What If We Had an AU Where Hot 2019 Hayden Christensen Played Darth Vader?

There was a time in my young life when I thought I would marry Hayden Christensen. Granted, I was fourteen and watching Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith on a loop all summer. Still, that love remained, and I was saddened by how the Star Wars fandom reacted to Christensen. Flashforward to 2019, and it seems as if we’re all team Hayden and want him back, so I guess those fourteen years really changed us.

When Hayden Christensen brought his daughter to Disneyland to visit the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge park, fans clung to the pictures as Anakin clung to the dirt to keep himself away from the fire threatening to take him, which then made us all realize that a) Hayden Christensen is nearly Vader-age and b) we maybe loved him as Anakin Skywalker.

So before we get into the adorable pictures of Christensen in the Falcon and thriving in a world he helped to bring to a new generation, let’s explore the idea of him playing an Anakin Skywalker that wasn’t burned and left for dead. Now, Hayden Christensen is still slightly too young to be the Darth Vader we first see in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Vader is 42 and Christensen is only 38) but still, let’s pretend for a moment that Christensen could have had a Kylo Ren mask reveal.

If 38-year-old Christensen took off the Vader mask? I’d probably have a very different response to the redemption arc that followed. (Just kidding, I’d still hate Darth Vader, but whatever, Hayden Christensen is hot.) What I do hope for, on a more serious note, is the inclusion of Christensen for the red carpet of The Rise of Skywalker and maybe even a cameo from the Anakin actor in the film. Can we have that? Please?

Still, the love for Christensen is strong. On Twitter, many are talking about these pictures and the hope they have for Hayden Christensen to come back to Star Wars, or to have a career boost á la Robert Pattinson.

Would Hayden Christensen ever come back to the Star Wars franchise? Who knows, but I think it’s safe to say that we’re here for it, and if you want to make a Hot Vader movie, I’m not saying I would not watch it.

(image: Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

 —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Author

Close

Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

twitter youtube Link to www.themarysue.com