Hayden Christensen to return as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney Plus series

Anakin Skywalker Star Wars
(Image credit: Disney)

Hayden Christensen is returning as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader for the first time in 15 years in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney Plus series.

Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy announced the surprise news during the Star Wars portion of the Disney Investor Day. Christensen hasn't been part of the franchise (outside of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker voice cameos and being added after the fact as a Force ghost in the original trilogy) since Revenge of the Sith.

Speaking of Episode 3, the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney Plus series is going to be set 10 years after Revenge of the Sith. A showdown between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan and Christensen's Vader was also teased during the Investor stream.

"We couldn’t tell the story of Obi-Wan without Darth Vader" writer Deborah Chow said. "We will definitely see Obi-Wan and Darth Vader get into it again."

That's going to be music to the ears of Star Wars fans who have wanted a rematch between the pair ever since Obi-Wan took the higher ground.

“It was such an incredible journey playing Anakin Skywalker,” said Christensen (via StarWars.com). “Of course, Anakin and Obi-Wan weren’t on the greatest of terms when we last saw them… It will be interesting to see what an amazing director like Deborah Chow has in store for us all. I’m excited to work with Ewan again. It feels good to be back.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi pre-production is also ramping up. The Scot recently revealed that he donned Obi-Wan's costume once more while on the set of The Mandalorian.

Star Wars is bringing the good all across Disney Plus in the next few years. An Ahsoka Tako spin-off, Lando series, a New Republic TV show, and more are all coming to the streaming service.

For more on a galaxy far, far away, check out our guide to the upcoming Star Wars movies on the way. There are a lot.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.