Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen thinks a Darth Vader standalone series would be “amazing.” The actor, who is known for playing Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel series, has returned as the character all these years later in the Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi – to much applause and fanfare. Asked by The Hollywood Reporter if he would consider further exploring the story of Anakin/Vader in a solo series, Christensen was quick with a positive response.
"Absolutely. To get to do more with this character would be amazing!"
Obi-Wan Kenobi picks up ten years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, in which the Jedi Order was destroyed by Order 66 and his former apprentice Anakin Skywalker became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. The exiled Jedi master is now watching over Vader's son Luke Skywalker on Tatooine while in hiding and living a solitary life. But his past has begun to catch up with him, as Darth Vader has set up the Sith Inquisitors program, a group of Dark Side Force users, to hunt down any Jedi who survived Order 66.
Obi-Wan Kenobi has brought Hayden Christensen back as Anakin alongside Ewan McGregor as the titular Jedi. The first four episodes of the series have seen the former friends gradually edge towards each other once again, with Darth Vader emerging as the terrifying presence that haunts both Kenobi and the galaxy. Filling in the gaps between the original trilogy and the Disney sequels seems to be Disney’s modus operandi right now, and no doubt a standalone Darth Vader series set either before or after Obi-Wan Kenobi (perhaps even both) is written on a white board in a Disney writer’s room somewhere.
Hayden Christensen Thinks There is a Lot Left to Explore with Darth Vader
This is not the first time that Hayden Christensen has endorsed the idea of a Darth Vader series, with the actor fully aware of the amount of stories that are still to be told about the iconic Sith Lord. "Yeah you know, I mean absolutely. I think this is a character that sort of resonates in our culture in a very kind of profound way, and there's certainly more there to explore,” he said. “Like you said there are so many stories that have been told in these other mediums and I would love to get to continue my journey with him."
The return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker came as a surprise to everyone, including the actor himself. "It was definitely a surprise. You know, for the longest time, no, I didn't think I'd be stepping back into this role again," the actor previously said of his comeback. "But certainly, in the back of my head for a little bit, I was maybe hopeful that one day such an opportunity might present itself."
Directed by Deborah Chow, with Joby Harold serving as showrunner, Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Moses Ingram, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, Kumail Nanjiani, Sung Kang, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie, Maya Erskine, Rory Ross, and Vivien Lyra Blair. Obi-Wan Kenobi will be released weekly, concluding on June 22.