He’s Back! Hayden Christensen Will Return as Anakin Skywalker in ‘Ahsoka’ Season 2
The onetime Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) will return for the second season of her eponymous Star Wars series, and now we know that her former master will, too. Hayden Christensen will return as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka. The news was revealed at this year’s Star Wars Celebration convention in Chiba, Japan.
After playing the character in the prequels Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Christensen took a long hiatus from the franchise, but has returned with a vengeance in recent years. In 2022, he returned in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi as both Anakin in flashback scenes (for which he was digitally deaged) and as his cyborg alter ego, Darth Vader. He returned again in 2023’s Ahsoka, appearing both in flashbacks and in spirit form to Tano when she entered the mysterious “World Between Worlds,” a plane on which all periods of time occur simultaneously. While his performance in the prequels was criticized in contemporary reviews, his newer appearances have earned him glowing praise: Collider’s Julio Bardini called his Ahsoka appearance his best Star Wars performance yet.
What Happened in the First Season of ‘Ahsoka’?
As the series opens, the fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) retrieve the Nightsister witch Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) from custody. Believing they’re on the trail of the Imperial mastermind Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), onetime Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano (Dawson) and her allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and the droid Huyang (David Tennant) follow them to Peridea, a mysterious planet outside the galaxy. There, they find that Thrawn has indeed built a power base there; however, they also find their long-lost ally Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Ahsoka fells Elsbeth in battle, but they’re too late to prevent Thrawn from escaping exile and returning to the galaxy, albeit with Ezra secretly stowing away, allowing him to reunite with his old Rebel colleague Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Meanwhile, Ahsoka and her allies are left to regroup on Peridea.
Star Wars: Ahsoka was created by Dave Filoni, the current chief creative officer of Lucasfilm. He worked closely with George Lucas creating the character in The Clone Wars animated series, and guided her journey through her Clone Wars and Rebels appearances, and in her transition to live-action in The Mandalorian.
Season 2 of Ahsoka will begin filming next week; no release date has yet been announced. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
- Release Date
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August 22, 2023
- Network
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Disney+
- Directors
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Steph Green, Jennifer Getzinger, Peter Ramsey, Rick Famuyiwa
