years and an interesting sort of exercise in the craft of acting, having to sort of account for that passage of time. But I feel very fortunate that I have the opportunity to do it," Christensen remarked.

When our discussion shifted to the broader Star Wars film series and the ongoing debate about the best viewing order, Christensen remained open-minded. "Not really," he said about having a strong opinion. "I don't know that there is a right way or a wrong way, and I think there's merit to both. I think George Lucas would like you to start with episode one and experience the story in a linear fashion, but there's definitely something to be said for starting with episode four. I've thought about it myself as I have yet to show my daughter the films... I mean she is going to see her dad do some sort of gnarly stuff."

Finally, we couldn't resist asking Christensen about the plethora of Anakin memes and which one he enjoys the most. While he's seen the infamous "sand" meme countless times and appreciates the one featuring him and Padmé in the field, his current favorite is a meme of Emperor Palpatine pleading with Anakin not to let Mace Windu kill him, to which Anakin responds, "He's just reflecting your lightning back you... just stop shooting lightning!"