In absolutely huge Star Wars news, Hayden Christensen will be returning as Darth Vader in the upcoming Obi Wan Disney+ series.

The official Star Wars Twitter account confirmed the exciting development today, December 11th: “Hayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader, joining Ewan McGregor in OBI-WAN KENOBI. The Original Series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Revenge of the Sith, and is coming to #DisneyPlus.”

Exact details are still shrouded in mystery about the new show. Supposedly our Ben Kenobi will be chilling around Tatooine, biding his time. Some sort of meeting will bring him back to his old adversary.

It will also take place in the same time period as the new Cassian Andor show, Andor, between the fall of the Republic and the start of A New Hope.

It’s unsurprising that Kathleen Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm, is pushing so many spin-offs after the titan success of The Mandalorian‘s first two seasons. That show has proved that Star Wars can thrive on the small-screen as live-action. Just look at all those memes. Just look at all those Baby Yoda Stan tweets.

Season 2 of The Mandalorian is scheduled to conclude on Friday, December 18th. The timeline seems to be Andor first, The Mandalorian season 3 next, and then Kenobi and Vader’s epic return. They’re really going to make us sweat for it!

As per The Verge, the show was originally announced at D23, Disney’s biennial fan convention, last year. Production is now set to begin in March, 2021.

“The most beautiful thing of all” is how Ewan McGregor, his old friend/foe, described the news of Christensen’s inclusion. Yet after Jar Jar Binks, perhaps no actor or character has been as maligned by critics as Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker from the prequel trilogy.

An unknown actor plucked from obscurity by George Lucas and thrust into the biggest franchise on the planet, he was certainly given a lot to handle all of a sudden.

Christensen made his debut in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, becoming a love interest to Padmé Amidala. He continued into Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, turning to the dark side of The Force and morphing into Darth Vader.

After the Revenge of the Sith was released in 2005 – how was that 15 years ago? – Christensen’s movie career slowed down. There were starring roles in titles like the sci-fi blockbuster Jumper but nothing truly noteworthy. He’s previously reprised his role as Skywalker as voice work only, in a brief cameo in Rise of Skywalker.

As he’s returning as Vader though, presumably being under that heaving mask will hide any acting rustiness (as well as being extremely COVID-safe). So long as there’s a new quote about how much he digs sand, we’re on board.

Remember the trailer for Episode III: Revenge of the Sith:

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