Hayden Christensen, who will be returning to the Star Wars franchise as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi, teases the character’s potential future after the Disney+ series. Christensen has been tied to Darth Vader since his days playing Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Following Anakin’s tragic fall to the Dark Side during Revenge of the Sith, his new master, Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), knights him Darth Vader. A grueling battle with Vader’s former Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), leaves him in need of a life support suit, so Christensen finally dons the iconic Darth Vader suit at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
At long last, Christensen is coming back to the Darth Vader role for Obi-Wan Kenobi. While Obi-Wan will undoubtedly have his hands full with Vader’s Imperial Inquisitors during Kenobi, the former master-and-apprentice duo of Kenobi and Skywalker/Vader are set to clash again. Considering Christensen and McGregor have not interacted onscreen since Revenge of the Sith in 2005, the series is likely to be a thrilling peek into the mindsets of the two characters before they meet years later during Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, so much time has passed since Christensen's Anakin first donned the Vader suit.
With marketing for Obi-Wan Kenobi ramping up, Christensen speaks with Total Film (via GamesRadar+) about his role in the series, as he’s finally gotten to explore more of Darth Vader. Though he mostly focuses on what's to come with the Disney+ show, the actor also alluded to future Star Wars appearances beyond Obi-Wan. See Christensen’s comment below.
“When George [Lucas] had brought me onto the prequels, it was to play Anakin… He gets knighted as Darth Vader towards the end, and for a couple of scenes I get to put the suit on. But my journey with the character was with Anakin Skywalker. But the character? He’s such a complex character. And now, getting to explore the mindset and emotional state of Darth Vader, has been a lot of fun… The extent of the journey, I think, remains to be seen, but what a privilege to get to come back and do this, and to be a part of this project.”
Although Christensen appears briefly as Vader in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi will really allow him to dig into the character in all his live-action glory, since the brunt of his time in the prequels is spent playing Anakin. As Christensen mentions in his new comments, he has enjoyed getting to explore Darth Vader's mindset in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and it sounds like he has only just begun to scratch the surface of what the character presents.
The most exciting aspect of Christensen’s comments is that he leaves room for Vader’s story to continue after Obi-Wan Kenobi. With such a massive gap of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, there are opportunities to learn more about Darth Vader. Rumors suggest that Christensen might be returning to the franchise quite soon after Kenobi during the upcoming Ahsoka show, which will follow Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, Anakin’s Jedi padawan for the majority of the Clone Wars. Ahsoka even references Vader during The Mandalorian season 2. So, Christensen continuing to play the live-action Vader following Obi-Wan Kenobi seems likely, especially now that he has hinted at the idea.
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres Wednesday, May 25 on Disney+.
Source: Total Film (via GamesRadar+)