Hayden Christensen is officially returning to the Star Wars franchise for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Disney announced on Thursday that Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi, reuniting him with Ewan McGregor who will be back in the title role.
Hayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader, joining Ewan McGregor in OBI-WAN KENOBI. The Original Series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Revenge of the Sith, and is coming to #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/9WR2npRUkk
— Star Wars (@starwars) December 10, 2020
Christensen and McGregor co-starred in 2002’s Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and in its 2005 sequel Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The iconic duel between Christensen’s Anakin and McGregor’s Obi-Wan amid the volcanic lava of the planet Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith was the climactic event that led to Anakin’s transformation into the franchise’s central villain, Darth Vader.
In a featurette screened exclusively for investors as part of Disney Investor Day on Thursday, McGregor said that “the most beautiful thing of all” about the series is that it has brought him back together with Hayden,” adding that the two of them will have “another swing at each other” before the end of the series.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who was present at the event, called Christensen and McGregor’s reunion for Obi-Wan Kenobi “the rematch of the century.”
In a statement, Christensen expressed his excitement about returning to the Star Wars franchise. “It was such an incredible journey playing Anakin Skywalker,” said the actor. “Of course, Anakin and Obi-Wan weren’t on the greatest of terms when we last saw them… It will be interesting to see what an amazing director like Deborah Chow has in store for us all. I’m excited to work with Ewan again. It feels good to be back.”
The news of Christensen’s return to the epic space opera franchise was met with enthusiasm from fans. While a lot of them can’t wait to see him share the screen with McGregor once again, others are most excited for Christensen to prove his detractors wrong and finally get the respect he deserves. See some of the fan reactions in the tweets below:
HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN IS BACK AS VADER IN OBI WAN KENOBI IM SO FUCKING HAPPY RIGHT NOW. WE WON. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. IM DONE WITH TWITTER. THIS IS MY LAST TWEET. IM CRYING. BYE pic.twitter.com/zFBqQCiIZ0
— Rahul Kohli (@RahulKohli13) December 10, 2020
Bro I’m so fuckin happy ?#HaydenChristensen pic.twitter.com/lrKzHo8co4
— CarCar Binks but ✨nervous✨ (@_CarCarBinks) December 11, 2020
My favourite white boys are back together imma cry in a corner #HaydenChristensen #EwanMcGregor pic.twitter.com/muxncPFOf6
— agathe ducrocq (@ducrocq_agathe) December 11, 2020
EWAN MCGREGOR AND HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN TOGETHER IN THE SAME SHOW AFTER FIFTEEN YEARS THIS IS NOT A DRILL pic.twitter.com/1nogLFTkaD
— bea (@worshipfuIness) December 10, 2020
HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN IS IN KENOBI SERIES WITH EWAN MCGREGOR IM SHAKING #DisneyInvestorDay pic.twitter.com/1eGkCazEUc
— Ral ⎊ STREAM TFATWS ON MARCH 19TH (@snowpointexe) December 10, 2020
I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN IS RETURNING TO STAR WARS AS THE LEGENDARY DARTH VADER pic.twitter.com/VlgOUYKAJl
— Ajay (@SWBFExpress) December 10, 2020
What’s great about them bringing #HaydenChristensen back is that he gets to prove his detractors wrong, and I reckon they will have him becoming more and more injured as the show goes on. We will see his transformation from RotS to RotJ Anakin!
How much more will Kenobi inflict? pic.twitter.com/cTXwWPcr68— Regular Movie Geek ? (@MovieUltimate) December 11, 2020
*Sees everyone celebrating #HaydenChristensen's return to #StarWars*
How many of you were shitting on him 15 years ago for being a victim of bad writing and direction? pic.twitter.com/tYGPK1Qhxb
— Rose Thorn (@Rebecca_Rose87) December 11, 2020
Ya'll better appreciate him this time around #HaydenChristensen #Kenobi pic.twitter.com/yysO7b12QH
— Hannah ? (@Hannah98044) December 11, 2020
Announced last August at D23 Expo, Obi-Wan Kenobi is described as a special event series set 10 years after the dramatic events of Revenge of the Sith. As mentioned above, the new series is directed by Deborah Chow, who had helmed two episodes of The Mandalorian season 1.
Production on Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to start in March 2021, with the series premiering on Disney+ in 2022.