There are popular franchises, and then there’s Star Wars. George Lucas’ colorful galaxy far, far away has entertained audiences for decades, with entire generations brought up on the beloved sci-fi romp. The space opera’s story has been expanded recently in live-action TV shows on Disney+, to the delight of fans. Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen will be back in his role for the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, and recently reacted to the prequels being more appreciated in the last few years.
George Lucas had his own big shoes to fill when bringing the Star Wars prequel trilogy to theaters in the early 2000’s. Over the years the prequels have been the butt of countless jokes, although they’ve recently become more and more important to the overall franchise’s story. Hayden Christensen is returning to Star Wars for the first time since 2005’s Revenge of the Sith in Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, and was asked by The Cutaway about his reaction to the love that’s been thrown the prequels’ way in recent years. The 41 year-old actor responded honestly, saying:
It’s just been really heartwarming; I can’t tell you what it means to me but it’s a really neat thing. I don’t know if I can really define it. I guess the moral of the story is patience.
While his feelings about the prequel resurgence might be difficult to put into words, it’s clear that Hayden Christensen is feeling the love from Star Wars fans out there. Considering how much crap he’s likely gotten/heard about his two appearances as Anakin Skywalker, it feels right that he’s being properly celebrated nowadays. And there’s no telling what he’ll be bringing to the table as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Given just how much the original Star Wars franchise means to moviegoing audiences, they had a strong reaction when the prequels started being released in theaters. Fans took umbrage with the extensive use of green screen sets, the childish antics of The Phantom Menace (sorry, Jar Jar), and certain lines of dialogue like the infamous “I hate sand” speech from Attack of the Clones. But over time this sentiment has changed, especially once the sequel trilogy started hitting theaters and eventually wrapping up the Skywalker Saga completely.
As previously mentioned, Hayden Christensen is back in the galaxy far, far away for a role in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series which debuts on Disney+ later this month. While he was noticeably missing from the trailer seen above, Christensen will get to play a vastly different version of his signature character in the series, as Anakin has become Darth Vader and is hunting Jedi. It’ll be particularly thrilling to see him reunite with Ewan McGregor all these years later.
Obi-Wan Kenobi hits Disney+ on May 27th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
