Star Wars: Hayden Christensen suits up as Darth Vader in new image

Hayden Christensen (Photo by Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images)
Hayden Christensen (Photo by Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images)

Last December, Disney shocked the Star Wars fandom when it revealed Hayden Christensen would be returning to the Star Wars franchise with a role in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

Although returns are nothing new to the Star Wars franchise with several beloved characters from the original trilogy return to for the Skywalker saga, aside from a few voice cameos in animated titles Christensen has not appeared in any live-action Star Wars projects since the conclusion of the prequel trilogy with 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

Given Anakin’s relationship with Obi-Wan, it makes sense that Disney would look to bring Christensen back into the fold for its upcoming Ewan McGregor-led Disney Plus Original. What remains unclear is just how he’ll factor into the upcoming original series and exactly what storyline Disney has cooked up for Christensen’s return.

One key piece of information that is known is that when Christensen returns, he’ll do so as Darth Vader and, thanks to an incredible new piece of fan art, we now have an idea of what he could look like as Darth Vader.

What Hayden Christensen could look like as Darth Vader in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

With Hayden Christensen confirmed to return as Vader in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, digital creator and artist Dalton “Checkers” Barrett has debuted a stunning piece of concept art envisioning what Christensen could look like as Darth Vader in the series.

Utilizing lighting and texture effects in photoshop, Barrett transforms Christensen into an unmasked Darth Vader with a look inspired by the unmasked Vader introduced in Return of the Jedi, played by Sebastian Shaw.

Although it’s unclear what Disney has in store for the character and just how heavily Christensen’s look might be inspired by Shaw’s unmasked Vader, Barrett’s concept art offers a truly breathtaking glimpse of what could await us when Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi finally arrives on Disney Plus.

We’ll just have to wait to see what exactly Disney has in store for Christensen, if his final look is even half as incredible as the fan art, we should be in for quite a treat!

Are you hoping to see Hayden Christensen suit up as Darth Vader in the Disney Plus Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi series? Let us know in the comments!