Hayden Christensen's return as Anakin Skywalker is nothing short of a blessing

A few years ago, YouTube clips of scenes from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels were filled with hundreds of comments from Star Wars fans who hoped for an impossible resolution to Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker's tragic relationship.

It seemed like a pipe dream back then. Most fans always added a hopeless "It's probably never going to happen" at the end of a comment, hoping Hayden Christensen would return to Star Wars as the ghost of Anakin Skywalker, who reunites with a live-action Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka had come a long way, evolving from animation to live-action and now starring in her own successful series, which has been greenlit for a second season.

As someone roughly the same age as Jake Lloyd when Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was released, I went through the horrors of reading toxic threads by fans around the web. I stowed away hopes of Hayden's return to Star Wars for nearly two decades, which is why his return to Star Wars still feels like a dream. It began with his return in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it felt incomplete. There was a lot of potential, but the writers made some questionable choices and decided to use Christensen sparingly as both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. Regardless, once he was lost to the dark side, Anakin's return as anything but Vader had always seemed impossible.

The idea of Hayden reprising his role as Anakin and returning to play the same version of the character he played in Episode III - Revenge of the Sith doesn't seem as appealing after Ahsoka. Hayden got to play the Anakin everyone daydreamed about while watching The Clone Wars, a version no one believed Christensen could portray. The early 2000s were full of toxicity and negativity, so most of the fandom decided that Christensen was a terrible actor and a misfit as Anakin Skywalker. I feared this would discourage Lucasfilm from bringing him back. At times, watching how different The Clone Wars Anakin was from the live-action one made me question how Hayden would pull it off, too, if given the chance.

Regardless, in his return as Anakin, Christensen proved how much he cares about the character and his place in Star Wars. He impressed fans with the limited screen time in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Ahsoka was something else.

Ahsoka offered Hayden Christensen the opportunity to reimagine his character in a new light, a version that many fans had grown to associate with Matt Lanter's iconic voice acting in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Lanter's portrayal brought a distinct bravado and strength to Anakin, qualities that some fans felt were lacking in the live-action depiction.

The challenge for Christensen was to create a seamless continuity, making it seem as though every iteration of Anakin - from his early days as a young Jedi to his later years as a seasoned warrior - had always been portrayed by the same actor. He couldn't copy Lanter's style, even though he admitted to watching The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels before filming began on Obi-Wan Kenobi. Somehow, he brought it all together beautifully to portray Anakin Skywalker as a man fully aware of everything he's done. He looks and sounds like the same guy who lost to Obi-Wan on Mustafar, but there's a calmness and maturity beyond his apparent years. He's gone to hell and back, and he easily switches back and forth between the light and dark side. This is where Hayden proves Anakin is his character, through and through.

The Anakin who's in control of his rage and can center himself at will is one we all never imagined, and it went beyond many of our childhood hopes of seeing Christensen dressed as General Anakin Skywalker in Clone Wars armor. His performance in Ahsoka is nothing short of a dream come true, and I'm grateful to Christensen for respecting Anakin's history in live-action and animation. This respect shows in his performance, which is seamless, natural, and unrehearsed. He's always been Anakin, every version of him. If he returns for Ahsoka Season 2, he'll get a chance to write the final chapter of Anakin's legacy in his way because none of us knows what to expect from the redeemed Anakin Skywalker.

Regardless of whether he reprises his role in Ahsoka Season 2, I'll remain forever grateful to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka for bringing Hayden Christensen back, fulfilling a long-held dream, and proving that sometimes, even the most cherished wishes can become a reality.

Ahsoka is streaming on Disney+.