It has been confirmed that Hayden Christensen will be coming back as Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader in the Disney+ show Ahsoka. The show takes place half a decade after the events of Return of the Jedi.
As such, it will follow the same timeline as that of The Mandalorian. Ahsoka will star Rosario Dawson as the lead character, and it will be executive produced by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau.
Ahsoka Tano in live-action vs. animation
Dawson was first seen in the role of Ahsoka Tano in season 2, episode 5 of The Mandalorian, titled “Chapter 13: The Jedi.” When Mando brought Grogu to her, she thought that she could be the Jedi who would teach Baby Yoda how to use his powers.
But she refused. However, the role was later on taken up by Luke Skywalker. Now, this wasn’t Ahsoka’s first appearance in Star Wars. However, this was her first live-action appearance in the franchise.
Fans of the animated Star Wars shows will know that Ahsoka was part of the galaxy far, far away long before The Mandalorian was even an idea. Her first appearance was in the 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars series. There she was, a padawan to Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin Skywalker and Ashoka Tano
Christensen is returning to Star Wars again, but his first stop isn’t Ahsoka. It is the Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi. This show takes place after Anakin has already become Darth Vader.
However, we might get to see Anakin out of the helmet in the meditation chamber as seen in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. But the Anakin/Vader issue gets muddied in Ahsoka.
This is because Ahsoka takes place five years after the death of Vader. So why is Christensen even returning? We think that Return of the Jedi holds the answer.
Know that in the digitally changed re-release, Christensen replaced Sebastian Shaw as Anakin’s force ghost. So it was Christensen’s avatar that Luke finds with Obi-Wan and Yoda after the Empire gets defeated.
So after Anakin gets redeemed and can be a force ghost, it makes sense that he would look after Ahsoka. Now, most probably will see Anakin in flashbacks as the pre-Sith Skywalker or Darth Vader.
Anakin Skywalker as a Force Ghost
But a current force ghost interacting with Ahsoka will be compelling for sure. After all, Ahsoka wasn’t involved in Return of the Jedi. So right now, we don’t know if she knew about Anakin’s role in the Empire’s downfall.
After all, just because Anakin was once her master, that doesn’t mean that she will accept him back if he shows up as a Force Ghost. Viewers of Star Wars: Rebels will remember that Ahsoka faced off against Vader in the show.
During the short stand-off, it was made clear that there was a lot of hate between the two. So if Anakin wants to look after her, then first, he will have to win her over.
Obi Wan, Ashoka And Anakin
But we still have to ask- why is Anakin even making an appearance? Typically, Force Ghosts tend to appear when their padawans need a course correction. So maybe Ahsoka will need some guidance over the course of her series.
Also, Christensen’s Anakin/Vader will help tie her show securely to the movies as well. Most importantly, maybe we will be able to see a side of Anakin Skywalker that we haven’t seen before- a wisdom-dropping Jedi that he perhaps would have been if he hadn’t fallen for the darkness.
Overall, Hayden Christensen’s return to the Star Wars universe brings unending possibilities with it. If done correctly, we might get to see a repentant Force Ghost who wants to mend things with his apprentice. Now, this is something unheard of in the Star Wars universe.
In this manner, he will be able to contribute to Ahsoka’s story while having a storyline of his own as well. But will that happen? We will have to stay tuned for more leaks till the series premiers on Disney+.
You might also like: Disney+ Ahsoka Series Logo Hints At Anakin’s Return Path.
