Seeing how he was once substantially involved with the Star Wars franchise, it should come as no shock to anyone that Hayden Christensen, star of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, was among those who tuned in to the new trilogy of movies that were released between 2015 to 2019.
Christensen previously admitted that he watched the animated Star Wars series that featured Anakin Skywalker to help get himself back into the iconic character he played in the 2000s. He also admitted in a recent interview that he enjoyed watching the franchise's latest trilogy of movies, which include The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker.
During an interview with Kakuchopurei, Christensen stated that part of the reason why he enjoyed the sequel trilogy was because of how they honoured the character of Darth Vader. "I really enjoyed the Sequel Trilogy," Christensen said. "I think it was great the way that they honored this character. I really enjoyed sort of everything they’ve been up to with and it was fun for me to just go back to being a fan, and watch these stories like everybody else." Christensen, whose voice had been used in The Rise of Skywalker along with multiple Jedi who inspired Rey to finish off Emperor Palpatine, had been a fan of the franchise before being cast as grown-up Anakin Skywalker for the latter two prequels.
Christensen also mentioned how big a fan he was of the franchise's other series, which includes the animated series and the Disney Plus hit show The Mandalorian. He also watched both to re-familiarize himself once he had been cast again as Anakin. "I just wanted to educate myself as much as possible and of course, the Star Wars storytelling has continued to grow so much so there was a lot for me to catch up on," Christensen said. "I really enjoyed it, as a fan myself, the animated work that Dave Filoni did to these other new Star Wars films and TV shows. Love The Mandalorian. I just wanted to re-familiarize myself in preparation for this."
With Christensen getting familiar with as much Star Wars material as he can to portray a character he hasn't played in 17 years, it'll be interesting to see how he utilizes what he's learned while watching what the franchise has released since Revenge of the Sith. The game is a little different compared to 2005 now that he won't have to read the script or take direction from George Lucas. With new writers and directors at the helm, maybe this is his chance to prove his acting chops for Star Wars fans.
Christensen received a lot of flak for his performance as Anakin Skywalker in the past because of how bland and monotone he delivered his lines. Because he was playing the downfall of the most notorious villain in film history, he was bound to receive more attention than the others in the cast. In his defence, most of the acting in the prequels was pretty bad. Fans remember him because of who he was playing. He has proven in the past that he's capable of good performances, like Shattered Glass, so with any luck, those who are running Obi-Wan Kenobi will know how to utilize him better than Lucas did.
Obi-Wan Kenobi episodes 1-5 are now available on Disney Plus.
Source: Kakuchopurei