Star Wars: Hayden Christensen and Matt Lanter Unite for Awesome Anakin Skywalker Photo

Star Wars actors Hayden Christensen and Matt Lanter, who have each played future Darth Vader [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Star Wars actors Hayden Christensen and Matt Lanter, who have each played future Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker, posed together for a picture at Star Wars Celebration Chicago.

Christensen portrayed the tragic Jedi Knight across two of creator George Lucas' prequel films, 2002's Attack of the Clones and 2005's Revenge of the Sith. Lanter voiced the character in the original run of the animated Clone Wars and its coming Disney+ revival, as well as its 2008 big screen spinoff film, and Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars Forces of Destiny.

Christensen distanced himself from Hollywood following his oft-criticized turn as the Jedi-turned-Sith and in 2010 underwent a four-year hiatus lasting until 2014. In 2017, Christensen explained to the LA Times why he stepped away:

"I guess I felt like I had this great thing in Star Wars that provided all these opportunities and gave me a career, but it all kind of felt a little too handed to me," Christensen said when promoting religious drama 90 Minutes in Heaven. "I didn't want to go through life feeling like I was just riding a wave."

"You can't take years off and not have it affect your career," he added. "But I don't know — in a weird, sort of destructive way, there was something appealing about that to me. There was something in the back of my head that was like, 'If this time away is gonna be damaging to my career, then so be it. If I can come back afterward and claw my way back in, then maybe I'll feel like I earned it.'"

The former Anakin Skywalker star was also seen posing for photos with Prequel Trilogy co-star Ian McDiarmid, who was revealed at Celebration to be reprising his role as Emperor Palpatine in the coming J.J. Abrams-directed saga finale Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Would Christensen similarly reprise his role? "Oh, absolutely. In a heartbeat, for sure," Christensen told eTalk in a 2015 interview.

"Being a part of that world was a huge deal for me, and was a good four, five years of my life. I have fond memories and good friendships from that whole time. But I don't know, if they ever gave me the call, I would sign up in a heartbeat."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 20.

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