The Phantom Menace, and pretty much all Star Wars movies, have such a long list.
His charming anecdote about how he couldn’t help but make fake lightsaber sounds when he was doing combat scenes in the films went over like a house on fire. They can lose sight if a young actor has the ability to pull off a great. So when Christensen took the stage this past week for the 40th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration panel, he was greeted-much to the puzzlement of some old-school Star Wars fans-with thunderous applause and cheers from the thousands in attendance.
STAR WARS EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE CAST YOUNG ANAKIN SERIES
The fact that the animated character of young Anakin Skywalker-modeled on Christensen’s look-got a much more popular run on the beloved TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars also helped heal old wounds.
It turns out that in the 15 years since the franchise ended (incidentally, the last time Christensen showed his face at Celebration), the very young Star Wars watchers who actually liked the made-for-kids prequels grew into adult Christensen fans. Not even actor Ahmed Best, who had the advantage of hiding his real face behind the hated animated character of Jar Jar Binks, was as thoroughly shunned by the adult Star Wars fandom when the prequels came out.īut a funny thing happened on the way to Star Wars Celebration this year. It didn’t matter that he was excellent in 2003’s Shattered Glass those long-time Star Wars fans who were sour on the franchise were also sour on Christensen. And though many performances ( from great actors!) in those Star Wars prequels were on the wooden side of the spectrum, the bulk of the blame landed on young Christensen. When actor Hayden Christensen was only 19, he was cast as the Star Wars prequel version of young Anakin Skywalker-one of the most important characters in an intensely beloved franchise. Showcasing key characters from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, this exciting collection expands the story from the international film blockbuster, exposing key events from the epic tale not shown on screen.