Nobody was shocked greater than Hayden Christensen when he landed the position of Anakin Skywalker in George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Assault of the Clones” and “Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith.” Christensen was removed from the largest identify that Lucasfilm was making an attempt to lure into its galaxy far, far-off. When he had heard that Leonardo DiCaprio was being courted, Christensen thought “Star Wars” was a misplaced trigger for him.

“I had heard that they’d met with Leonardo and a bunch of different actors,” Christensen not too long ago informed Empire journal. “That simply confirmed my thought that the position would go to a different actor. By your entire auditioning course of I had informed myself, from day one, that I wasn’t going to get the half. It simply wasn’t a chance. And I believe that in all probability helped me lots, as a result of it simply freed me up in plenty of methods. And so it actually got here as a shock to me after I acquired the half.”

Whereas followers have come round to Christensen’s casting in recent times, the preliminary evaluations for his efficiency as Anakin Skywalker have been removed from type. Just like the prequel films themselves, Christensen discovered himself on the middle of fan backlash.

“The character was criticized, my efficiency was criticized, and that half sucked,” he informed Empire. “However I additionally felt like I had some context that maybe helped a bit of bit. When ‘Episode I’ got here out, there was plenty of pleasure that they have been making a brand new ‘Star Wars,’ and it was going to be the backstory of Darth Vader. However I had pals that have been upset that the character was beginning off as this younger child. And I watched the movie, and I cherished it. It was every little thing I needed and extra. And I didn’t perceive the disconnect between the film that I noticed, and the negativity in a few of the evaluations.”

“In a approach that kind of criticism, I believe, comes from a sure failure of their very own suspension of disbelief,” Christensen continued. “When you’re gonna go sit in a theater, and the opening scroll begins with, ‘A very long time in the past, in a galaxy far, far-off,’ that’s setting the stage that something is feasible. These folks don’t have to sound and behave the way in which that we would count on. And in the event you’re going to sit down down and suppose that you simply’re getting one thing that’s of our present zeitgeist, then you definitely’re setting your self up for one thing else. what I imply?”

Christensen ended up returning as Anakin/Darth Vader in a few of the current “Star Wars” tv sequence on Disney+, together with “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and “Ahsoka.” The actor informed Empire returning to the franchise “was a bucket-list merchandise I didn’t even know I had.” It stays to be seen whether or not or not Christensen will probably be again as Darth Vader sooner or later.