Anakin Skywalker's Epic Evolution: A Side-By-Side Comparison of Hayden Christensen's Portrayal in Ahsoka and the Prequels

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 5.

Summary

In Ahsoka episode 5, Hayden Christensen reprises his role as Anakin Skywalker, with the help of CGI to digitally de-age his appearance. The flashbacks take us back to the Clone Wars era, showcasing a young Ahsoka and Anakin who sport his signature hair and armor from the early seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Anakin's altered look in the World Between Worlds symbolizes his connection to the Jedi before his descent into darkness. The fifth episode of Ahsoka showcases Hayden Christensen reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker, bringing significance to Ahsoka Tano's personal voyage. Despite the passing of two decades since the release of Star Wars Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, Christensen's appearance remains reminiscent of his portrayal in the early 2000s.

Hayden Christensen Returns As Anakin Skywalker In Ahsoka

Episode 5 of Ahsoka showcased flashbacks to the Clone Wars era, where young Ahsoka was portrayed by Ariana Greenblatt. However, Anakin Skywalker retained his original hairstyle and armor from the early seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. One of the two flashbacks demonstrated that this particular battle occurred during the initial stages of Ahsoka's training, which clarifies the variation in Christensen's hair throughout his appearance in Ahsoka episode 5. Rather than utilizing archived footage of Christensen from the prequel films, it seems that the decision was made to digitally rejuvenate the 42-year-old actor using CGI technology.

In Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Christensen portrayed Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader. He also appeared as Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the fourth episode of Ahsoka, he made a brief appearance, but it was in the fifth episode where he had a prominent role. Anakin, aiming to complete his former apprentice's training, effortlessly transitions between the light and dark sides as he imparts a final lesson to Ahsoka through the World Between Worlds. While Obi-Wan Kenobi only required Christensen to be digitally de-aged for a specific scene, Ahsoka faced the challenge of convincingly portraying Christensen in his 20s throughout a significant portion of episode 5.

Lucasfilm Has Used CGI To Make Anakin Younger In Flashbacks

Similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Christensen's presence in the film, Lucasfilm employed CGI technology to digitally rejuvenate the actor. Since Anakin's portrayal had never been witnessed in real-life action during the Star Wars Clone Wars era, it was vital that Skywalker strongly resembled his appearances in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Given that these flashbacks occur within the three-year gap between those two movies, ILM likely merged Christensen's early 2000s appearance with his performance for Ahsoka.

Why Anakin Looked Different In The World Between Worlds

There are several reasons why Anakin Skywalker appears different in the World Between Worlds. In this particular instance, Anakin represents the Jedi just before his fall to the dark side in Revenge of the Sith, evident from his identical robes and lightsaber. Moreover, unlike in the Clone Wars-era flashbacks where Lucasfilm could somewhat obscure Christensen's face with smoke or gunfire, such methods were not feasible in the World Between Worlds. Though the CGI used for Christensen is impressive, it is not an exact science, resulting in noticeable differences at certain points.

Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET on Disney+.