Hayden Christensen hasn’t appeared at press conferences or posted on social media about his
outstanding role as Anakin Skywalker in the popular “Star Wars” franchise for years. Now, he’s
suddenly appearing and showing pride for the character, but why this sudden change?
In 2002, when Christensen was only 19, he was cast to play Anakin. According to him, he
doubted his ability to fulfill such a big and important role as a new and upcoming actor. He had
originally asked his agent if they had something smaller. When they didn’t, he decided to take the
risk and put himself out there. However, while George Lucas loved Christensen, the original and
older Star Wars fans, those who fell in love with the original trilogy, did not. Many fans were
critical of Christensen, feeling as if he ruined the character for everyone. Christensen states that
it sucked how much the character and his performance were overly criticized and judged. He
received so much hate for the character that it made him doubt his acting skills in general,
which caused a halt in his acting career. After, Christensen mostly stopped accepting big roles,
choosing smaller characters on screen. That is until, the new generation.
As more and more Star Wars films were released, they gained the traction of a new generation,
those who fell in love with the entire franchise and not just the original trilogy. The new
generation loved Christensen’s work as Anakin and Darth Vader and didn’t want it to end,
resulting in the creation and expansion of more Star Wars movies. These movies were also
paired with new TV shows appearing on Disney+ like The Mandalorian and Kenobi. With the
love from fans pouring in, Christensen decided to take a risk and made an appearance in Kenobi
where millions of fans rejoiced and showed Christensen their love for him as an actor. This
resulted in his reappearance in not only Ashoka, the new Disney+ TV spin-off but also at press
conferences and conferences wanting to talk about this character.
