Star Wars was able to reintroduce Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in the past few years, reuniting him with some of the most important people in his life; however, there’s one more person Anakin needs to be reunited with. Last year’s Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Star Wars event like no other, reuniting Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker with Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. Since then, Christensen has returned again – this time alongside Rosario Dawson as the live-action Ahsoka Tano.
The years have passed since the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and the reputation of the prequels has recovered somewhat. Christensen’s return has been embraced by viewers, and he’s delighted at the way the fandom has responded to him. But, even now, there’s one Anakn Skywalker reunion Star Wars needs to show – a reunion that will truly tie together the last threads of the prequel trilogy.
Star Wars Has Fixed Most Of Anakin’s Story Thanks To Bringing Back Hayden Christensen
When the prequel trilogy first came out there were many criticisms, including that Anakin Skywalker’s character just fell flat. Since then, Star Wars has done a great job of improving and fixing a lot of those criticisms. Shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars gave audiences more of characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan and demonstrated the strength of their relationship. The Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series also helped show more of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s story. Along with the flashback seen in episode 5, audiences truly get to see Vader’s hatred for Obi-Wan. He doesn’t just hate him for burning him on Mustafar, but also for leaving him.
Ahsoka built upon the already-established dynamic between Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. Christensen’s performance in Ahsoka was one of his best in all of Star Wars as it had the heart he had also brought to Anakin, but also brought the brutality of Vader in a way audiences had never seen before. Anakin’s tactic of scaring Ahsoka with the thing she feared — Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader — allows for amazing storytelling from the show’s writer Dave Filoni. Thematically, both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi deliberately absolve their titular characters for resposibility for Anakin’s fall to the dark side. They make it Anakin’s choice alone, restoring his agency.
Star Wars Still Needs To Reunite Anakin & Padmé
Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi fixed and built upon other Anakin Skywalker stories successfully, and in doing so reunited beloved characters. Christensen’s appearances have helped fix mistakes in the prequels, but Star Wars needs to bring back Padmé Amidala. Not only is the way Anakin and Padmé left things in Revenge of the Sith tragic, but Padmé’s treatment and lack of screen time in the film was abysmal. Star Wars can reunite the pair in a way that helps round out and fix their story. Anakin and Padmé had an epic love story, but it has rarely felt like that, and bringing them back together can change that.
Even in Star Wars: The Clone Wars Anakin and Padmé’s marriage took a backseat to Anakin’s adventures and Padmé’s role in the Senate. While Padmé wasn’t Force-sensitive and therefore cannot appear as a Force ghost there are other ways to bring Natalie Portman back into Star Wars. Star Wars doesn’t need to reunite Luke Skywalker with Anakin Skywalker, as those two had the perfect goodbye in Return of the Jedi and anything beyond that would ruin it.
Can Star Wars Reunite Hayden Christensen’s Anakin With Natalie Portman’s Padmé?
For a long time, it seemed like Hayden Christen would never return to the Star Wars galaxy, but he’s appeared twice in two years, so bringing back Natalie Portman doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Portman rarely acknowledged her role in Star Wars for a while, mainly because it made it hard for her to get a job immediately after the prequels released, but has seemingly had her opinion change over time. Portman has also returned to franchises like Marvel, where she reprized her role as Jane Foster. With a Star Wars project that Portman feels confident in, then she may consider reprising her role as Padmé Amidala.
The question, of course, is how Star Wars could bring back Padmé. There are really three possibilities: in her own Disney+ TV show, in flashbacks, or perhaps even through the World Between Worlds. The latter is a netherworld of the Force, and there’s no reason only Force-sensitives should appear there. That said, the easiest route is through flashbacks, ones that deepen the relationshp between Padmé and Anakin – perhaps while shining a new liight on her fierce resistance to Palpatine’s tyranny. It would be thrilling to see Star Wars reunite Anakin Skywalker with the love of his life.
