The upcoming Ahsoka show will see Hayden Christensen return as Anakin Skywalker, and it could finally pay off George Lucas' most controversial change to Return of the Jedi. 2022 will mark 20 years since Christensen first played Anakin in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, and it's shaping up to be a real anniversary special for him. Not only will the actor appear as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi, set for release sometime in 2022, but he's also be returning for Ahsoka, which will at least begin filming then if not releasing. The former is perhaps more headline grabbing, given the status of Vader, but the latter is arguably even more important for Anakin's character.
Christensen's return completes the redemption of both himself and the Star Wars prequels as a whole. Divisive at best upon release and with a reputation that worsened in the more immediate aftermath, the actor and the movies have each underwent a re-appraisal as Disney's Star Wars era has made its own missteps and fans who grew up with the prequels have reached an age where they can dominate or shift the cultural discussion of them. That makes Christensen's return in Obi-Wan and Ahsoka all the more fascinating as viewers await to see just what he brings to the role after all this time, but the prequels aren't the only controversial aspect his return can fix.
George Lucas infamously kept tinkering with his Star Wars movies before eventually selling Lucasfilm to Disney, with a raft of Special Edition changes beginning in 1997. Lucas kept on making changes for many subsequent versions and re-releases, and one of the biggest came in 2004 with a new edition of Return of the Jedi. Among the many edits and additions here, which includes things like a flirtatious Boba Fett, was Christensen replacing Sebastian Shaw as Anakin's Force Ghost. Largely viewed as a shameless cash-in on his new prequels star, the addition of Christensen didn't go down well at the time: it was seen as disrespectful to Shaw, a needless change to a key original trilogy moment, and, of course, meant adding in an actor audiences hadn't really taken to. For all that, though, Lucas did have some artistic intent behind it, and if Anakin's return in Ahsoka is as a Force Ghost, then it can build on and improve the Return of the Jedi change.
Lucas' reasoning for the change from Shaw to Christensen was that the Force Ghost was a representation of his true light side self. Given Anakin turned to the dark side in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and committed countless atrocities right up to the point of his redemption, then Lucas felt his Force Ghost had to go back to the point where he was last a true Jedi Knight, which was as portrayed by Christensen. This is in contrast to the Force Ghosts of Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker, none of whom turned to the dark side; whether it's entirely fair in terms of Vader's redemption at the end of Return of the Jedi is more debatable, but having Christensen back as Anakin's Force Ghost can further contextualize and explain the switch, giving it more depth and meaning and having Anakin himself talk about his own redemption and how he feels about it.
In purely practical terms, Christensen's return shows another benefit of the Return of the Jedi change, which is that it more easily allows for Anakin's Force Ghost to appear. Shaw passed away in 1994, and if the creators of Ahsoka were looking to bring back Anakin's Force Ghost without Lucas' edit existing, then there'd be a discussion of whether to recast with Christensen, add another actor, or to use CGI, like with Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The 2004 switch, at least, means Christensen already exists in canon as Anakin's Force Ghost, allowing for a more seamless return that can build upon Lucas' divisive change and, hopefully, make it seem so much better and show it in a whole new light.
