Hayden Christensen made his return as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka where he showed up for a couple of episodes and had his character reunite with his protege Ahsoka Tano in the World Between Worlds.
His comeback was celebrated by many fans not just because of his reprisal of the role, but it also marked the first time that Anakin and Ahsoka appeared together in live-action after years of witnessing their relationship in The Clone Wars animated series.
While the actor only had a minimal screen time overall in the series, his performance was still praised and it became one of the highlights for many fans who devoured all the eight episodes.
Now, for the first time since the series aired, creator Dave Filoni is finally sharing some interesting details surrounding Christensen's celebrated return.
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Dave Filoni Addresses Hayden Christensen's Return in Ahsoka
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Filoni opened up about Christensen's return to playing Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka and how and why he decided to bring him back on the series.
The newly-minted Lucasfilm chief creative officer explained that he's always wanted to work with the actor ever since they met backstage and had an "instant connection" during a past encounter at a Star Wars Celebration event.
"It was kind of amazing to have somebody who had this experience, too, who would know the things I was talking about related to Anakin and how George [Lucas] saw him. We really understood each other and the language of it," Filoni said.
While writing the series, Filoni didn't want Ahsoka and Anakin's reunion to "devolve into a Star Wars history lesson" and he decided to set it in World Between Worlds to allow them to have a journey together in the flashback.
Filoni and Christensen also made sure that the Clone Wars-set flashback would remain focused on Ahsoka.
"We discussed how this isn’t really a story about Anakin, but it’s important to see how Ahsoka sees Anakin. This is her lived experience. [His] story is already told, and George’s saga is done. But this is important for her because you’re her mentor," he explained.
A lot of fans praised the fifth episode of the series because of its exploration of the two characters' relationship and it remained to be one of the most-discussed moments even though it's already been months since it aired.
You can also feel during the episode that bringing back Christensen was a dream come true for Filoni and, fortunately, he was able to utilize him enough and the character somehow became essential in the titular character's arc throughout its eight-episode run.
Ahsoka is available to stream on Disney+.
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