One of the most exciting announcements from Star Wars Celebration is that Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in Season 2 of Ahsoka. Following this big 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 aspects of the Star Wars universe, and even his favorite Anakin meme.

Our conversation kicked off with a discussion about what other Anakin stories Christensen would like to explore on screen. He expressed a keen interest in delving deeper into the Clone Wars era, a period that has mostly been depicted in animation with Matt Lanter voicing Anakin. "I would love to get to do some more of the Clone Wars-era," Christensen shared. He also mentioned that his friend Ewan McGregor would be on board for such a project, highlighting the appeal of that particular era in the Star Wars timeline. "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 optimistically.

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

Christensen acknowledges that revisiting the Clone Wars era would require some "aging magic," but his enthusiasm for the character remains undiminished. "I love this character," he said. "I would love the chance to continue to explore Anakin's story some more and hopefully do the Darth Vader timeline a little bit more too. I think there are more stories there to be told."

Our discussion then shifted to Revenge of the Sith, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary on May 19, 2025. The film is known for its darker tone within the franchise, and Christensen appreciates when Star Wars delves into challenging themes. "George Lucas made some very bold choices and I love that he did that," he remarked. "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 how his perspective has evolved. "Of course it feels different. I'm different," he explained. "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."

"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," he added.

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