The Chosen One: Defending Hayden Christensen in Return of the Jedi

The Star Wars franchise is no stranger to controversy. From Greedo shooting first to "Jedi Rocks" replacing “Lapti Nek” to the childish antics of Jar Jar Binks, almost every fan has a bone to pick with George Lucas. (The less said about Disney, the better.)

But one thing nearly the entire fanbase can agree on is the divisive performance of Hayden Christensen as a grown Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy. At the time, many viewers felt the fresh-faced star's acting was wooden and amateurish, resulting in a disappointing presentation for the central figure of the entire saga.

So, when the original trilogy finally arrived on DVD in 2004, fans rejoiced at the chance to revisit the movies they grew up with. Yet, upon finishing Return of the Jedi, they were shocked to find themselves face-to-face with Christensen once again. This time, he was reprising the role of Anakin as a Force ghost, standing alongside Obi-Wan and Yoda during the Ewok celebration.

The Tinkerer Strikes Back

George Lucas revising his movies to fit his evolving vision is nothing new. In 1997, the "Special Edition" releases of the original trilogy debuted changes that sparked intense fan outrage, most notably in A New Hope, where Greedo shot first in the cantina, and a poorly rendered CGI Jabba the Hutt met with Han Solo in Docking Bay 94. (Don’t get me started on Obi-Wan’s howling noise to scare off the Sand People; there’s a new one for every re-release.)

Buyers of the 2004 DVD box set should have been on high alert. In both the theatrical 1983 and re-released 1997 editions of Return of the Jedi, actor Sebastian Shaw played both the dying, unmasked Darth Vader and the smiling Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker. But Lucas wasn't satisfied with the latter. By replacing Shaw with Christensen, he ignited a brand-new firestorm across the Star Wars fan community.

Proponents of the original version with Shaw love to throw out two main arguments: Luke shouldn't be able to recognize his father as a young man, and Vader died as a redeemed Jedi, not a Sith.

I am here to end this debate once and for all. Upon closer examination of the complete saga, Hayden Christensen’s inclusion as Anakin’s ghost not only makes perfect narrative sense, but it is the objectively correct choice. Here is why.

1. "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

A pivotal question still debated among fans is: At what exact point does Anakin become Vader? Is it the moment he betrays Mace Windu, or when he loses the Mustafar duel against Obi-Wan? Many insist his transformation was only complete when his burnt, broken body was sealed inside the iconic black armor, his prison and punishment for his horrific crimes against the Republic and the Jedi.

But the reality is that the famous clash of lightsabers amidst raging lava on Mustafar took place between a Jedi Master and a Sith apprentice. At that point, Anakin Skywalker was already gone. In fact, he does not resurface until the finale of Return of the Jedi.

"Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed." — Obi-Wan Kenobi, Return of the Jedi

"The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader." — Yoda, Revenge of the Sith

Anakin spiritually died the moment he chose to embrace the dark side. A Jedi does not storm the Jedi Temple and slaughter his own brethren. To do so is to abandon everything you knew and believed in, and by partaking in this monstrous act you are no longer a Jedi.

When Luke finally removes his father’s helmet, the audience sees a physical manifestation of a man tainted and deformed by decades of the dark side. Anakin’s body and soul are in ruin. To pass into the netherworld of the Force, his spiritual image needed to be restored to who he was before he fell into darkness. 

2. Sebastian Shaw Anakin was never real

Fans must face a harsh reality: the character of an elderly, healthy Anakin Skywalker portrayed by Sebastian Shaw never actually existed.

The last time Anakin was a Jedi, he was a young man in his twenties. He never got to live a life free of evil or grow old peacefully. His appearance as Hayden Christensen is sound in this regard, and Luke would easily see that this third apparition next to Yoda and Obi-Wan is his father.

Opponents often argue: "If Anakin’s ghost is young, why isn’t Obi-Wan’s ghost young too?" They forget that Obi-Wan lived his entire life as a Jedi from start to finish. He never fell to the dark side. Therefore, the visage of Alec Guinness as an elderly Kenobi perfectly reflects the end of Obi-Wan's unbroken Jedi journey.

3. The Word of George Lucas

If the thematic evidence isn't enough, we can look directly to the Maker himself. In an interview alongside Christensen to promote Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas explicitly explained his reasoning for the change:

"The idea was that your inner person would go back to where we left it off when it turned to the dark side, before you got burned up... So when you come back to the good side of the Force, it’s your former persona that survives, not the Darth Vader persona."

This simple explanation clears up the most frequent complaints fans have over seeing the prequel trilogy iteration of Anakin in the final chapter of the Star Wars saga (his curtain call, so to speak). Anakin’s soul was essentially frozen in carbonite the moment he pledged his allegiance to Palpatine, and his final choice to turn on his master and save Luke granted his spirit freedom.

Whether you still cling to an older point of view or have grown to accept the logic of the prequels, hopefully this gives you a bit more to ponder next time you travel to a galaxy far, far away...

 Until next time, may the Force be with you!