Hayden Christensen is Star Wars’ secret weapon. After he played Anakin in the prequel trilogy, he distanced himself from the franchise to focus on other work. But when Ewan MacGregor dusted off his robes to return in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Christensen did the same, and we finally saw the Mustafar rematch so many fans had been waiting for.
Now he’ll appear in the series dedicated to his apprentice, not his master: Ahsoka Tano. However, his role isn’t as clear this time. Ahsoka is set years after Anakin’s demise, meaning there will have to be a flashback or Force ghost at work. But maybe there’s a secret third option that’s not only far more interesting, but perfect for Ahsoka’s story.
Prolific fan theorist TheMediocreCritic suggests that a scene in the trailer might hold the key to how Anakin could appear in Ahsoka. In one shot, we see Ahsoka and a new character, fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll, having a tense confrontation beneath what looks an awful lot like the Star Maps featured in Knights of the Old Republic.
The theory suggests this map room won’t show celestial maps, but causal maps, a way for Ahsoka to see what could have happened in alternate timelines. What if she hadn’t left the Jedi Order? What if she’d confronted Anakin before it was too late? Through some sort of Force power, Baylan could show her what aren’t quite flashbacks, but “flash-sideways” to alternate timelines.
Not only would this be an excellent way for Anakin to appear in Ahsoka without flashbacks that repeat what was already seen in The Clone Wars, but such a revelation is precisely what Ahsoka needs at this point. She’s been carrying around so much guilt over the fate of her master, and is stuck wondering what she could have done differently.
It’s likely that Baylan doesn’t have Ahsoka’s best interests at heart, and these revelations will no doubt be painful. But learning that there’s nothing she could have done, and that Anakin’s fate was necessary to bring balance to the Force, is what Ahsoka needs to bring her story full circle. Fans have known her ever since she was a youngling, and now that she’s finally in the live-action spotlight, she needs to have this moment of catharsis with her best friend and mentor.
