Throughout Star Wars’ nearly 50 years, there have been many versions of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. In fact, in the original trilogy, technically three people were playing Anakin/Darth Vader, as James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader, David Prowse was often the physical presence of Vader in the suit, and Sebastian Shaw was the face that audiences saw at the end of Return of the Jedi, both before Vader died and when Anakin returned as a Force Ghost (at least until George Lucas swapped out the actor several years later to match with the prequel trilogy). In the prequel trilogy, the actor portraying Anakin switched from Jake Lloyd in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace to Hayden Christensen in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Even after that, Anakin continued to be played by different people, most notably with Matt Lanter stepping in as the voice of Anakin Skywalker in the incredibly popular animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. While this isn’t necessarily unusual in a massive franchise like Star Wars that has spanned decades and includes a range of animated and live-action projects, tensions within the Star Wars fanbase, which have, unfortunately, often been directed at the actors themselves, have certainly complicated matters. In fact, Lloyd and Christensen in particular received some very harsh criticism, and that is perhaps why the reveal of a brand-new version of Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming video game Star Wars: Zero Company has gotten attention for looking absolutely nothing like Christensen.
This Anakin Looks Nothing Like Hayden Christensen, & Fans Have A Lot To Say
While Hayden Christensen sadly received considerable (and underserved) hate throughout the prequel trilogy era, that has largely been walked back now. His returns in both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka were met with major fanfare and celebration from many in the fanbase, and there is already excitement building up for his confirmed return in Ahsoka season 2. For many, especially for those who grew up with the prequels and are now adult Star Wars fans, Christensen is their Anakin/Vader. This is especially true when it comes to the face of Anakin Skywalker, for obvious reasons, and that has led to swift and, frankly, hilarious responses to Zero Company’s reveal of the game’s Anakin.
As will quickly be recognizable to anyone who knows Christensen’s portrayal of Anakin, this new character looks absolutely nothing like the actor. Arguably, it looks like a character that perhaps isn’t even meant to be modeled on Christensen, which has led to some in the comments questioning whether the game somehow doesn’t have the rights to use Christensen’s likeness. As this post states, yet another response from fans has been the notion that this character looks more like The Clone Wars voice actor Matt Lanter (the person, not the animated character) than it does Christensen. This, in particular, is a thorny issue because debates about Lanter’s portrayal versus Christensen’s have long been ongoing within the fanbase.
Of course, in addition to the potentially more serious implications, this post is full of hilarious comments about Anakin’s unusual appearance, from a comment that reads, “Star Wars: Zero Resemblance” to one that says, “Temu Anakin.”
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