Hayden Christensen Shows Off 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Production Hat In Photos
It has taken quite some time for the Star Wars family to accept Hayden Christensen. After his performance as the young Jedi Padawan and later Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, the Canadian actor was harshly criticized for his wooden and rather expressionless performances. Although it is true that the love scenes between Anakin and Padme were awkward, it would be unfair to put the blame completely on Christensen who probably did his best with the directions he was given. Also, it is well know that George Lucas was NOT a people director.
After the prequel trilogy completed, Christensen more or less distanced himself from the saga, not appearing at conventions, or signing autographs, even though there surely are a lot of anecdotes or stories he could tell about his time working on the sets of the movies. Over time, probably with the help of the animated Clone Wars series, which did a lot to flesh out the character of Anakin, fans started to both appreciate the reckless and impulsive character as well as Christensen’s portrayal of him. This was when the actor himself finally began to embrace his role in the saga, culminating in his appearance at Star Wars Celebration in 2017 where he was met with standing ovations.
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Fast forward more than three years to December 2020, Lucasfilm’s president Kathleen Kennedy announced that Christensen would return to the Star Wars saga, and reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Ob-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+. She called it a “rematch of the century.” To this day it is still unknown whether Christensen will only appear in the iconic costume of Darth Vader, as he has done at the end of Revenge of the Sith, or if he will be seen in his Jedi robes in flashback-scenes from the Clone Wars.
According to reports, filming of Obi-Wan Kenobi has recently wrapped. Only a few days ago the actor was spotted wearing a cap of the series’ stunt team at Florida Supercon.
This still does not give much information on Christensen’s actual role in the series whether as pre-Mustafar Anakin and/or Darth Vader. However, the fact that he got this gift from the stunt crew is an indication that he actually got to see some real action and not just stood around as the Dark Lord, barking orders or Force-choking his subordinates.
A recent piece of concept art shows a maskless and still heavily injured Darth Vader floating in a bacta tank, similar to a scene from Rogue One, suggesting that the audience may actually get to see Christensen’s face in the series.
Since the end of Revenge of the Sith, fans assumed that this was the last time that Obi-Wan saw his former Padawan before their tragic reunion on the first Death Star. Kenobi had left him to the will of the Force on the shore of a lava stream on Mustafar. According to Kennedy’s words, it appeared that the former brothers may have encountered each other at least once more in the nearly two decades between Revenge of the Sith, and A New Hope. This of course would give a whole new meaning when Vader told Kenobi,
“When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the master...You should not have come back.”
On the other hand, Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place around ten years after the rise of the Empire. Vader would have gotten used to living in the suit, and would have had time to master the Dark Side of the Force. It is unlikely that he would still consider himself a “learner.”
Regardless if fans will get to see Hayden Christensen’s face as Jedi Anakin Skywalker, as a gravely injured Vader, or only as the man inside the black armor, his openly wearing the Kenobi cap is one more proof that he will be part of the upcoming series. Nearly two decades after when he first played the young Anakin Skywalker, Christensen has finally accepted his role in the saga, and fans are very eager to see him again in the Star Wars saga.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to release on Disney+ some time in 2022.
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Source(s): Screen Rant