Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson Break Down Their Star Wars: Ahsoka Duel and Anakin Skywalker Return

Last year gave Star Wars fans something they’ve been waiting years to see, which was Hayden Christensen’s official return to the galaxy far, far away as Darth Vader in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Just last week, Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans were given another thrilling gift, as Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker collided with Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: Ahsoka, which brought to life a dynamic that was established over multiple seasons of the animated series and was significantly different than any other relationships we’ve seen in the franchise’s live-action history. In a new featurette about last week’s episode, the stars themselves open up about what their on-screen collision was like to explore. New episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka debut on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

“It was amazing to have Anakin and Ahsoka back together again,” Dawson shared in the featurette. “I met Hayden when I was 16, and we were in acting school together over a summer. And to have that kind of history with him, it really was like seeing my old friend.”

She added, “It was really, really powerful for Ahsoka to see her guard come down. You know her as a stoic, super powerful, on-top-of-it warrior, and, all of a sudden, she’s Padawan again.”

While fans were thrilled with Christensen’s Obi-Wan Kenobi return, it only offered up limited aspects of Anakin and Vader, while the showdown in Ahsoka marked the first live-action meeting of the former allies.

“When I got the phone call to talk about being a part of the Ahsoka project, I was thrilled,” Christensen expressed. “Putting on the Anakin costume, getting to wear those Jedi robes, it blows your mind every time. I just feel very grateful.”

In addition to this being their first on-screen meeting in live-action, it also marked the first time fans got to see a young Ahsoka, Captain Rex, and Anakin’s unique outfit from the time period of The Clone Wars.

Fan-favorite Star Wars hero Ahsoka Tano returns in the brand new series on Disney+. Rosario Dawson stars in Star Wars: Ahsoka, which premiered on August 22nd on the streamer. The series picks up after the events of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which we saw the former Jedi searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and helping Luke Skywalker train Grogu. Ahsoka will be joined on her new mission alongside longtime allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they attempt to track down Thrawn, who was last seen disappearing to the far reaches of space after a confrontation with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Star Wars: Ahsoka is the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm’s creative duo of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.

Are you hoping we get to see more Anakin in the series? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!