In 2022, when Hayden Christensen returned in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, he told me: “Back when we made those films [the Star Wars prequels], we didn’t really hear much from young fans. There was no social media. But now that they’ve grown up and have more of a voice, and the younger generations have been introduced to them, these films are seen differently.”
He’s got a point. But, by “seen differently,” Christensen argued that all the prequels, and perhaps Revenge of the Sith in particular, are now regarded as good rather than bad movies. But, for those who saw Revenge of the Sith at midnight on May 19, 2005, the issue wasn’t whether or not it was a good movie or not. Instead, there was one predominant and overriding sentiment that existed beyond value statements about the artistic and social quality of the movie: On no. This is the end of Star Wars.
