After Ahsoka, I Have One Conclusion: Anakin Skywalker Must Return to Save Star Wars

Ahsoka started out as a pretty, albeit tedious story with a few elements that saved her from descending into the abyss of mediocrity occupied by The Book of Boba Fett. Around the third episode, the positives began to outweigh the negatives, and the next episodes delivered in full. The fifth one brilliantly developed villains and the aspect of adventure, as well as world-building, while the fourth was an introspection of the best anti-heroes of this universe.

We were led through Ahsoka's inner world by none other than Anakin Skywalker performed by Hayden Christensen. And though his return was just a mirrage of subconscious projections and a force ghost, the actor's performance made us crave for more. Much more. It turns out that with the right directors, Christensen's Anakin is not a crude puppet of a character, but a charismatic hero. One who should return in spite of logic and common sense.

Sure, if anyone has watched The Clone Wars, they know this Anakin. Fighting against the Dark Side, arrogant, but still likable and full of good intentions. But the animated series, even ones as good as The Clone Wars, are a niche. Not everyone will take them seriously, even in terms of the story about imaginary people in a Galaxy Far Far Away. The viewers who struggled with Lucas's grand, but imperfect and wordy vision of the prequel trilogy were less fortunate. That Anakin-Christensen made a lasting impression, aroused fear and sympathy when he could really play – and that was only when he didn’t have to deliver the grandiose lines written by George Lucas.

You only live twice

The fourth episode of Ahsoka showed the potential of Christensen's interpretation of Anakin that could be realized if only someone allowed him to play and speak like a human being. Suddenly, he turns into the most charismatic badass in the series (next to Titus Pullo, sorry, Baylan Skoll, played by the much-missed Ray Stevenson). We could see the leader, warrior, friend, mentor, as well as the lost man tempted by the Dark Side of the Force. Christensen played it all well. With voice, with facial expressions. It’s all convincing. It works. His performance proves that this actor doesn't have to act like a machine spouting phrases written by Lucas from the prequels.

Where am I going with this? Well, Anakin deserves a comeback. As the protagonist of the story. In the new story, which could take place both during the period of Ahsoka and The Mandalorian – we finally have a new galaxy to traverse – as well as after the infamous Sequel Trilogy. Is this a crazy idea? Perhaps. So how can you bring such a legendary character back to life, when he had died so definitively (at least in the physical sense)? It's possible, stranger things have happened in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. I see at least two sensible options.

Ahsoka, creator: Dave Filoni, Disney 2023

First comes cloning, a canon part of the universe, which has happened both in the series directed by Favreau and Filloni, and in the Sequel Trilogy. Actually, we already have foundations for this, and it's a strong one. Just add a character with appropriate (or inappropriate) motivations, wanting to bring a great warrior back to life or make his copy – one that’s taken over by the original, lurking right beyond your sight. Such a story could be powerful and touch on several interesting topics at once, remaining a Star Wars fairy tale, although probably a bit darker.

The second option, more interesting and posing a greater challenge to both screenwriters and directors – is a film shown from the perspective of Anakin's Force ghost. Sure, it would require some serious rearrangements of narrative and production discipline – but it would actually be something new for the series. It would probably break a few rules that govern the world, but the rules are currently undergoing a transformation anyway, as the last two episodes of Ahsoka exhibit. Certainly, the problem could be the interference of the "ghost" in the physical world, but we've seen that Luke and Yoda were able to do it. Therefore, it is possible. And someone as powerful as Anakin could even do it more effectively.

Moreover, such intense interference in the material world could be the axis of conflict, even with other Force ghosts – which would have to find a way to be able to fight. And Anakin would see the need to confront something and intervene (and this time, for a change, he would be right). What could he face as a reborn Force user or ghost? Well, it's Star Wars, possibilities are endless. New ones are even shown – not always gracefully – by Ahsoka. I don't want to do all the work for the creators, even though I get new ideas at such a pace that there would be enough for both official sequels and fanfics. And half of you probably imagined some strange stories about the return of dead heroes, too. And sure, such plots give rise to problems.

The curse of Skywalkers

The first and most important issue concerns the question of "How much is possible?.” How many times can you go back to Skywalkers? It's the same period in the incredibly vast history of the world, and these stories revolve around the heritage of one dynasty, the chosen one, his decisions, and offspring. Games, books and comics have shown how much goods await in other eras and corners of the Galaxy. We know, we are curious, we wait. For the Acolyte. For new games, for something from the Old Republic, for things happening in the distant past. And it's all true.

And so far, Skywalkers were the most prominently featured. Paradoxically – it's almost always Anakin. He appeared in parts 1-6, was scary in books, comics, games, the majority of The Clone Wars was about him and he even appeared in Rebels. Yes, he did the majority of this as Vader – but not with Christensen in the role.

However, there are also several counterarguments. Star Wars needs to free itself from the Skywalkers, but they haven't been given proper closure. The Sequel Trilogy, even with some great scenes – I love the conversation between Luke and Yoda from The Last Jedi – just didn't deliver. It ended stupidly, banally, and was a poor conclusion to the saga of this particular family. Some problems and tragedies (the death of Carrie Fisher) could not be avoided, others, however, resulted from the hopeless decisions of the creators over the course of three films. It simply didn't work and left viewers with a bad taste and a sense of disappointment similar to the feeling after eating unsalted pistachios. And I doubt whether the Sequels will get a chance for redemption in the eyes of fans after years. The Prequels had their identity, they had a consistent idea behind them, while the Sequels are children of corporate chaos and indecisiveness. Even the good parts are drowned because the bad ones are overwhelming.

Another thing is that Star Wars currently lacks a charismatic lead who would be sure to stay with the series for a long time. The Mandalorian and Grogu have been a bit overdone, and the third season showed that fatigue. Andor's heroes have a limited shelf life unless they magically survive the events of Rogue One. Boba Fett turned out to be a dud, the live-action Ahsoka lacked the charm and temperament from the animation, no matter how hard Rosario Dawson tries. I see certain opportunities in Ezra and Sabine as well as in Shin (unfortunately probably without Baylan, because it's hard to replace Ray Stevenson). Someone new can always appear, but recently it went badly with Rey and her crew, because J.J. Abrams effectively slaughtered their narrative.

Star Wars is currently in a very strange state and place. On the one hand, it has some successes, but they quickly fade away. On the other hand, Disney is clearly afraid to approach the topic of big movies and is waiting for an opportunity. It's no surprise that it does, especially after Rise of the Skywalker tarnished its cinematic reputation (several other films didn't help). Given that blockbusters no longer guarantee commercial success, a trump card is needed for a successful return to the cinemas.

Meanwhile, almost no series released by Disney is a model for keeping a steady high standard (except Andor). Most of them are charming at best – or not even that. They’re average shows with a bit of charisma. They’re mediocre even in the "entertainment" category. Ahsoka needed at least two or three episodes to get going, and even here, the pace slowed down a few times, even though it had a new area, ideas and some cool heroes and villains at her disposal. Even so, that show was quite enjoyable to watch.

A New Hope

That's why saying goodbye to Anakin – one or two movies or a short series, or even some completely new adventure, but NOT A RETROSPECTIVE – would be just right. Until the people at Disney come up with something completely new that doesn't turn out to be average a moment after presentation.

A well-done return of Anakin doesn't have to be a rehash. Returning from beyond the grave, of course, is a controversial concept even for a space fantasy about wizards fighting with oversized fluorescent lamps, but it can be done efficiently and have some interesting plot solutions built around it. Especially in the case of someone with such a wealth of experience as Anakin. This is a guy who almost reached the top, then lost everything, partly by his own choice. Later, he became the bane of everything alive. There are so many interesting dilemmas hidden here, which can resonate even in an adventure movie. Where is the line of forgiveness drawn (he is a war criminal after all)? Did the gesture of redemption in Return of the Jedi mean anything to anyone other than those closest to him? How will Anakin achieve the balance between the Light and Dark Side now? That is, if it even matters at all. And maybe a living Anakin would be looking for a place where no one knows him and he could start life anew? The plot practically writes itself.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, dir. George Lucas, LucasFilm 2005

In pop culture there, have been such forced returns, which resulted in great stories. Ask Marvel readers who, after suspending their disbelief, ended up receiving great series about heroes who followed a similar path (Chris Yost's Scarlet Spider – I always recommend it – and there's no need to mention all those Wolverines, Spider-Mans and Deadpools). Ask the fantasy readers about characters living for hundreds, thousands of years. Disappearing, coming back in one form or another, and continuing to act as the central figures of a given story (e.g. in Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen). This is possible. Everything is possible, if you just want it. And we live in a culture of spin-offs, processing, and reboots. So why the hell not?

And finally, let's talk about Christensen. He proved that he can act, that he has fun while doing it and that he perfectly captures both the lighter and darker side of the legendary hero's charisma. I believe that he would do brilliantly with both arrogant retorts and grim one-liners (a skill Anakin acquired as Vader), as well as wisdom resulting from rich experience and the loss of everything that was important to him.

He doesn't even have to be a Jedi to be a positive, intriguing hero fighting a new, internal battle. After all, if anyone deserves a chance here, it's not even Vader, not Anakin, but Christensen himself. In the hands of a “normal” director, his performance is golden. And since he got a lot of flack for the Prequels – he deserves to be able to prove himself again. For this reason alone, I would even accept an Anakin-somehow-returned solution – as long as we get something better than Rise of the Skywalker.

Hubert Sosnowski

Hubert Sosnowski

He joined GRYOnline.pl in 2017, as an author of texts about games and movies. Learned how to write articles while working for the Dzika Banda portal. His texts were published on kawerna.pl, film.onet.pl, zwierciadlo.pl, and in the Polish Playboy. Has published stories in the monthly Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror magazine, as well as in the first volume of the Antologii Wolsung. Lives for "middle cinema" and meaty entertainment, but he won't despise any experiment or Fast and Furious. In games, looks for a good story. Loves Baldur's Gate 2, but when he sees Unreal Tournament, Doom, or a good race game, the inner child wakes up. In love with sheds and thrash metal. Since 2012, has been playing and creating live action role-playing, both within the framework of the Bialystok Larp Club Zywia, and commercial ventures in the style of Witcher School.