Disney has been steadily building up buzz for its upcoming Star Wars series Ahsoka on Disney Plus, and now a new image seems to tease how a certain returning character will play into the show. Not only that, series star Rosario Dawson (who plays the titular former Jedi Ahsoka Tano) recently had some things to say about long-running rumors that Hayden Christensen will return as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader on Ahsoka.
Rumors about Christensen appearing in Ahsoka have been swirling for years, which makes sense given the history between Anakin and Ahsoka. In The Clone Wars animated series, Ahsoka started as a young pre-teen Jedi-in-training under the tutelage of Anakin, who was himself still a little wet behind the ears. Throughout that Star Wars series, the two grew closer as student and mentor, and genuine friends. This made Anakin's eventual fall to the dark side all the more tragic and provided some truly poignant character beats for Ahsoka's own story.
Interestingly, Dawson (who plays Ahsoka) and Christensen share their history, having been classmates at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute when they were up-and-coming actors. "It's pretty remarkable and exciting," Dawson said of their shared backstory when speaking with Total Film. "We were teenagers, and then I saw him right immediately afterwards go into this universe. I never could have fathomed that I would have had any part of that, besides just being a fan of his, and being really proud of him." To accompany that feeling, Total Film has also released a new image teasing Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Hera Syndulla in a possible leadership role giving orders via hologram. It could be an interesting development.
It almost seems like fate that Dawson would join Star Wars as Ahsoka even decades after her old friend did. But as for whether Christensen will appear in Ahsoka? Dawson is still playing coy. "It's just been really cool that at this moment, I'm joining it, and he's been able to come back [in 2022’s Obi-Wan Kenobi] and also get embraced by the Star Wars family in a way that I think is much deserved," she continued. "It's definitely one of those things that would be super cool if he was [in Ahsoka], but I'm just really grateful that we're in the same universe."
Despite many news stories reporting Christensen's presence in Ahsoka as confirmed, it seems it's still more of an open rumor. Granted, it appears to be the same type of rumor as Alfred Molina returning as Doc Ock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where fans are already so sure of something that it feels a bit extra for the studio to keep pretending it won't happen. But again, it's not technically confirmed, so there's always a chance that fans may end up disappointed.
Still, Ahsoka is being built up as a continuation of Star Wars Rebels, which featured the aforementioned Hera Syndulla, so fans of that series should feel safe in expecting a little satisfaction. That's something, at least. Plus, both Ahsoka and Anakin/Vader appeared in Rebels. If nothing else, Christensen's appearance in Ahsoka would rhyme like poetry.
Ahsoka is set to premiere on August 23rd on Disney Plus.
Source: GamesRadar