AHSOKA: Hayden Christensen Talks Darth Vader Return As Dave Filoni Teases Anakin's Future In "An Obi-Wan Role"

AHSOKA: Hayden Christensen Talks Darth Vader Return As Dave Filoni Teases Anakin's Future In "An Obi-Wan Role"

With the strikes finally over, Hayden Christensen has broken his silence on his return as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the World Between Worlds. Dave Filoni, meanwhile, teases the character's future...

By JoshWilding - Nov 22, 2023 12:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: SFFGazette.com

Love or hate it, there's no denying that Ahsoka was a series packed full of memorable moments for Star Wars fans. However, chief among them was the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. 

The fallen Jedi appeared before his former apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, in a location which looked an awful lot like the World Between Worlds. We say it "looked" like it because it was left to viewers to interpret whether the Jedi had been reunited with her Master in this Galaxy's version of the afterlife or simply imagined him during a near-death experience following her clash with Baylan Skoll.

Talking to Vanity Fair (via SFFGazette.com), Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni explained why he chose to further explore the relationship between the two characters in the Star Wars Rebels follow-up. 

"While I had introduced in Rebels the idea that she came to understand that Anakin had become Darth Vader, I never really dealt with the fallout from that," he says. "How does that affect somebody when a person that they really admire and looked up to turned out not to be the person they thought they were? Are we all just capable of a fall from grace? And what is forgiveness? What shape does that look like? Did I take the good parts of this person with me as well as the bad, or am I just the good? I thought there were a lot of interesting challenges for her."

As for whether their reunion took place, Filoni is leaving it up to fans to decide. "My feeling about Anakin is that George resolved everything about Anakin. I don’t think I have anything to do there. I’m not trying to add anything to that. Everything Anakin’s involved with is about her. It’s about her point of view on Anakin. It’s about what Anakin taught her. He’s there in more of an Obi-Wan role that we saw in the old movies."

Hayden Christensen also played coy while sharing his take on the first live-action meeting between Anakin and Ahsoka, admitting he had fun with the ambiguity surrounding what went down in the World Between Worlds.

"That’s the beauty of how the episode is constructed, in my opinion," the actor says. "Inevitably, the audience has to question what it is they’re watching. Is this really the World Between Worlds? What is the World Between Worlds? Is this actually the spirit of Anakin Skywalker, or is this all in Ahsoka’s subconscious and we’re just going down the yellow brick road as she’s drowning and fighting for her life? I think that the episode provides a few really good clues, but it doesn’t spell it out for you."

"There’s a lot there to unpack, potentially," he adds. "I was getting to play a version of this character that I hadn't before, and that was the all-knowing, all-powerful Jedi master who could wield both sides of the force - light and dark - at will, and maybe has the power to save Ahsoka’s life, which also is very interesting because that’s the power that he was trying to achieve when he pledged himself to the dark side."

We're guessing the meeting did happen, particularly as Anakin returns as a Force Ghost in the episode's closing moments. While Filoni was reluctant to confirm or debunk any fan theories during this interview, he did at least make it clear that the conflicted hero is indeed there with Ahsoka and Sabine Wren on Peridea. 

"Anakin...of course he’s there with her," the Star Wars franchise's new CCO says. "He’s always been there with her, but she just couldn’t see it. She couldn’t feel it. She didn’t know. She had isolated herself and made herself alone because she was afraid."

"He has done a great deal to alleviate that fear in her. And so there’s a moment. I think he’s proud of her in the end. He sees that she’s going to be a better mentor. I debate Force ghosts with people all the time. To me, what they are mainly is inspiration. You have people in your life that I’m sure have inspired you. And you feel that all the time. You feel that when you need it."

We can't imagine Ahsoka was the last we'll see of Anakin, and it seems likely he'll play a big role in whatever happens next on Peridea (particularly if the Mortis Gods come into play). There's only so much he can do as a Force Ghost, though, so we're not banking on him taking the fight to Grand Admiral Thrawn! 

All episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+. 

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Nomis929
Nomis929 - 11/22/2023, 12:15 AM
Those flashback scenes of Anakin and young Ashoka fighting during the Clone Wars had me smiling from ear to ear.




ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 11/22/2023, 12:21 AM
Good for him getting much better material for the character all these years later.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 11/22/2023, 12:52 AM
@ModHaterSLADE - As someone who grew up with his movies it just a damn shame that the material isn't exactly high quality.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 11/22/2023, 12:58 AM
@HashTagSwagg - Yeah, wish the overall material was stronger.
AvalonX
AvalonX - 11/22/2023, 12:22 AM
I've always been conflicted about Anakin being "redeemed." 2005 was around the time I had my first kid so that scene in ROTS was jarring. I was surprised Lucas put it in there. That said, I think Anakin while George always said was a tragedy, I see as just a villain. He has all the characteristics of a villain and almost none of a hero. He was Darth Vader at least half his life and slaughtered not only the people he grew up with, but kids as well. In the end, a bad guy made just another selfish decision to save his son that happened to benefit the galaxy. If Luke isnt involved, does he turn? No.

Can he work in an Obi Wan role? I'm not sure. Maybe if its in a Jacob Marley kind of way. In other words, he can't be just left off the hook because he saved his son. The guy brought a galaxy to its knees.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 11/22/2023, 12:43 AM
When are we going to get an article on his position being upgraded big time within Lucasfilm?
You made me do this
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 11/22/2023, 2:52 AM
@bobevanz - probably later today. The article is already up on the scifi sister site anyway
DocSpock
DocSpock - 11/22/2023, 1:13 AM

This guy is a horrible actor. His a$$ face in anything is just a big punch in the face reminder of that.

NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 11/22/2023, 1:24 AM
Now that Filoni has been made CCO at Lucasfilm I am pretty positive it's a matter of time before S2 is announced and he'll dive deeper into what are his plans for Ghost Force Anakin with the characters that stayed in Peridea.
Kurban
Kurban - 11/22/2023, 1:40 AM
Ahsoka should have died during Rebels season 2.
Timerider
Timerider - 11/22/2023, 1:57 AM
@Kurban - No, thank goodness she didn’t.
Kurban
Kurban - 11/22/2023, 3:10 AM
@Timerider - Nah, she sucks now.
Yuhio
Yuhio - 11/22/2023, 2:27 AM
Anakin should be watching over his own family, his legacy, his own children. He should have been there for Luke, Leia and Kylo Ren. But they most likely never talked. Mostly because of the real-life age gaps between the actors. But now with technology, everything is possible.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 11/22/2023, 2:37 AM
@Yuhio - But he has no relationship with them except Luke. Ahsoka was more like his kid than any of them.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 11/22/2023, 2:54 AM
@Yuhio - I like to believe it was Anakin, not Palpatine, who initiated the duat. Anakin is the Father, so when the darkness grew he had to balance it out with the light.

That explains why Rey was so powerful, because she got that power from Anakin. Ben and Rey are the (grand)son and the (grand)daughter.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 11/22/2023, 2:57 AM
Really hope Filoni is gonna create a similar role for Anakin to Luke. It's a shane the sequels didn't unite the original three, but I think it's also a shame it didn't unite Anakin, Luke and Ben.
PartyKiller
PartyKiller - 11/22/2023, 3:03 AM
The live action Ahsoka seems less like a real person than the animated one.

And she should not have been alive during SW 4-6. Same for other Jedi or ex Jedi.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 11/22/2023, 3:26 AM
I couldn’t finish Ahsoka. She kept the same face in the first 4 episodes and never once showed emotion. I watched a few eps from the animated show and she was much more lively and expressed a personality. It felt like going from the OG Lion King to the live action remake.
theBlackSquare
theBlackSquare - 11/22/2023, 5:53 AM
[frick]ING HELL, LET IT GO! Get people to watch Andor, not this shite.
JonC
JonC - 11/22/2023, 8:17 PM
Here's the thing, Anakin was on the Jedi side then on the Sith side. And through Luke ultimately came back to the Jedi.
He needs to be there to support people as a force ghost from both his early Jedi days and also his full-path Luke days. There is still much Anakin can show others...and that is why he is the CHOSEN ONE, because he took the full path, he has walked both sides of the force.

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