Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen Responds to Criticism of His Prequel Performance: ‘You Don’t Get It’

Hayden Christensen has responded to criticism of his performance as a young Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel films.

The actor played Anakin as he transformed into the villainous Darth Vader Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sithand will reprise the role in the new Disney+ series Obi Wan Kenobi.

When the prequels were released, they received mixed reviews from fans and reviewers, with Christensen’s performance often being criticized.

In a new interview with The guardChristensen responded to the negative response his portrayal had received at the time.

“I think it just comes down to the kind of belonging that people feel towards these characters,” he said. “It’s almost like public domain. These characters truly belong to everyone.”

However, Christensen said he remained defiant in the face of criticism, suggesting those who were unhappy simply “didn’t get it”.

“I think the impression I got from George Lucas was that if they don’t like her, they don’t ‘get it’ — and that was good enough for me,” he said.

The actor also addressed criticism of the dialogue in the prequels, adding, “George Lucas creates such a unique world where everything is so specific, from the way these characters look and the way they speak and I have the feeling that sometimes people lose sight of that and they expect them to speak the same way we do – and we didn’t want that.”

Obi Wan Kenobi debuts on Disney+ on Friday, May 27.