Hayden Christensen may not be getting his “Revenge,” but his former haters are getting their comeuppance. Twenty years after his debut as the grown-up Anakin Skywalker, the actor is finally getting his propers for the role following his critically and fan-lauded performance in the Disney Plus prequels-sequel miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, picking up the win for Best Guest Performance at last night’s 2022 Saturn Awards.
“Thank you so much for this,” the Darth Vader actor told the crowd as he reached the podium. “This is really nice. It was such an amazing experience getting to come back to Star Wars, and this is the icing on the cake.” Christensen went on to thank series director Deborah Chow and his longtime co-star Ewan McGregor, as well as Star Wars creator, George Lucas.
The win was a long time coming for the actor and his many longtime fans. Although Christensen’s depiction of Anakin’s corruption by the dark side of the force in the second and third installments of the prequel has come to be held in higher regard over the years, the actor’s debut performance was often belittled by prequel-maligning critics. His fans eagerly awaited his return performance as a reckoning, and the new award serves as proof that his contribution to the Star Wars saga should be held in esteem.
Fans didn’t hold back their own congratulations to Christensen, taking to social media in the hours after his speech to send praise to the actor and thank the Saturn Awards for giving him his overlong due. Many commented on how effectively his performance brought through aspects of both Vader and Skywalker, despite the confining armor and prosthetics Christensen was forced to wear.
With the win under his belt, who knows? We may be getting closer to that fan-requested Disney Plus Darth Vader solo series, with Christensen yet again reprising his role as “Galaxy’s Worst Dad.”