The finale of the prequel trilogy features some of the best scenes in the entire Star Wars saga. From the space battle over Coruscant to the duel in the flames of Mustafar: George Lucas pulled out all the stops of his filmmaking skills with Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
However, one scene turned out to be a particular challenge: this Order 66. In the darkest hour of Star Wars, the Emperor gives the order to wipe out all Jedi, including the younglings in the Jedi Temple. For this task he assigns his new student, Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader. What follows is a massacre.
Disturbing Star Wars moment: Hayden Christensen on filming the Order 66 scene in Revenge of the Sith
Anakin kills the young men who believe they have found their savior in him. No other scene in Star Wars history has this more cruelty. Now Anakin actor Hayden Christensen was asked about the moment and how he remembers it. He tells Empire an anecdote from filming:
There’s been a lot of talk about us doing this scene and I think it’s great that George did it. It was a brave step. And shocking. When we shot the scene, we had difficulty appropriate reaction from the boy to get.
20th Century Studios/Disney
Anakin confronts the young men in the Jedi Temple
He then looked for a way to make things more threatening.
So I yelled or growled at him, because we needed a real moment where he’s scared. This gave us the reaction we needed and made the scene work really well.
Only later did he realize that that wasn’t the best way.
I met him again years later. I said, ‘I’m sorry about how that went.’ Hayden Christensen’s mini-comeback in the Star Wars universe: From Obi-Wan Kenobi to Ahsoka on Disney+
Anyone who has ever heard Christensen speak knows that none of these choleric Hollywood egomaniacs lie dormant in him. The actor shows himself in public appearances respectful when dealing with other people and modest about his star image. In some cases he has even completely disappeared from the public eye.
It wasn’t until the Obi-Wan Kenobi series that Christensen celebrated something of a comeback. After that, there were no big blockbuster castings. But at least in the Star Wars frame He currently seems to feel quite comfortable in front of the camera. Most recently, he also took on the role of the fallen Jedi who became the Sith Lord in Ahsoka.
*This link to Disney+ is an affiliate link. By taking out a subscription via this link you support Moviepilot. .