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When Hayden Christensen was scared he’d lose the role of Anakin Skywalker to Leonardo DiCaprio

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When Hayden Christensen was scared he'd lose the role of Anakin Skywalker to Leonardo DiCaprio

As a fan who’s been through the highs and lows of “Star Wars” fandom, I can empathize with Hayden Christensen‘s journey. I remember the heated debates about his performance as Anakin Skywalker back in the day, and it’s heartening to see him back in the galaxy far, far away.

In the 2002 film “Attack of the Clones,” which is the second part of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy concerning the emergence of one of sci-fi’s most memorable villains, Anakin Skywalker/Baby Darth Vader, Hayden Christensen took on the role. At that time, his acting was often criticized as being too stiff. However, it should be noted that similar criticisms were directed at the films overall. It might be challenging for any actor to bring authenticity to lines like these.

Regardless of the outcome, the Star Wars prequel trilogy catapulted Christensen into Hollywood stardom and he’s maintained a consistent career since then. However, things might have unfolded differently. Recently, Christensen spoke with Empire magazine about his initial belief that someone else would land the role: “I had heard they were meeting with Leonardo [DiCaprio] and other actors. This just reinforced my assumption that the role would go to another actor. During the audition process, I kept telling myself from day one that I wouldn’t get the part. It simply wasn’t an option. And I believe this mindset helped me a lot, as it allowed me to be more relaxed and free in many ways. So, when I actually got the role, it came as quite a shock to me.

During that period, Leonardo DiCaprio had just achieved global popularity following the blockbuster success of “Titanic”, making him a heartthrob worldwide. However, it’s important to note that he was seven years older than Christensen, who was only 20 at the time. Given this age difference, it’s plausible why the filmmakers might have preferred the younger face of Christensen to portray the emerging galactic threat in the movie.

Christensen has reprised his role as Anakin in both “Ahsoka” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” on Disney+, though responses to these series have varied, there’s been widespread excitement about his return. The days of him being a target for criticism among Star Wars fans are clearly behind us now.

But Christensen still remembers them; if you were into nerdy stuff at the time, it’s hard to forget. “The character was criticized, my performance was criticized, and that part sucked,” he said. “But I also felt like I had some context that perhaps helped a little bit. When ‘Episode I’ came out, there was a lot of excitement that they were making a new ‘Star Wars,’ and it was going to be the backstory of Darth Vader. But I had friends that were upset that the character was starting off as this young kid. And I watched the film, and I loved it. It was everything I wanted and more. And I didn’t understand the disconnect between the movie that I saw, and the negativity in some of the reviews.”

In a way that sort of criticism, I think, comes from a certain failure of their own suspension of disbelief. If you’re gonna go sit in a theater, and the opening scroll starts with, ‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,’ that’s setting the stage that anything is possible. These people don’t need to sound and behave the way that we might expect. And if you’re going to sit down and think that you’re getting something that is of our current zeitgeist, then you’re setting yourself up for something else. You know what I mean?

I’ll confess I don’t fully know what he means — like, I don’t people were upset with the Star Wars prequels because they weren’t what they expected or because they weren’t part of the current zeitgeist; I think they were upset because, in their eyes, the movies were bad — but I’m not going to second-guess him too hard; I can’t imagine the amoung of criticism he had to deal with for years afterwards. Whatever he’s gotta do to get perspective is fine.

Is there a chance that Christensen will reprise the role of Darth Vader in future Star Wars TV productions? Given Disney’s ongoing commitment to creating new Star Wars content, it seems plausible. Additionally, there may be opportunities for DiCaprio to appear in one of these upcoming movies or series.

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2024-09-16 22:41

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