Matt Lanter, the voice of Anakin Skywalker, is honored that Hayden Christensen looked to his performances for guidance on playing the character in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
During an interview with Sci-Fi & Fantasy Gazette, Lanter was asked for his thoughts about Christensen’s admission that he binged Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels to develop Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s updated Anakin. “I saw that! I’m happy that he went and checked out The Clone Wars and went public to say that,” Lanter commented, explaining how “There’s a wealth of knowledge to learn about Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars. We had seven seasons to develop this character. Hayden didn’t have that opportunity in the films. He had a very tough job to take Anakin from a bratty teenager to the most iconic villain of all time in a very short amount of screen time.”
Lanter, who has been Anakin’s go-to actor since 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars theatrical movie, also recalled an encounter he had with Christensen during 2019’s Star Wars Celebration. “At that time, he told me that he had seen some of The Clone Wars and how good he thought it was saying, ‘Hey, what you guys are doing with that show is really great for the Star Wars Universe,'” Lanter reminisced. “I knew he appreciated The Clone Wars, but it’s awesome to hear he watched it. I’m really looking forward to seeing the new show along with everyone else. I can’t wait.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi will mark Christensen’s first official return to Star Wars since 2005’s Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, joining Ewan McGregor as the titular Jedi. However, the show’s first trailer confirmed that multiple elements from The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series — both produced after the prequel trilogy concluded — will factor into its plot, specifically Star Wars Rebels‘ Inquistors as major antagonists. After revealing that he watched both series alongside the nine mainline Star Wars films, Christensen praised the direction they took with Anakin’s character, stating, “There was interesting stuff there to learn about. It was great fun getting to go back and re-immerse yourself in this world that just continues to grow and become more and more vast.”
Star Wars: The Clone Wars ran for five seasons on Cartoon Network before its cancellation in 2013. It later received a sixth season on Netflix and then a final season for Disney+ in 2020. The series is widely credited with properly fleshing out Anakin’s fall to the dark side, a plot point that was often said to be neglected in the prequel trilogy. While Lanter briefly played a New Republic guard in one episode of The Mandalorian, it’s unknown whether his The Clone Wars co-star James Arnold Taylor will receive a similar cameo on Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Meanwhile, Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin for Disney+’s Ahsoka series, whose titular character originated in Star Wars: The Clone Wars but has since been played in live-action by Rosario Dawson.
Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s first two episodes drop on Disney+ May 27.
Source: Sffgazette.com
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