Rian Johnson Considered Using Anakin Skywalker's Force Ghost in THE LAST JEDI
It’s been a long time since we’ve posted anything on Star Wars: The Last Jedi and I know that this is a film that some Star Wars fans love to hate on. But, director Rian Johnson has shared a bit of info regarding the film that I thought I’d pass along.
The filmmaker took to Twitter to converse with some fans about the film and it’s during this little Q&A that he revealed he considered including Anakin Skywalker’s Force Ghost in the film. The scene he would have been featured in is where Yoda’s Force Ghost appears to Luke and advises him. Instead of Yoda, it would have been Anakin. Johnson said:
“Briefly for the tree burning scene, but luke’s relationship was with Vader not really Anakin, which seemed like it would complicate things more than that moment allowed. Yoda felt like the more impactful teacher for that moment.”
Having Hayden Christensen reprise his role as Anakin would have been interesting. But, in the end, Johnson made the right call with Yoda. It had to be Yoda for all kinds of reasons. His appearance just made sense.
In case you are wondering, though, Anakin did visit Luke as a Force Ghost after Return of the Jedi. This is talked about in the book The Secrets of the Jedi. In it, Luke Skywalker talks about Force Ghosts and how the Jedi have to go through special training to obtain this mythical power. The book tells the history of the Jedi through the perspective of Luke Skywalker. On excerpt reads:
"That knowledge was passed down to a select few, including Obi-Wan, Yoda, and my father. Their spirits guided me for many years but vanished when I shut myself off from the Force. It's a relief to feel their presence after all this time."
I would have loved to see what those conversations entailed brought to life in some way.