Speaking to Empire Magazine in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Hayden Christensen has shared how his scenes in the Disney+ Ashoka series were ‘a bucket-list item.’
“The scenes that I got to do as Anakin on Ahsoka was a bucket-list item I didn’t even know I had,” he says. “When I was getting ready to do Obi-Wan Kenobi, I started my Clone Wars deep-dive, and I loved it. I remember thinking, ‘Man, it would be so cool to see some of that in live action.’” Though he only watched the animated show in recent years, he was long aware of what happened to Anakin during that time. “That was described to me by George Lucas when we were doing Episode III, the things that were going on in-between Episode II and III. So when Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau told me they wanted to explore some of that, I was so game. And I loved how it came out.”
Between sparring with Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds and getting a rematch with Obi-Wan as Darth Vader, Christensen is relishing being back in the galaxy. “When we finished doing the prequels, it felt like that was it, and my journey with the character was over. So to get to come back now and do more with Anakin and Darth Vader was an amazing opportunity,” he says. “The scenes that I got to do as Darth Vader on Obi-Wan, that was huge for me. Being able to add a little bit more connective tissue to the character and to bridge the gap into Vader a little bit more is a very worthwhile thing.” All these years later, he’s still the chosen one.
Read the full interview with Christensen in Empire Magazine’s April issue on sale on Thursday, February 15th. The issue also features interviews with Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Brian Blessed, and more. Become an Empire member to access the digital edition in full on launch day, or pre-order a print copy online now here.
