Star Wars: The Force Awakens almost brought back Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in the form of a Force ghost. J.J. Abrams directed the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy before returning to wrap up the Skywalker saga with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While Christensen had a vocal cameo in the final film, there was an idea for the actor to reprise his prequel trilogy role as the Jedi Knight who transformed into the Dark Lord of the Sith, best known as Darth Vader. Abrams and his crew decided to scrap the idea based on another Skywalker featured in The Force Awakens.
Three decades after the civil war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, the First Order had risen to destroy the New Republic. In an effort to protect the galaxy, General Leia Organa and the Resistance made various attempts to thwart the First Order’s plans. As new heroes arose in Rey, Finn, and Poe, the First Order had its own set of young leaders, specifically Kylo Ren, the son of Leia and Han Solo. Aside from facing off with the First Order, Leia found it imperative to find her brother, Luke Skywalker, to enlist him for help.
In The Force Awakens‘ early stages of planning, there was concept art of Christensen appearing as a Force ghost. This would have marked the actor’s first direct Star Wars appearance since 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Though Christensen appeared in the role of Anakin’s Force ghost in Return of the Jedi, the version wasn’t added into the movie until 2004. The idea for an Anakin Force ghost was revealed in the Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens book. Granted, it was unclear how Anakin would have been incorporated into the plot, but it seemed as though he would have presented himself to Luke.
Why Anakin Didn’t Appear As A Force Ghost In The Force Awakens
Based on the concept art created by Iain McCaig, the Force ghost would have been an Anakin-Darth Vader hybrid figure. As depicted in the art, the ghost’s face was half-Anakin and half-Vader as if his struggle between the light and dark side was still in effect. While it would have made sense for the figure to appear to his grandson, Kylo Ren, it would have also been plausible for Rey to encounter Anakin. She did obtain Anakin’s lightsaber on her search for Luke, after all. The rest of the concept art, however, presented Anakin’s Force ghost lurking behind an aged Luke, which indicated that he was intended to be the target of the visit.
In addition to Anakin’s presence, Star Wars: The Force Awakens planned to give Luke a larger role. Instead, the search for Luke, especially through Rey’s journey, served as a primary angle for the sequel. While Mark Hamill ended up appearing in a cameo at the very end of the movie as Luke, the chain of events nixed any plans of having Anakin involved in the form of a Force ghost. Interestingly enough, The Last Jedi director, Rian Johnson, also toyed with the idea of having Anakin’s Force ghost show up during the tree burning scene in Ahch-To. He too scrapped the idea, electing Yoda’s Force ghost as the better fit for the plot involving Luke’s struggle.
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