Hayden Christensen reportedly set for “big role” in Obi-Wan Kenobi series

Hayden Christensen is reportedly set to reprise his iconic Star Wars role as Anakin Skywalker in the new ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series, multiple industry insiders have revealed. The 39-year-old is expected to play a “big role” as a series regular in the upcoming Disney Plus production.

Christensen has been linked to the as-yet-unnamed Obi-Wan Kenobi show since Lucasfilm confirmed the 2022 production at Disney’s D23 Expo. New reports from LRM and ComicBook are now suggesting he’s already inked a bumper deal to return, pending an official announcement.

The reports suggest Anakin won’t just appear once or twice either; the fallen Jedi Knight will have a “big role” as one of the show’s “regulars”. This is an expanded role for Christensen, who was originally set to just have a cameo appearance.

Christensen’s long-awaited return ⁠— something the Star Wars fandom has been demanding for years ⁠— was originally set to be announced at Star Wars Celebration 2020 in April, LRM’s report adds.

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The annual festival has now been delayed until at least 2022, however. That means confirmation will likely come when the Obi-Wan Kenobi series officially begins production sometime in 2021, pending current shooting delays.

How would Anakin fit into the Obi-Wan show?

The question is, how will Anakin appear in Obi-Wan’s new story? The Disney Plus series will be set eight years after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Lucasfilm confirmed during the official announcement. That puts Skywalker squarely in the hulking Darth Vader suit in the timeline.

Well, according to Star Wars in-the-knows Kessel Run Transmissions, who correctly tipped Clone Wars spinoff ‘The Bad Batch’ ahead of official confirmation, there are two ways Anakin could appear outside of his iconic Vader costume.

The first is via Obi-Wan’s memories and dreams. Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) left his former apprentice and friend for dead on the lava shores of Mustafar. KRT suggests Kenobi will be haunted by this character-defining moment.

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The other is that Anakin could appear as a Force Ghost, similar to Qui-Gon Jinn in The Clone Wars. Skywalker is technically still alive, just fallen to the dark side, however, meaning this would be less likely.

Hayden Christensen last appeared on-screen as Clone Wars hero Anakin in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith. He also portrayed the iconic Jedi knight in 2002’s Attack of the Clones, and had a voice-only cameo in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.

The Skywalker character has been far more active in the past fifteen years since Episode III’s release, however. Matt Lanter voiced the tragic hero in Dave Filoni’s long-running Clone Wars series. The animated series ended earlier this year.