Hayden Christensen Speaks About on Anakin Skywalker's Iconic 'Sand' Quote

The Star Wars Prequels have gone from being hated on by longtime Star Wars fans to taking their proper place as some of the most formative movies for an entire generation (Z). As such, things about the Star Wars Prequel films that used to be held up as laugable are now some of the most popular Star Wars memes you can find. Case in point: the most hated film in the Prequel Trilogy, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, is practically a meme factory, and one of the most infamous quotes is Anakin Skywalker's (not so) deep reflection on the nature of sand. 

As Anakin (Hayden Christensen) tells Padamé (Natalie Portman), just before putting some (awkward) moves on her: "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating – and it gets everywhere." 

When Attack of the Clones was first released in 2002, that line of dialogue from Anakin was mocked into near-oblivion – as was the entire Anakin/Padamé romance. Now, however, the words of Attack of the Clones are enjoyed on a whole other level (albeit often ironically) – and Hayden Christensen is enjoying how much fans are enjoying his infamous sand speech (via THR): 

(Laughs.) You know, I think it's funny people have taken such an interest in that line. Some of the dialogue is...different from what you're maybe expecting. But I never had any issue with that line. (Laughs.) I understood Anakin's feelings toward sand, but maybe it was a bit of an odd time to bring it up, as he's flirting with this girl who he has so much affection for. But, you know, he's Anakin.

George Lucas' choice to have Padamé go from knowing Anakin as a child (in The Phantom Menace) to having passionate romance with him as a young man hit a lot of fans the wrong way – much like the Luke and Leia sibling reveal in the Original Trilogy. To the credit of Star Wars storytellers who have come after Lucas (like Dave Filoni) Anakin and Padamé's relationship has been way more fleshed out and improved – as have both respective characters. 

In fact, at the time of writing this Star Wars comics are exploring an arc of Darth Vader joining up with one of Padamé's old body double agents, as "Vader" must struggle with some of "Anakin's" lingering feelings of love. It's the kind of story a lot of fans hope to see Christensen get to play out in some kind of Darth Vader series, should he be given the chance after appearing in the current Obi-Wan Kenobi event series. 

Obi-Wan streams new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney+. 

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