AHSOKA Creator Dave Filoni Says Hayden Christensen's "Lightsaber Skills Are Just Insane"

Ahsoka was a fun series that brought back Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. He is one of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars universe, and according to the show’s creator, Dave Filoni, Christensen proved his worth in the role, and he described him as having a “ferocity of performance.”

Filoni told EW:

“His lightsaber skills are just insane. I mean, he is the Chosen One. There is no doubt.”

Filoni says he’s wanted to work with Christensen for years, ever since they met backstage and had an “instant connection” at a past Star Wars Celebration. Together, they bonded over their shared experiences working with George Lucas- Christensen obviously starred in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, while Filoni developed the animated Clone Wars series, exploring Anakin’s journey between the two films.

Filoni said:

“It was kind of amazing to have somebody who had this experience, too, who would know the things I was talking about related to Anakin and how George saw him. We really understood each other and the language of it."

Filoni says he didn’t want Ahsoka and Anakin’s reunion to “devolve into a Star Wars history lesson,” so rather than writing a Force ghost scene, he set their reunion in the World Between Worlds, allowing them to journey through their past together in flashback. (He says he was particularly inspired by the abstract, dreamlike sequences in Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha.) Before filming, Christensen binged episode of The Clone Wars, and both he and Filoni wanted to make sure that those flashback sequences remained focused on Ahsoka and her complicated relationship with Anakin.

Filoni explained:

“We discussed how this isn’t really a story about Anakin, but it’s important to see how Ahsoka sees Anakin. This is her lived experience. [His] story is already told, and George’s saga is done. But this is important for her because you’re her mentor.”

Filoni adds that some of his favorite days were just watching Christensen on set with Ariana Greenblatt, who plays the young Ahsoka in flashback scenes. In some ways, he says, it felt like an episode of The Clone Wars come to life.

“It gave me pause just to stand there and look at him in the costume, standing next to Ariana. Because in my mind, it really is no different. No matter what the medium is, the image is always Anakin with Ahsoka — that older brother, younger sister dynamic.”

During that Clone Wars flashback sequence, there’s also a brief shot where Anakin’s silhouette flickers, and for a split second, he appears as Darth Vader, strutting across the battlefield with his red lightsaber in hand. Filoni wanted to keep that moment as just a moment — an acknowledgement of Anakin’s tragic arc and a warning for how hate can lead to destruction. On that day, he says, nearly every member of the cast and crew showed up, hoping to catch just a glimpse of that iconic black cape.  

“All Vader had to do was walk in a line,” Filoni says with a laugh. “But so many people came to set just to see somebody in a Darth Vader costume, walking in a straight line! You realize the power of these characters and the archetypes that George Lucas created, and that’s a real responsibility. You never want that to lessen. You have to keep that as the powerful thing it is.”

It’s cool that Filoni got this experience. He did a great job of making this series, and it will be fun to see what he comes up with next in the upcoming chapters of his Star Wars saga.