The descent of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader was the destined event that the entire Star Wars Prequel Trilogy was building toward. Thankfully, for all the faults of those movies, George Lucas pretty much nailed the conclusion of Revenge of the Sith, which is one of the most iconic scenes in the whole saga: Anakin and Obi-Wan’s fight on Mustafar, Obi-Wan having the high ground and then, finally, Anakin’s horrible, lava-burned disfigurement.
We don’t get too clear a look at the should-have-been Chosen One’s injured form in the film, but these behind-the-scenes pics reveal the heavy makeup and prosthetics that star Hayden Christensen wore for those sequences in all their gory, gross glory.
Of coure, some fans couldn’t resist having some fun at Anakin’s misfortune in the replies to the original Tweet, as seen below:
— Oscar Morgan ಠ_ಠ (@theherbiez) May 14, 2020
We’ve all been there, though, right?
When you open the oven when cooking dinner
— Mama Sadie??♀️?☸Berserk Aficionado (@hotcheetoexpert) May 14, 2020
Others are debating the quality of CGI vs. practical makeup.
Wouldn’t have looked as good
— keech (@andykeech19) May 14, 2020
Feeling cute, might destroy Alderaan later.
He looks cute here?
— the mollylorian (@dindjarjn) May 14, 2020
To date, Revenge of the Sith marks the final time that Christensen played Anakin in live-action. He did, however, return to the world of Star Wars for a brief vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, with the redeemed Anakin heard among the other Jedi who speak to Rey through the Force on Exegol and encourage her to stand up against her evil grandfather, Palpatine. “Bring back the balance, Rey,” Anakin is heard to say. “As I did.”
Fans are hoping that this cameo leads the way for a return in the flesh in Ewan McGregor’s upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series. It’s set post-Revenge, but We Got This Covered has heard that the Disney Plus show will feature flashbacks to happier times, with Lucasfilm hoping to get Christensen back for those. We’ll have to be patient to see what happens on that front, though. In the meantime, let us know if you want to see more of the actor as Anakin in Star Wars in the comments section below.
