Hayden Christensen’s Anakin In Ahsoka vs Prequels: Side-By-Side Comparison
Ahsoka episode 5 saw the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in the World Between Worlds. While Christensen’s return was brief in episode 4, his appearance in Ahsoka episode 5 was a pivotal point in Ahsoka Tano’s journey. Despite it being nearly twenty years since Star Wars Episode III—Revenge of the Sith released, Christensen looked just as he did in the early 2000s. Ahsoka episode 5 featured flashbacks to the Clone Wars, where Ariana Greenblatt takes over the role of young Ahsoka. However, Anakin Skywalker featured his hair and armor from the first few seasons of Star Wars: The first of two flashbacks reveals that this particular battle took place early in Ahsoka’s apprenticeship, which explains why Christensen’s hair changes throughout her appearance in Ahsoka Volume 5. While Ahsoka could have chosen to use old footage of Christensen from previous films, it appears they instead chose to digitally de-age the 42-year-old actor using CGI.
Hayden Christensen Returns As Anakin Skywalker In Ahsoka
Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith and Obi-Wan Kenobi, appears at the end of episode 4 of Ahsoka but reappears in episode 5. Seeking to complete his former apprentice’s training, Anakin wavers between light and dark as he teaches Ahsoka one final lesson about the World Between Worlds. While Obi-Wan Kenobi only had to age Christensen in one scene, Ahsoka was tasked with convincingly making Christensen look like he was in his 20s for much of Episode 5.
Why Anakin Looked Different In The World Between Worlds
Similar to Christensen’s appearance in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lucasfilm used CGI to digitally age the actor. Since Anakin was never seen in live-action during the Clone Wars era of Star Wars, it was important for Skywalker to have a strong resemblance to his appearances in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Given that these flashbacks take place in the three years between these two films, ILM was able to combine Christensen’s looks from the early 2000s with her work for Ahsoka.
Lucasfilm Has Used CGI To Make Anakin Younger In Flashbacks
Anakin Skywalker is different in World Between Worlds for many reasons. This Anakin is said to be the spitting image of the Jedi right before he fell to the dark side in Revenge of the Sith, as his cloak and lightsaber are identical. Additionally, during the Clone Wars era flashbacks, Lucasfilm was sometimes able to partially obscure Christensen’s face with smoke or gunfire, but this was not possible in World Between Worlds. While the CGI used on Christensen is amazing, it’s not an exact science, sometimes creating a noticeable difference.