Welcome to another addition of: Stuff you won't see in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Yesterday, we learned about one character from the original trilogy who won't be in the movie (sorry, Han). Today, we have news on a prequel actor, who also won't be anywhere near the film. If you were expecting to see Hayden Christensen make an appearance in Rogue One, then we're terribly sorry. The head of Lucasfilm says it's not happening.
Yesterday, we covered the rumor that Alden Ehrenreich's new young Han Solo will not have a cameo in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Today, we follow-up on a rumor that Hayden Christensen could be making some sort of an appearance as well. Extra asked Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy about it, and she denied it in the strongest possible terms.
No, that is not true. No. I can confirm that. He is not.
She said no twice and added a couple of "not's" for good measure. I think we can be sure this denial is firm. While Hayden Christensen, who portrayed Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, has had something of a low profile for the last few years, he's been getting back into the acting game more publicly recently and has even said that he'd be willing to return to the Star Wars franchise if such an opportunity were available.
Since then, we've heard a number of rumors about his potential involvement. Although, the rumor that we've seen most is focused on the possibility of him making an appearance in Star Wars: Episode VIII, not Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It's possible that this rumor has evolved, multiplied, or simply gotten twisted through the game of telephone that happens as these things propagate online.
Still, it seems to us that if Hayden Christensen was going to appear in a new Star Wars movie, Episode VIII makes a lot more sense than Rogue One. We know that Hayden Christensen isn't the man in the Darth Vader suit. Unless the idea was simply to have the actor cameo in a totally different role just for nostalgia's sake, it wouldn't make a lot of sense. At least in Star Wars: Episode VIII there's some possibility for flashbacks or visions that result in people seeing young Anakin. Kathleen Kennedy also confirms the death of the Han Solo rumor and refuses to answer the "when does Rogue One end" question directly, as did Gareth Edwards.
So far, it doesn't appear that the new Star Wars movies will be paying much heed to the prequels. Is that a mistake, or is it a good thing that they're not going out of their way to bring the old actors back? Let us know in the comments.
