Although Hayden Christensen is the actor best known for playing Anakin Skywalker, namely because of his starring role in two of the Star Wars movies in order, Matt Lanter’s time voicing the character for Star Wars: The Clone Wars should certainly not be glossed over. After all, among other things, it was during Lanter’s time paying Anakin that the character’s apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, was introduced. Originally voiced by Ashley Eckstein, now Rosario Dawson is bringing the character to life in live-action, but Lanter has yet to see Ahsoka, though he has a good reason for missing out.
To be clear up front, it’s not like Matt Lanter is deliberately avoiding Ahsoka. As he explained while speaking with Collider’s Maggie Levitt during a panel at Fan Expo Boston, it boils down to both he and his wife, Angela Stacy, just not having enough room in their schedule to view the series together with their Disney+ subscription. Here’s what Lanter said with a grin when a fan asked if he’d seen Hayden Christensen’s performance in Ahsoka:
I'm sure he did a wonderful job. I haven't seen it yet. The biggest news of the convention! You know what, I keep wanting to watch it, but I really want to experience it. And my wife does too. And so, it's that thing where we both can't find the time where we're just like, ‘all right, I can do it.’ We want to experience it. So it hasn't happened yet. I've seen the memes, and plenty of people have been asking me about it. So I kind of know.
Ahsoka marked Hayden Christensen’s second time taking part in the Star Wars franchise’s Disney era, as in 2022, he appeared in Obi-Wan Kenobi as both Anakin from a pre-Attack of the Clones flashback and Darth Vader during the miniseries’ main storyline. In Ahsoka’s case though, thanks to the episode “Part Five: Shadow Warrior,” which saw Ahsoka Tano experiencing a flashback to the Clone Wars (with the teenaged Ahsoka being played by Avengers: Infinity War’s Ariana Greenblatt) while in the World Between Worlds, it finally gave Christensen the opportunity to play an Anakin who interacted with Ahsoka during that conflict. Yes, we did Anakin active during the final days of the Clone Wars during 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, but it’d be another three years before Ahsoka was introduced to the canon.
It sounds like eventually the day will come when Matt Lanter and Angela Stacy can make time and watch Ahsoka Season 1, but regardless, the actor also expressed his gratitude that the series took inspiration from The Clone Wars, saying:
It's an honor for them to take some Clone Wars influence into live-action. I don't know what to say other than that. It's an honor, I think it's wonderful for the fans and for the fandom because it becomes more cohesive. And it really cements this season of Anakin’s life into what happens next.
The good news for Lanter and his wife is that they can look forward to more than just these eight released episodes, as another season is officially on the way. Among the things we know about Ahsoka Season 2 is that composer Kevin Kiner will continue scoring the show, and concept art was released of the title character and Sabine Wren atop one of the statues that Baylan Skoll found in the Season 1 finale. It’ll be a while until Season 2 comes out, so fingers crossed Lanter and Stacy are caught up before that yet-to-be-announced premiere date.
If you’re looking for new Star Wars small screen content to enjoy, The Acolyte is currently unfolding on Disney+, and Skeleton Crew is also expected to hit the 2024 TV schedule. Otherwise, continue checking back with CinemaBlend for news on upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
