Star Wars ' Hayden Christensen Explains Why His Return to Franchise Felt "Surreal"

Hayden Christensen is making a return to the dark side.

The actor, who last played Darth Vader in 2005's Revenge of the Sith, is back as the legendary villain in the upcoming Disney+ limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi, alongside Ewan McGregor.

For Hayden, the process was filled with all sorts of emotions.

"The whole experience was very surreal," he told Entertainment Weekly. "Just the nature of coming back after all this time. It's such a unique opportunity—one that both Ewan and I were very grateful for."

But it wasn't just Hayden who felt the nostalgia rush.

"One of the things I loved so much about working on Star Wars projects is just that shared excitement," he said. "Everyone's real excited to be there. You feel that energy, and that's a really special thing."

Hayden first appeared 2002's Attack of the Clones and while the prequel movies weren't everybody's cup of tea, Hayden felt right at home taking up the mantle again.

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"It was mostly a lot of excitement because I had spent enough time with this character and felt like I knew him, and coming back to it felt very natural in a lot of ways," he told the outlet. "And I was just really excited to get to come in and play Darth Vader at this point in the timeline because it did feel like a natural continuation of your journey with the character. And that was very meaningful for me."

After working on The Mandalorian, Deborah Chow is directing Obi-Wan Kenobi, which takes place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith. And she promised fans that they're about to see Darth Vader like they've never seen him before.

"I really wanted to do something that was character-based and character-driven," she told Entertainment Weekly, "because that is the benefit of the limited series, is that you have more time to sort of tell a real character story. And so for me, the starting place of character is you just start and you look at who has been important to him in his life."

Check out Hayden's return to a galaxy far, far away when Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 27 on Disney+.

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