The Star Wars rumor mill is buzzing, and the name is Hayden Christensen. Rumor has it he will return as Darth Vader in Episode VIII, and considering Episodes II and III, is Star Wars doomed?
I hope not. I really, really hope not. I've been a fan of Star Wars since I saw A New Hope when I was eight. The original three movies truly fit the classic definition of the term "epic" better than anything I've seen until The Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith failed to resonate with me. It took me several years to figure it out. My conclusion was: Hayden Christensen has failed me (for the last time).
Now hold on, I know I've just ticked off some people. Let me explain why I did like him a bit too before I dissect things a bit more. First, he really did look like a young Jedi. That's not something everyone can pull off. Several actors off the top of my head, Matt Bomer from White Collar, Channing Tatum and Ian Somerhalder might have been the right age, but they don't look like a Padawan. So Christensen pulled off the look right. He also had some great exchanges with Obi Wan. Seriously, that was some funny crap in the movies.
What I didn't like, what I think killed his performance as Anakin Skywalker in the two movies, was his emotion. Some people think he was too unemotional. He's not a Vulcan in Star Trek, he's a human Jedi in love. I disagree with the lack of emotion argument. What seriously hampered my enjoyment of Attack of the Clones and RotS was the fact he displayed the wrong emotions. And he had a really tough job to do. Portraying a young man in love, yet fighting his emotions, both of rage over his mother's murder and his love of Padme, would challenge even great actors. Unfortunately, Christensen failed to pull off an empathizable character in Anakin. I just didn't get the "feels" for him. I felt little to no sympathy for his plight. I couldn't understand why he would turn to the Dark Side. It felt . . . coerced, wrong, off. Even as a kid, I couldn't help but think "How did Padme fall in love with his guy?" This video kind of sums up my opinion of his acting.
So what do I think about the rumors? In fact, what are they?
"A team in the U.K. are soon heading to the U.S. to begin training Hayden Christensen for a Star Wars: Episode VIII appearance of some sort."
Okay, if he's going to appear as Darth Vader, I think I'm okay with that. The mask will hide his emotions to a degree, so he'll have to show them other ways. Perhaps he gets a third chance to improve.
"A fully operational Darth Vader chest piece along with the helmet, made it into the creature shop."
I just assume that means there's going to be a Darth Vader. I keep seeing sources (and there are a LOT of them, just Google/Bing/Yahoo it) linking this to a Christensen role in Episode VIII, but I don't see a connection. I just wanted to point out that a working Vader suit doesn't indicate what actor gets the role.
I don't think Star Wars is doomed. Heck, George Lucas couldn't kill it, and we're all sure he tried to do so. (Jar Jar Binks, anyone?) In fact, Hayden Christensen might be able to redeem himself in a Darth Vader role, so long as Anakin stays inside the suit and stays there until Palpatine zaps him.
So what do you think about a Christensen reprisal? Good? Bad? Run, it's a AT-AT Walker?
