Star Wars: How Will We See Anakin Skywalker In ‘Ahsoka’ And ‘Kenobi’?
We can’t wait to see how Hayden Christensen and Anakin come back to the Galaxy. But in the meantime, we have a few guesses.
It’s not new that Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker will be coming back to the galaxy in the upcoming Disney+ series, Kenobi. And it’s not a secret that we’re more than a little excited about it.
This week, we also heard that he’ll be making an appearance in the future streaming series Ahsoka. Considering the closeness between these three characters, the potential storylines and ways to utilize the various version of Anakin are almost limitless. But this is what we think we’ll see from Hayden and the upcoming shows.
Kenobi takes place in 9BBY, or nine years before the Battle of Yavin. Darth Vader will be alive and Sith-Lording his way through the empire. Meanwhile, his old master lives under a halfheartedly assumed name next door to the only blood relatives Vader has in the galaxy.
In reality, the only thing stopping Darth Vader from figuring out this clever hiding spot are two things: the Emperor keeping him busy and his dislike for sand. But should Kenobi go off planet, the two could conceivably meet again.
It wouldn’t be terribly surprising if this were to happen; after all, Kenobi was very aware of who Vader was while he was playing coy with Luke regarding his father’s identity. Anakin didn’t become Darth Vader until his former master left him for dead on Mustafar.
In fact, Ahsoka didn’t recognize Vader as Anakin until after they’d been fighting face-to-face for some time. It stands to reason that Kenobi would need a similar scene to learn the truth. Christensen could play Darth Vader with a few quick flash-backs to happier times (you know, for emotional poignancy).
His appearance in Ahsoka will take place about eighteen years later. Anakin will be dead by this point. At this time, Ahsoka is doing not-Jedi things around the galaxy, like not training Grogu. This leaves only a few ways for Anakin to appear: as a force ghost, in flashbacks, or in leftover communications.
Christensen has appeared as Anakin’s force ghost before in the Return of the Jedi remaster. And while Anakin may have wisdom or information for his former Padawan, there is also a history of him appearing to an unreceptive Leia in an attempt to make amends. And Ahsoka deserves at least one apology.
Flashbacks have interesting potential. There is a time period of time we didn’t see in The Clone Wars, for example during Ahsoka and Vader’s fight on Malachor. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to flashback too far. It would be hard for the actors to convincingly portray version of their characters twenty years younger than themselves.
Which brings us to an old communication. The idea of Ahsoka carrying around the space equivalent of a voicemail from her former friend would be heartbreaking to see on screen. But it would be an interesting way to give her a last mission to complete.
No matter how we see Hayden Christensen return to Star Wars, we can’t wait. We’re looking forward to both Kenobi and Ahsoka‘s premieres on Disney+.
How do you think Christensen and Anakin will be added to the cast of these upcoming shows? What would you want to see a flashback too? Who else would you like to see make appearances in Kenobi and Ahsoka? Let us know in the comments!
May The Force Be With you, Adventurers!
