Hayden Christensen will return in the Ahsoka Disney+ TV series - and the show's logo hints at the World Between Worlds, which could lead to his return. Star Wars may have taken something of an extended break from the big screen right now, but the franchise is flourishing on the Disney+ streaming service. There, The Mandalorian has served as the first of a range of TV shows that continue to expand the Star Wars galaxy.
One of the most exciting upcoming Disney+ Star Wars shows is dedicated to Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker's apprentice during the Clone Wars. The Ahsoka series will presumably pick up five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, with its hero conducting a quest to find her missing friend Ezra Bridger. It's recently been revealed Hayden Christensen will return as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka, and most viewers are expecting flashbacks, a Force Ghost, or perhaps even a combination of the two. This would be a tremendous opportunity for Lucasfilm to resolve a lot of the various mysteries of Star Wars, potentially even dealing with the Chosen One prophecy.
But Ahsoka's logo hints at another possible way Anakin Skywalker could return. The logo contains patterns and designs that are deliberately evocative of a realm known as the World Between Worlds, which was introduced in Star Wars Rebels. This is essentially another plane of existence, one where two aspects of the Force - the Cosmic Force that binds the universe together and the Living Force which is associated with life - come together in unison. Ahsoka was saved from death by Ezra's use of the World Between the Worlds, and it's easy to imagine her unwittingly manipulating time and space so she encounters Anakin Skywalker again. It's something Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni hinted at when he discussed Ezra's encounter with the World Between Worlds with Nerdist.
"You have to be careful when you’re moving through these big powerful dimensions and what you’re wishing for. Everything [Ezra] wishes for, out loud, is a dangerous thing to do. If you watch and listen when Ezra talks and he makes certain statements, there’ll be a thunder clap, and that thunder is representative of something else listening. There’s multiple things going on in there and everything becomes a choice between how you want to use power and control, and influence others."
There appear to be strict limits to a Force-sensitive's ability to manipulate the timeline in the World Between the Worlds, however; Star Wars Rebels suggested any alterations to the timeline have already been written into the flow of history, as seen when Ezra saved Ahsoka from Darth Vader. Although he rescued Ahsoka, none of his personal timeline was rewritten; it's as though the World Between Worlds created a sort of time loop in which Ezra was always destined to save her. Thus, while it's possible Ahsoka could use the World Between the Worlds to interact with Anakin Skywalker, she cannot change his fate. Whatever has happened - including his transformation into Darth Vader, and Darth Vader's ultimate betrayal of Palpatine - must happen, and cannot be changed.
Still, this is a far more exotic idea than flashbacks or Force Ghosts; Ahsoka could use the World Between Worlds to interact with the Anakin Skywalker of the past, putting some of her personal demons to rest and healing from the scars Darth Vader had dealt to her soul. The danger, though, is that Ahsoka's use of the World Between the Worlds could draw others who would seek to abuse its power for themselves; Emperor Palpatine was fascinated by the World Between Worlds when it was accessed using the Force Vergence at Lothal. It would be terrifying to see what could happen if the power of the World Between the Worlds was ever used by Star Wars' greatest villains.
