Hayden Christensen would love a second stab at the younglings, sorry, at playing Anakin Skywalker…

To prequel-haters, the thought of Hayden Christensen returning to the Star Wars franchise would fill them with unease, but doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?

However, Christensen – who played Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith – has said he would return to the franchise in a heartbeat, reports Squareeyed.tv.

Asked in an etalk interview last year whether he would like to return, the actor said: “Absolutely. In a heartbeat, for sure.

“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 if they ever gave me the call, I would sign up in a heartbeat.”

It was revealed at one point that Anakin was set to appear in JJ Abrams’ The Force Awakens as a Force Ghost, before the idea eventually being scrapped.

It’s not completely beyond the realms of possibility that Christensen would receive a call from Lucasfilm, asking him to return for a cameo as the Jedi-turned-Sith Lord. However, the more critical questions remains: would the dissenting Star Wars fans welcome him back with open arms?

However, with Darth Vader appearing in Star Wars: A Rogue One Story, this year’s spinoff looks more likely. We know that Luke Skywalker will be teaching Rey in the ways of the Force in Episode VIII, but there have also been rumours that Luke will doubt his own skills as a teacher. 

There’s a rumoured scene where Luke will seek advice from the Force Ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan and, perhaps, that would be an appropriate scene for a Christensen return, even if he didn’t particularly say much. 

via GIPHY

Some Redditors make some interesting points regarding Christensen’s return, hinting that the actor would benefit greatly from not being forced to answer to George Lucas.

One said: “I never really had a problem with Hayden’s acting, what I had a problem with was his dialogue and execution, and seeing how much Lucas was actually involved in directing his execution down to the last facial expression made me feel bad for Christensen. I think with the right director his return as Anakin or Darth Vader would be really cool.”

Another added: “Yeah, and it also doesn’t help that Lucas would edit small scenes together from multiple takes (while most director would cut-and-paste around, Lucas simply CGI’d multiple scenes together). So what you’re likely seeing is the combination of a dozen takes, each of which Hayden was told to do something else, resulting in a character that’s less-than-consistent. Hayden was by no means the issue with the prequels. He wasn’t even in TPM (the worst of the bunch, IMO), and his character is just as uneven and dull as Obi-Wan’s, Padme’s, or Mace Windu’s, all of whom were played by amazing actors.”