Seeing Anakin's face beneath the mask in Kenobi was absolutely stunning, but what really sold it for me was hearing his voice and the way it shifts to James Earl Jones for Obi-Wan's name. Absolutely stunning, honestly
@@DrMedicsGameSurgery As many have commented, Ahsoka took off one side, Kenobi the other, but only Luke could fully remove the helmet, it’s like poetry, it rhymes. Star Wars has never been the best objectively, just like Naruto with Anime, but it’s managed to touch peoples feelings in a way, few things have, that’s why it’s unique.
@@DrMedicsGameSurgery y’all don’t see the big picture obi wan took out one side ahsoka took out the other but only luke could take off his helmet completely
@@ncard00 while i can see that, it is purely fan justification. Do you really think the writers of *Kenobi* would think that far ahead considering literally all the other bad writing in the show? I would hope its right but i highly doubt it.
Yeah, a lot of the time - especially in major franchises - I think issues with characters come from scripting instead of the actor (although there are times where the actor can bring their character down but it isn't an issue with Hayden). The Attack of the Clones dialogue that people hate or make fun of wouldn't have been any better if they had been delivered by one of the other actors in the running to play Anakin. Also as a non Star Wars example: the writing was what let the 6th and 13th Doctors down in their TV runs in Doctor Who rather than their own performances.
I think he played the character perfectly. People hated how clunky he was with padme, but he was a kid that had 0 experience with women and I think it just works.
I think there's an element often misunderstood about Anakin's sudden fall. I think he understood, more than the audience did, that he had stepped down a path of no return. Rather than allowing himself to be conflicted with every action for the next few years, he just had an attitude of "if I choose this path, it's pointless to take half measures".
I definitely agree. The moment that he attacks Mace he knows (thinks) there is no going back. That the only thing left for him was saving Padme and all other paths had been closed.
I always felt his desire, possibly obsession, with saving Padme is the main thing that pushed him to the dark side. He was willing to do ANYTHING to save her. In his mind the end justified the means. He basically sacrificed his humanity for her, and yet... after all that... she still died. I think that's what totally broke him.
That is one aspect that is handled pretty well for Kylo Ren (at least in The Force Awakens) where the difference between him and Anakin is shown. Kylo also tries to create this point of no return for himself by killing his father, yet it only leaves him more torn than before.
I’m glad to see Hayden getting more love and appreciation recently. His performance wasn’t as polished as it could’ve been. But he was brand new back then and George is also known for not necessarily being an “actor’s director” so probably didn’t give Hayden as much coaching as he probably needed. Even so I think he did a great job showing the emotional turmoil of Anakin.
That and the script was horrible, especially in Attack of the Clones. George Lucas has great ideas, but doesn't execute his ideas very good without help, especially when it comes to the script and dialogue. Hayden got way too much blame when it was George Lucas who deserved most of it. Hayden's acting wasn't all that great in episode 2, but in episode 3 he really hit his stride as Anakin and was much more convincing. But every movie in the prequels suffered from a bad script and messy dialogue, that's where George Lucas is to blame. George Lucas somehow made Yoda way less interesting of a character than he was in the OG trilogy. That kind of says a lot.
Any problems with his acting was George's fault. George kept holding him back to make him mysterious and dark. To the point of ridiculousness. I've heard the stories from the sets of 25 takes and George always chose the worst ones.
I thought he did great. Anakin was supposed to be needy and intense, like a sad puppy Chupacabra. Revenge of the Sith was a fantastic performance where all his pent up anger surfaced.
I really enjoyed how the Kenobi series made the mask a full circle moment. The padawan (Ashoka) took the right side of the mask off. The master (Obi Wan) took off the left side. And his son (Luke) took the full mask off. It was a great wrap up to that part of Vaders story.
Well, never thought of that. Apologies tho I highly doubt kenobi doing that was on purpose. It was probably a coincidence. The writers were wayyyyy to incoherent to be able to create that subtext meaning. But you’re quit astute for thinking of that.
@@SolaceWhoreI would agree with you due to the poor writing throughout the series, but it's nearly impossible to accidentally get the same cut, on the opposite side, showing the same yellow eye shifting back and forth, and ahsoka/obi wan both having the same reaction to seeing him. It was 100% planned
Rebels is 100% underrated. My best friend loves clone wars, but refused to watch Rebels. With Ashoka coming out soon, he has finally started watching it, and won't stop talking about how much he's been sleeping on it.
1st season is slow and clunky, 2nd season has it's flaws but once they start tying it in the greater universe, it really gets going. Season 3 and 4 are some of the best storytelling in the entire franchise IMHO.
Yeah it’s funny seeing rebel haters watching the show all the sudden after the whole ahsoka show is coming. Whoever calls rebels filler needs to look back at half of clone wars. Rebels isn’t really bad lol
It's overrated in my opinion. Rebels was for kids, moreso than The Clone Wars. Watching inquisitors helicopter in with their dumb spinning sabers had my eyes rolling. the series had it's moments, most of them with Vader or Thrawn, but the whole hyperspacing space whales and other aspects was really, really silly.
@@mroldschool001 Star Wars does have a tendency to be silly sometimes tho. That's what makes it Star Wars lol. It's not like we haven't seen space creatures before
@@StarNameKev Here's the truth. Rebels is a no show for me due to one simple fact: I hate the main characters. Watched a few episodes and just did not click with them. Ezra is cringe and I can't watch anymore.
It’s so refreshing to see an actor that loves the source material and appreciates animation. Usually live action actors will try to “out do” animation or video games when all they really need to do is give a passionate performance! Love to see it
Equally nice to see the studio being in step with them, unlike how a certain monster slayer series showed who the fan was and how the studio didn't care.
I grew up during the OT, and it was amazing to grow up with those movies. But taken as a whole, the PT + TCW is my favorite SW era. As for the Kenobi series and all of its issues, Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor were not among them. Their passion for playing Anakin and Obi-Wan was evident.
Being objective here, Clone Wars effectively fixed the inconsistencies blatant in the character from the films. It was essentially retconning. I'm not saying Lucas screwed up or anything in the original films, but films on that scale with so many characters and so many things happening can only flesh out a single character so much. So within the context of the films alone, Anakin's fall made little sense. But they did leave it wide open for something like Clone Wars to come along and give it the proper context. Which is what happened and now his fall makes complete sense.
I wouldn't say 100%. I wasn't so sure about Matt Lanter's Anakin at first, but over the course of the show and especially by the time Ashoka leaves, he feels more and more like Hayden's Anakin. Which is the end of season FIVE. You can't claim that the Clone Wars didn't deepen Anakin's fall, but you also can't claim there weren't some flaws in there as well. Some people HATE Matt Lanter's Anakin, but I'm somewhere in the middle
@@Kelnx I’ve seen them a lot. Quite a few people don’t like Lanter’s Anakin because they see him as a more boring character. They seem as too close to the generic male action hero. I personally don’t think he is either, but plenty of people think that
@@Kelnx That's not being objective. That's just being biased. TCW didn't improve the character in the slightest. It just made him more kiddish to appeal to the target demographic.
Episode 3 has always been my favorite Star Wars movie. It's story is so underrated. That movie oozed drama and pure emotion. I really hope some day it gains the respect it deserves.
I was so excited for it, I bought the novelization before the movie came out. Also went to the theater 3 hours before showtime. The big loss was the parts of the book that weren't translated to the screen. Anakin's inner dialogue made such a huge difference in the book to really explain his fall
@@TheBennitozI also bought the novelization and was bummed about integral scenes being cut. Episode 3 holds such a special place. My favorite star wars movie.
When hearing Vader scream ”Obi-Wan” after being defeated, it’s so sad to hear him in Clone Wars scream the same way, but then he thought his master died…
As much as I dislike the kenobi show, I felt like they handled Anakin/Darth Vader very well, even if I didn’t want them to physically interact with each other outside of flashbacks and visions.
@@DIEGhostfish Disagree. Obi-Wan's "moral culpability" as you put it is down entirely to him hiding the truth from Luke. HOW he approached hiding it does not impact that, so Vader making that comment doesn't really change anything regarding the moral debate surrounding the matter of Obi-Wan hiding the truth from Luke.
After watching Kenobi, I went back and watched Episode IV and to be honest, Obi Wan's "that's a name I've not heard in a long time" became less plausible.
Looking back on the Padme/Anakin scene is AotC recently had me looking at it from a grown-up's and made me think it wasnt so bad. Anakin was a love sick teenager (he was 19) who was like Rudolf of the jedi. All of the other padawans used to laugh and call him names and they never let poor Anakin join in any Jedi games. And the knights and masters let it go on. And his religion didn't encourage romantic relationships. And for the last 10 years he had been crushing on Padme from afar. So you had a teenager trying to express his emotions to his celebrity crush who was in her mid 20s. And the last 10 years as an outsider to his peers, the other padawans made him a bit emo.
Everyone talks about Ewan's incredible performance in obi-wan kenobi, and it's welld eserved and truly incredible, but Hayden deserves as much if not more praise. His performance was heartbreaking and chilling, terrifying at points. He nailed the inner conflict and turmoil. He even sheds a tear when obi-wan apologizes. The first time Anakin received any acknowledgement of the order and obi-wan FAILING him and wronging him. Then he quickly suppresses it. Viewing it as too late to go back. You can SEE the moment vader takes over and pushes Anakin down.
The Clone Wars made Anakin and Obi-Wan, and pretty much everyone else (except for Ventress and Grievous), great characters in hindsight. It fixed a lot of the world building and character development issues, we actually got to see the darkness in Anakin, but also the love and friendship, and it really changed my outlook on Episode 3. The inclusion of Ahsoka was a risky step but in the end we got one of the best Star Wars characters out of it. Also Maul was just FANTASTIC in Clone Wars and Rebels. Rebels set up two of the biggest mysteries in Star Wars (for me) the force plane and where the heck Thrawn and Ezra are (Ezra is like the biggest ticking time bomb for me right now, I am SO EXCITED to see what they do with his story, really hoping he's not just dead).
@Teri Rednour As far as I know she was killed off in a novel. Not sure if that is still canon though. Her original story in the legends books and comics portrait her both as a more formidable foe and tragic character than TCW ever did. Same for Grievous.
@@ArikGST I hope it's still canon. I'm so absolutely tired of Filoni and Disney never killing off big characters. Seeing Ahsoka for the bazillionth time REALLY hurt my immersion. And the Ventress novel is, on top of that, excellent. I really do like Ventress, but I've always been biased because she had one of the coolest lightsaber duels in Star Wars history in the rain with Anakin during the original Clone Wars show.
@@ArikGST She was killed off in the Dark Disciple novel which was originally going to be a storyline animated in the Clone Wars before the show was cancelled. Thankfully it’s still canon but I would love to see an animated adaptation. Her best character moments are in that book honestly, especially the moment she has with redeeming Quinlin Voss right before her death
As someone who recently binged clone wars and rebels for the first time I'm on the exact same page as you. I first got into the star wars books around 1998 and eschewed clone wars for a long time and rebels for the reasons you cited. But I was so wrong. I'm so excited by this era of star wars honestly. It's a much more human version of Jedi than what we got in legends media. I'm blown away by how compelled I am by Ahsoka, Ezra, and Kestis.
No one ever mentions the Clone Wars story where Obiwan goes undercover and fakes his death to do so--but the council didn't tell Anakin because they knew his believing reaction would sell it. Anakin absolutely flips out emotionally and Ahsoka is worried about him. In my opinion, that was the first strike. 1. Obiwan's fake death (which Anakin thought was real, and he grieved very hard) 2. Ahsoka being framed 3. Being asked to be a double agent by the council to report on the Chancellor 4. Padme's death (and that he believed the baby/babies also died) ALL of those things together--and he finally just snapped.
Most people, myself included, always thinks Anakin fall into Vader in Star Wars RoS seems weak. But after a moment of thought I realized: this guy had been fighting a war for years. The movie only showed one pivotal moment of the war when everything is about to end. But chronologically speaking Anakin's fall take 3 years of grinding attrition. He was there, from start to finish. He lost his hand at the beginning of the war, his men died throughout the war, his student left... and the pinnacle: his wife, and then his humanity too. So thank god for Clone War fleshing it out
2:12 So true! Adults having the mind and thinking capabilities of children is the biggest problem Star Wars has; prequels required thinking from the audience, and sequels from the writers
The how and why of the fall of Ben Solo is the key story that needs to be told for the Sequels to work - and that involves telling a Luke story as well - something that Lucasfilm approaches with the enthusiasm of a proctology visit.
I have my grievances with the sequel trilogy, but I honestly enjoyed most of it. In its defense, I always try to tell people that it's not really Rey's story as a lot of people like to think it is. It's actually Ben Solo's story at its core. So yes, I wholeheartedly agree that we need a TCW-style Jedi Academy show for Ben and Luke.
The Clone Wars series as a whole did 3 things which really helped the prequelogy: 1. Fleshing out Anakin's character growth between films and setting up well for what comes next (Ashoka's introduction and growth doing a lot of the heavy lifting here). 2. Gave the previously nameless, faceless clones individuality. You really care for Rex, 5s, Echo, Jessie, etc. Before the only one we knew about was Cody. Now, you can have shows like the Bad Batch which feature a clone crew. 3. It adds to the sense of scope. The films have to focus attention down to the main details. The Clone Wars was able to expand. Whether that's returning to Geonosis, showing not all Separatists were evil or the final Mandalorian Arc which runs paralel to Ep3.
Resistance actually did an incredible job of giving us a reason to care about the destruction of Hosnian Prime. The main character is actually from that planet so when he's sneaking into a First Order base and he overhears the speech and sees the holo of his home being destroyed, we actually feel it. Which is something Episode 7 did absolutely none of.
My favorite thing about the mask only partially being torn off in rebels is the symbolism it adds to rotj... Obi and ahsoka were only able to truly reveal parts of Anakin beneath Vader. At the end of rotj however, like fully is able to take off the mask of Vader. ITS JUST SO GOOD!!
Over the last 20 years I've always said that Hayden was the best choice cast for the role. Especially to all the the nay-sayers out there. Even with long term fans, 90% of the time, I got the weirdest reactions to my opinion. It would be really awesome to see Hayden reprise his role again in the future. But please, no Vader TV show.
There's some really interesting stories in the Vader comics that I think could be explored through animation or a live action show with Hayden. If the writing is handled well it would be really enjoyable to see.
George Lucas was a storyteller. Filling in the gaps in his own story was his hobby and he was damn good at it. Star Wars was his baby. Now the story is owned by a corporation who screwed things because they have no central storyteller controlling the narrative. Good luck fixing that.
I think this explains why the clone wars sequence in ahsoka works so well. Hayden has kept up with his character even as he evolved beyond his influence. People sometimes say that he came back as if he never left but it isnt true. He came back and embraces everything good that happened while he was gone.
I know Hayden got a lot of hate for Episode 3 at the time but his character has grown a ton since then. I'm glad that fans now enjoy him and his performances.
I'm really glad you like Rebels and wish more people got into it too. It was one of the first forms of Star Wars content I ever watched (yes I know it's weird), and stayed attached to it ever since because of that. Sure, it was pretty goofy at times. I mean, Imperial black ops force wielders with lightsabers that spin around to help them fly? Of course it's not entirely perfect, but I think it's overall a great show that both newcomers to Star Wars and old fans can get behind, and I hope the Ahsoka series carries it's charm. On any case, great video as always. Keep up the great work!!!
I think the reason Rebels feels so much like George Lucas is because he kind of made it during the 2008 Clone Wars. One of his original ideas for Clone Wars was the crew of a ship doing missions and trying to survive during the Clone Wars, almost exactly like what Rebels is just in the Imperial era instead of the Clone Wars era.
Almost. The Idea came from dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy: A Togruta Padawan ( Ashla) and her Twi'lek master (Sendak) are working together with the smuggler (Cad) and his girlfriend (Lupe) as well the Gungan-muscel (Lunker). The Jedi and his padawan would work with the smugglers to track down arms dealers to disrupt the Hutts, and a few times per season they would be ordered back to help defend Kamino or Mon Calamari. Sometimes the would Anakin and Kenobi, but just short. But George lucas had other Ideas: he wanted the focus back on Kenobi and Anakin and tell the more of their story, which he couldn't in the live action movies. But he loves the idea of the crew and the design of Ashla, so thats why Ashla became Anakins Padawan Ahsoka. Henry Gilroy left the Clone Wars as a storywriter to some point, but was brought back by Filoni in Rebels. So I think they rewrite and flesh out their idea in rebels with the Ghost crew.
Don’t get me wrong, i’m so happy that people are finally giving him the love he deserved. BUT where was this before?? I always loved Hayden as Anakin. Absolutely perfect. He didn’t write the script, which is what i always hear from people that hate on him say
Hayden was asked about this at Celebration 2022 or 2023. Or maybe another Con. Anyway he stated that Clone Wars really showed Anakin becoming a hero and one of the best Jedi (generals) which the movies did not really portrayal.
Looking at his fall to the Darkside, in hindsight. For a long time, it did feel very sudden. But I never really asked myself what happened in those three years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The clone wars showed that very well. it really flushed out his fall a lot more.
I was also born in 92 ... I don't know how much of a role that has played into my opinions of the episodes 1 2 asn 3 but I loved those movies I remember episode 1 coming out when I was very young and I was instantly in love with Star Wars ... I didn't watch the Clone Wars TV show when it originally came on TV I had a lot going on and I didn't have the attention span to follow a TV show but it was something I got into when I first got Disney+ which might I add the Star Wars content on it's own makes Disney+ worth the price but I'm really happy I went back and watched Clone Wars it's massively underrated
Rebels is really good, I’m glad you think so. Sure, the first season is kinda meh, but just like TCW, it’s got some brutal scenes. The grand inquisitor beheads two imperial grunts off screen, just like Savage beheading the Black Sun off screen. And that’s from season 1!
The moment we see Ahsoka and Anakin(Hayden) interact in the Ahsoka series will be monumental, even more so than Luke showing up in The Mandalorian. Kinda like Daredevil showing up in No Way Home. It authenticates all that has happened outside the movies. The Clone Wars and Rebels always felt a little fan fiction-ey to me, with all its lore and world building (artifacts and force feats, Daughter, Son, Bendu?) that we will probably never see in a live action setting. Having Hayden and Ahsoka in live action, will make all of that real to me. CGI Luke couldn't do that for me. Hayden can.
I love Kenobi series so much, It was my go to May the 4th watch-a-thon for this year. I can explain to my kids why Leia felt that Obi Wan was her last chance! I think it was a really well made series and the inclusion of Hayden as Anakin and Vader was very cool! And it gladdens my heart to hear that he still enjoys Star Wars
Great video Eck! Think Hayden binged Clone Wars prepping for Obi Wan! About to do a full rewatch of everything before Ashoka. Watched Tales of the Jedi Dooku eps. Would love a video on that and the difference with Qui Gon
Hayden is going to be in Ahsoka. Either as a Force ghost or a flashback. Rumors are leaning to a clone wars flashback. Either way i am stoked ti have him back. As someone who didn't like his addition to ROTJ. I have changed my opinion of that in the past few years. It will be great to have Hayden to play Vader in future projects.
I agree so much abut the suplament material. i tried to read the aftermath books, i have bought 77 starwars books. I returned the last book in that trilogy. it sucked. But i totally agree with you. we need a clone wars for the sequels, with no KK. Say, an animated "heir to the empire" that can tie into ashoka
I agree that Rebels is super underappreciated. The Caleb Dume and Maul arcs while tragic are among the most satisfying and well done in the entire franchise. The fact they both got a better ending than Luke, Leia and Han is one of the most frustrating parts about the sequels (besides the horrible writing).
I won't go so far as to say The Clone Wars saved the prequels for me. The prequels were what they were, and I only really find any value in Episode III, because that at least showed Anakin's turn to the dark side (which is what we were promised the prequels were going to be about). But The Clone Wars really gave Anakin the characterization that he never got in the prequels. They made Anakin someone to care about.
Obvious the scene you mentioned where Vader and Obi-Wan are fighting in the Obi-Wan show is pretty amazing when Vader's helmet breaks and you can see his face the emotions that come across are mesmerizing. I would argue it's such an engrossing scene I could be forgiven for missing the fact they were recreating the scene of Luke training in the force cave on Dagobah where he kills the vision of Vader only to find his own face staring up at him from a broken helmet. I honestly didn't put that together until like 2 days ago and I have felt so stupid ever since
I love Star Wars so much, and it makes me happy to hear that I wasn't the only one who shooed off The Clone Wars, as you, I also rectified that and now its my favorite thing that has been done(RotS is my favorite). It really shows the struggle that the mains went through and it really did Anakin justice.
My problem with the sequel trilogy is simple: They murdered Luke Ideologically. They cut him mourning the loss of Han Solo, one of his oldest lifelong friends and the man who had along with Kenobi introduced him to the wider galaxy beyond his moisture farm. THey kept in him chugging blue milk andh aving sloppydribble on his hobo beard. All of the other complaints; the first order being a joke, holdo being an idiot, canto bite, etc. ALL of it... pales in comparison to what they did to Luke. There is no redemption for the sequel trilogy as it is al in service of propping up KK's self insert Rey Palpatine. So them basically in mandolorian going 'yea the sequel trilogy exists' just... leaves me incredibly disinterested in star wars moving forward.
I will give props to Adam Driver and Daisy Riddly for their great performances. It wasn't their fault the characters they played were so bad, ugh, Rey, she was stuck trying to polish a turd. She gave as good an effort as could be expected.
@@steveleavell114 Agreed on both counts. I don't ever want the actors to feel targeted, and sadly the star wars community has a bad history of shitting on the actors for factors out of their control.
One of The Clone Wars's benefits with regards to Anakin is getting to show the character traits that cause his fall in more positive circumstances. He will do ANYTHING to protect the people he cares about, and that puts him in some scary situations even if he is "saving the day." Remember the episode with the traitorous Mandalorian senator who puts Obi-wan and Satine in a situation where they can't stop him without compromising their ideals, and Anakin just comes in, kills the guy and then gives a grinning shrug that is completely out of tone with the scene?
Anakin's face peeking through the mask was something, but when he almost captures Obi-Wan and then just stands there, watches from the other side of the fire, was The Moment for me! It showed that even at the peak of being Darth Vader, he still felt conflicted, even regretful, perhaps. This is Darth Vader who I can see being moved by Luke, and later embracing the light side of the Force again.
Rebels is just so good. I didn't expect to like it at all, but things like the Bindu and Thrawn really solidified it as one of favorite Star Wars stories. I'm so excited for Ashoka to continue that story.
Without the shows the movies did enough. Everyone seems to forget anakin murdered tusken children in Episode: II it wasn't a sudden turn but the shows did help
The interesting thing is if you study female sexual fantasy, almost ever hetero male love interest is a dangerous man she can “tame.” It’s funny how often the theme appears in non-erotic literature as well.
Rebels is most definitely underrated. I feel that is about to change with Ahsoka and Rebels seemingly becoming essential material to watch for it. They best get ready for a gut punch. Terrific show after you get past the world building of the first season.
My only issues with how anakin has been handled is that you get the movies portrayal of anakin as an immature, whiny kid whos learned nothing, but then we get the clone wars series and anakin is so much more mature and we see how knowledgeable, wise and understanding he is. The movie anakin and clone wars anakin always seemed like two different people to me. What would be amazing is more live action scenes where we see more of Hayden Christiansen as anakin during the clone wars. Just so we can see why anakin, after being the way he was in the second movie (episode 2 attack of the clones) seems to revert back or appear unchanged in revenge of the sith, despite what the clone wars shows us.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve become more finder of the Star Wars mythos… but I dove back into the movies just recently. A deeper dive to really understand what I didn’t catch when I was a kid (I’m 45… i when to all the releases of the first trilogy in the theater, obviously I had to watch the re-releasing of New Hope in the early eighties). I’ve always been curious about Clone Wars and it took a review of the first episode by Rob over at Geek Culture Explained that made me finally check it out. What a show. I’m on season 7 now and I must say this is such a brilliant show. Top to bottom, just brilliant.
The thing about Hayden as Anakin is that he NAILED the part in the prequels! He played a character who knows how valuable he is, being always special treated and constantly called "the chosen one." Because of that, in episode 2, he acts brash and arrogant, and you dislike him ON PURPOSE, same with Episode 3 where the weight of it all starts to grate on him, and while in the duel with Dooku you want to see him win, it sets up his final fall from grace and by the end, you hate him and you're vocal about it. That is the POINT though! He's a Wrestling Heel, where you are suppose to boo the character; that's what made him so good! If you were indifferent to him, then he failed in his role... but everybody had an opinion on Anakin, and therefore he did his job better than anybody else could.
One thing that I noticed about the first few animated series (The Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance) is that the it takes the series until the midway of season 3 to really get good, and the reason Resistance isn't looked on well is that it was canned after two seasons. It didn't have the time to come into itself as a show and really develop the way that especially TCW did. Rebels somewhat suffers from that, basically only having a season and a half of "post-maturity" content, and IMO that may be why it's so often slept on as a show. And in contrast, now that it's completed, TCW has 4 full seasons post-maturity and IMO The Bad Batch rolled right of the heels of TCW season 7, starting off stronger than the other animated series because of it.
Dang man you and I are pretty much in the same boat in terms of where we are in the fandom. I'm not a big Star Wars guy myself, but I was also born in1992 and I liked the prequels. I also was turned off by the Clone Wars series initially but I started watching it to give it a fair chance since I've heard good things from it. It's cool that Hayden took from the show to aid his own performance in the Kenobi show.
About that moment where anakin gets a glimpse of his future in the clone wars, when I saw that the first time I really hoped that was anakins motivation for eventually joining the Darkside in episode 3. I thought anakin was the guy who always kept the things he struggled with for himself, which was always his problem and not telling anybody about this would have fit his character in my opinion. So him allready knowing the sacrifices he would have to make in the future to defeat Palpatine would be a way better motivation then him being naive about Palpatine rescuing padme/the problems he had with the jedi counsel. I was a bit disappointed when at the end of the episode when he loses all memories of those visions. Imagine the extra weight that would've placed on vaders death scene with Luke where you see a destroyed man who needed to fall so deep to save everyone in the long run. And the fight with obi Wan in episode 3 would have been so powerful because suddenly it isn't a fight between good and misguided evil but a fight between the good and somebody who needs to go trough this path for everyone and would never in a million years be able to explain this to obi wann. Which forces them to fight even when their end goals align.
On the topic of improving the post Endor worldbuilding, I'm glad they aren't outright retconning Aftermath and other early canon books. Aftermath wasn't perfect, but it's still important to the story regardless of quality. So happy the supplementary stuff still matters!
My Family Always liked and made me watch star wars but what actually made me like star wars was clone wars, it made me so interested in the universe and the characters
Hey dude, I was also born in '92. The prequel trilogy changed was amazing. I saw them all in theaters. In a way they had a big impact on my life as far as what books I read, videos and games I played. People used to hate hayden for how he played Anakin, but he did amazing. Perfect IMO. Revenge of the Sith will always be my favorite movie.
THIS is why I subscribed last summer. Your take is like a nerd fest argument without the over talking. I’m only 4 years older than you and my kids WONT watch Pokémon but once the oculus came with VADER holy man we’re about to fire up episode two right now. Amazing. Just like your take. Keep it up!!!
Seeing Anakin's face beneath the mask in Kenobi was absolutely stunning, but what really sold it for me was hearing his voice and the way it shifts to James Earl Jones for Obi-Wan's name. Absolutely stunning, honestly
Anakin and Ahsoka will fight on mustafar in the Ahsoka show
if only that scene wasnt shamelessly stolen from star wars rebels with ahsoka instead.
@@DrMedicsGameSurgery As many have commented, Ahsoka took off one side, Kenobi the other, but only Luke could fully remove the helmet, it’s like poetry, it rhymes. Star Wars has never been the best objectively, just like Naruto with Anime, but it’s managed to touch peoples feelings in a way, few things have, that’s why it’s unique.
@@DrMedicsGameSurgery y’all don’t see the big picture obi wan took out one side ahsoka took out the other but only luke could take off his helmet completely
@@ncard00 while i can see that, it is purely fan justification. Do you really think the writers of *Kenobi* would think that far ahead considering literally all the other bad writing in the show? I would hope its right but i highly doubt it.
I thought Hayden did the best job he could do with what he was given in the script and anything else that came with it
It’s true, anyone in Star Wars has done that exact thing. If sir Alec was around he would have explained it perfectly
Yeah, a lot of the time - especially in major franchises - I think issues with characters come from scripting instead of the actor (although there are times where the actor can bring their character down but it isn't an issue with Hayden). The Attack of the Clones dialogue that people hate or make fun of wouldn't have been any better if they had been delivered by one of the other actors in the running to play Anakin.
Also as a non Star Wars example: the writing was what let the 6th and 13th Doctors down in their TV runs in Doctor Who rather than their own performances.
Same, Hayden and Ewan were the only good thing in Kenobi. Everything else was full of BS lol
I think he played the character perfectly. People hated how clunky he was with padme, but he was a kid that had 0 experience with women and I think it just works.
given he was one of best characters in takers as well as did awesome in jumper yea it (as always) comes down to script and director limitations
I think there's an element often misunderstood about Anakin's sudden fall. I think he understood, more than the audience did, that he had stepped down a path of no return. Rather than allowing himself to be conflicted with every action for the next few years, he just had an attitude of "if I choose this path, it's pointless to take half measures".
I definitely agree. The moment that he attacks Mace he knows (thinks) there is no going back. That the only thing left for him was saving Padme and all other paths had been closed.
I always felt his desire, possibly obsession, with saving Padme is the main thing that pushed him to the dark side. He was willing to do ANYTHING to save her. In his mind the end justified the means. He basically sacrificed his humanity for her, and yet... after all that... she still died. I think that's what totally broke him.
"once you begin down the dark path. forever will it cloud your judgement."
“It is such a quiet thing to fall, but far more terrible is to admit it.”
Vader always did claim to kill to have killed Anakin and go down that path.
That is one aspect that is handled pretty well for Kylo Ren (at least in The Force Awakens) where the difference between him and Anakin is shown. Kylo also tries to create this point of no return for himself by killing his father, yet it only leaves him more torn than before.
Hayden is the best actor to play Anakin. I can't imagine anyone else playing Anakin.
Matt Lantern could do it
Sam Witwer. Give respect where its due.
Fr He Is Anakin
i would say David Prose was a good contender
He would be awful as Anakin just like he was with Starkiller
I’m glad to see Hayden getting more love and appreciation recently. His performance wasn’t as polished as it could’ve been. But he was brand new back then and George is also known for not necessarily being an “actor’s director” so probably didn’t give Hayden as much coaching as he probably needed. Even so I think he did a great job showing the emotional turmoil of Anakin.
That and the script was horrible, especially in Attack of the Clones.
George Lucas has great ideas, but doesn't execute his ideas very good without help, especially when it comes to the script and dialogue.
Hayden got way too much blame when it was George Lucas who deserved most of it.
Hayden's acting wasn't all that great in episode 2, but in episode 3 he really hit his stride as Anakin and was much more convincing.
But every movie in the prequels suffered from a bad script and messy dialogue, that's where George Lucas is to blame. George Lucas somehow made Yoda way less interesting of a character than he was in the OG trilogy. That kind of says a lot.
Any problems with his acting was George's fault. George kept holding him back to make him mysterious and dark. To the point of ridiculousness. I've heard the stories from the sets of 25 takes and George always chose the worst ones.
I thought he did great. Anakin was supposed to be needy and intense, like a sad puppy Chupacabra. Revenge of the Sith was a fantastic performance where all his pent up anger surfaced.
I met Hayden exactly a week ago, and he said that he absolutely enjoyed watching Star Wars as a fan after Revenge of the Sith.
I really enjoyed how the Kenobi series made the mask a full circle moment. The padawan (Ashoka) took the right side of the mask off. The master (Obi Wan) took off the left side. And his son (Luke) took the full mask off. It was a great wrap up to that part of Vaders story.
Well, never thought of that. Apologies tho I highly doubt kenobi doing that was on purpose. It was probably a coincidence. The writers were wayyyyy to incoherent to be able to create that subtext meaning. But you’re quit astute for thinking of that.
@@SolaceWhoreI would agree with you due to the poor writing throughout the series, but it's nearly impossible to accidentally get the same cut, on the opposite side, showing the same yellow eye shifting back and forth, and ahsoka/obi wan both having the same reaction to seeing him. It was 100% planned
@@SolaceWhore I think it was planned. But only that scene. And everything was just not really executed well.
It makes me so happy to see the community embrace Hayden like this.
Rebels is 100% underrated. My best friend loves clone wars, but refused to watch Rebels. With Ashoka coming out soon, he has finally started watching it, and won't stop talking about how much he's been sleeping on it.
1st season is slow and clunky, 2nd season has it's flaws but once they start tying it in the greater universe, it really gets going. Season 3 and 4 are some of the best storytelling in the entire franchise IMHO.
Yeah it’s funny seeing rebel haters watching the show all the sudden after the whole ahsoka show is coming. Whoever calls rebels filler needs to look back at half of clone wars. Rebels isn’t really bad lol
It's overrated in my opinion. Rebels was for kids, moreso than The Clone Wars. Watching inquisitors helicopter in with their dumb spinning sabers had my eyes rolling. the series had it's moments, most of them with Vader or Thrawn, but the whole hyperspacing space whales and other aspects was really, really silly.
@@mroldschool001 Star Wars does have a tendency to be silly sometimes tho. That's what makes it Star Wars lol. It's not like we haven't seen space creatures before
@@StarNameKev Here's the truth. Rebels is a no show for me due to one simple fact: I hate the main characters. Watched a few episodes and just did not click with them. Ezra is cringe and I can't watch anymore.
It’s so refreshing to see an actor that loves the source material and appreciates animation. Usually live action actors will try to “out do” animation or video games when all they really need to do is give a passionate performance! Love to see it
Equally nice to see the studio being in step with them, unlike how a certain monster slayer series showed who the fan was and how the studio didn't care.
@@HarmonyEdge Witcher??
I grew up during the OT, and it was amazing to grow up with those movies. But taken as a whole, the PT + TCW is my favorite SW era. As for the Kenobi series and all of its issues, Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor were not among them. Their passion for playing Anakin and Obi-Wan was evident.
He's right about Clone Wars. It made Anakin an infinitely more interesting character.
Being objective here, Clone Wars effectively fixed the inconsistencies blatant in the character from the films. It was essentially retconning. I'm not saying Lucas screwed up or anything in the original films, but films on that scale with so many characters and so many things happening can only flesh out a single character so much. So within the context of the films alone, Anakin's fall made little sense. But they did leave it wide open for something like Clone Wars to come along and give it the proper context. Which is what happened and now his fall makes complete sense.
I wouldn't say 100%. I wasn't so sure about Matt Lanter's Anakin at first, but over the course of the show and especially by the time Ashoka leaves, he feels more and more like Hayden's Anakin. Which is the end of season FIVE. You can't claim that the Clone Wars didn't deepen Anakin's fall, but you also can't claim there weren't some flaws in there as well. Some people HATE Matt Lanter's Anakin, but I'm somewhere in the middle
@@officialmonarchmusic I dunno anyone who hates his Anakin. They are probably mythological people who hate the word "snips".
@@Kelnx I’ve seen them a lot. Quite a few people don’t like Lanter’s Anakin because they see him as a more boring character. They seem as too close to the generic male action hero. I personally don’t think he is either, but plenty of people think that
@@Kelnx That's not being objective. That's just being biased.
TCW didn't improve the character in the slightest. It just made him more kiddish to appeal to the target demographic.
Episode 3 has always been my favorite Star Wars movie. It's story is so underrated. That movie oozed drama and pure emotion. I really hope some day it gains the respect it deserves.
I always thought it has respect from the beginning
I was so excited for it, I bought the novelization before the movie came out.
Also went to the theater 3 hours before showtime.
The big loss was the parts of the book that weren't translated to the screen.
Anakin's inner dialogue made such a huge difference in the book to really explain his fall
@@TheBennitozI also bought the novelization and was bummed about integral scenes being cut. Episode 3 holds such a special place. My favorite star wars movie.
I love when actors actually immerse themselves in the universe. While I think it’s not required to give a good performance, it definitely can’t hurt.
Hayden's smile in the scene where he says he killed Anakin is amazing.
Also it took me until this year to realize i had a crush on him growing up.
When hearing Vader scream ”Obi-Wan” after being defeated, it’s so sad to hear him in Clone Wars scream the same way, but then he thought his master died…
As much as I dislike the kenobi show, I felt like they handled Anakin/Darth Vader very well, even if I didn’t want them to physically interact with each other outside of flashbacks and visions.
I did not like them having Vader drop the "I killed anakin skywalker" line, it reduced Obi-wan's moral culpability for what he said to Luke.
@@DIEGhostfish Disagree. Obi-Wan's "moral culpability" as you put it is down entirely to him hiding the truth from Luke. HOW he approached hiding it does not impact that, so Vader making that comment doesn't really change anything regarding the moral debate surrounding the matter of Obi-Wan hiding the truth from Luke.
After watching Kenobi, I went back and watched Episode IV and to be honest, Obi Wan's "that's a name I've not heard in a long time" became less plausible.
Looking back on the Padme/Anakin scene is AotC recently had me looking at it from a grown-up's and made me think it wasnt so bad.
Anakin was a love sick teenager (he was 19) who was like Rudolf of the jedi. All of the other padawans used to laugh and call him names and they never let poor Anakin join in any Jedi games. And the knights and masters let it go on. And his religion didn't encourage romantic relationships. And for the last 10 years he had been crushing on Padme from afar.
So you had a teenager trying to express his emotions to his celebrity crush who was in her mid 20s. And the last 10 years as an outsider to his peers, the other padawans made him a bit emo.
Congratulations. You've taken your first step into a larger world!
Everyone talks about Ewan's incredible performance in obi-wan kenobi, and it's welld eserved and truly incredible, but Hayden deserves as much if not more praise. His performance was heartbreaking and chilling, terrifying at points. He nailed the inner conflict and turmoil. He even sheds a tear when obi-wan apologizes. The first time Anakin received any acknowledgement of the order and obi-wan FAILING him and wronging him. Then he quickly suppresses it. Viewing it as too late to go back. You can SEE the moment vader takes over and pushes Anakin down.
Yeah so true
I always thought Hayden played the character perfectly. Especially in Revenge of the Sith.
Hayden shows a lot of passion for anakin and star wars.
Haven’t even watched the video yet and I know this will make me happy
Hayden is genuinely interested in what we think and how we feel!!! ❤❤❤
The Clone Wars made Anakin and Obi-Wan, and pretty much everyone else (except for Ventress and Grievous), great characters in hindsight. It fixed a lot of the world building and character development issues, we actually got to see the darkness in Anakin, but also the love and friendship, and it really changed my outlook on Episode 3. The inclusion of Ahsoka was a risky step but in the end we got one of the best Star Wars characters out of it. Also Maul was just FANTASTIC in Clone Wars and Rebels. Rebels set up two of the biggest mysteries in Star Wars (for me) the force plane and where the heck Thrawn and Ezra are (Ezra is like the biggest ticking time bomb for me right now, I am SO EXCITED to see what they do with his story, really hoping he's not just dead).
I don’t know. I think Ventress also had a great story and wouldn’t be surprised if sho shows up again.
@Teri Rednour As far as I know she was killed off in a novel. Not sure if that is still canon though. Her original story in the legends books and comics portrait her both as a more formidable foe and tragic character than TCW ever did. Same for Grievous.
@@ArikGST I hope it's still canon. I'm so absolutely tired of Filoni and Disney never killing off big characters. Seeing Ahsoka for the bazillionth time REALLY hurt my immersion. And the Ventress novel is, on top of that, excellent. I really do like Ventress, but I've always been biased because she had one of the coolest lightsaber duels in Star Wars history in the rain with Anakin during the original Clone Wars show.
@@ArikGST She was killed off in the Dark Disciple novel which was originally going to be a storyline animated in the Clone Wars before the show was cancelled. Thankfully it’s still canon but I would love to see an animated adaptation.
Her best character moments are in that book honestly, especially the moment she has with redeeming Quinlin Voss right before her death
It made them BETTER characters. They were already great
As someone who recently binged clone wars and rebels for the first time I'm on the exact same page as you. I first got into the star wars books around 1998 and eschewed clone wars for a long time and rebels for the reasons you cited. But I was so wrong. I'm so excited by this era of star wars honestly. It's a much more human version of Jedi than what we got in legends media. I'm blown away by how compelled I am by Ahsoka, Ezra, and Kestis.
No one ever mentions the Clone Wars story where Obiwan goes undercover and fakes his death to do so--but the council didn't tell Anakin because they knew his believing reaction would sell it. Anakin absolutely flips out emotionally and Ahsoka is worried about him. In my opinion, that was the first strike.
1. Obiwan's fake death (which Anakin thought was real, and he grieved very hard)
2. Ahsoka being framed
3. Being asked to be a double agent by the council to report on the Chancellor
4. Padme's death (and that he believed the baby/babies also died)
ALL of those things together--and he finally just snapped.
Most people, myself included, always thinks Anakin fall into Vader in Star Wars RoS seems weak.
But after a moment of thought I realized: this guy had been fighting a war for years. The movie only showed one pivotal moment of the war when everything is about to end. But chronologically speaking Anakin's fall take 3 years of grinding attrition. He was there, from start to finish. He lost his hand at the beginning of the war, his men died throughout the war, his student left... and the pinnacle: his wife, and then his humanity too. So thank god for Clone War fleshing it out
2:12 So true! Adults having the mind and thinking capabilities of children is the biggest problem Star Wars has; prequels required thinking from the audience, and sequels from the writers
From what I hear, that's an issue with modern movies and series as well. Apparently Star Trek is suffering from it just as much.
The how and why of the fall of Ben Solo is the key story that needs to be told for the Sequels to work - and that involves telling a Luke story as well - something that Lucasfilm approaches with the enthusiasm of a proctology visit.
Yep. Also the reasoning behind Luke just trying to kill Ben, that needs serious explaining.
I have my grievances with the sequel trilogy, but I honestly enjoyed most of it. In its defense, I always try to tell people that it's not really Rey's story as a lot of people like to think it is. It's actually Ben Solo's story at its core. So yes, I wholeheartedly agree that we need a TCW-style Jedi Academy show for Ben and Luke.
@@rianmacdonald9454 The reasoning is because Rian Johnson sucks at writing
The Clone Wars series as a whole did 3 things which really helped the prequelogy:
1. Fleshing out Anakin's character growth between films and setting up well for what comes next (Ashoka's introduction and growth doing a lot of the heavy lifting here).
2. Gave the previously nameless, faceless clones individuality. You really care for Rex, 5s, Echo, Jessie, etc. Before the only one we knew about was Cody. Now, you can have shows like the Bad Batch which feature a clone crew.
3. It adds to the sense of scope. The films have to focus attention down to the main details. The Clone Wars was able to expand. Whether that's returning to Geonosis, showing not all Separatists were evil or the final Mandalorian Arc which runs paralel to Ep3.
I love when actors not only appreciate the media they appear in, but are straight-up fanboys themselves.
Resistance actually did an incredible job of giving us a reason to care about the destruction of Hosnian Prime. The main character is actually from that planet so when he's sneaking into a First Order base and he overhears the speech and sees the holo of his home being destroyed, we actually feel it. Which is something Episode 7 did absolutely none of.
My favorite thing about the mask only partially being torn off in rebels is the symbolism it adds to rotj... Obi and ahsoka were only able to truly reveal parts of Anakin beneath Vader. At the end of rotj however, like fully is able to take off the mask of Vader. ITS JUST SO GOOD!!
Hayden's voice and cadence in Rise of the Sith matched James Earl Jones' (in the OT) so well, you could tell he was slowly becoming Vader as an actor.
Ooooo lovely. We love Hayden getting more love
Over the last 20 years I've always said that Hayden was the best choice cast for the role. Especially to all the the nay-sayers out there. Even with long term fans, 90% of the time, I got the weirdest reactions to my opinion. It would be really awesome to see Hayden reprise his role again in the future. But please, no Vader TV show.
There's some really interesting stories in the Vader comics that I think could be explored through animation or a live action show with Hayden. If the writing is handled well it would be really enjoyable to see.
George Lucas was a storyteller. Filling in the gaps in his own story was his hobby and he was damn good at it. Star Wars was his baby. Now the story is owned by a corporation who screwed things because they have no central storyteller controlling the narrative. Good luck fixing that.
I think this explains why the clone wars sequence in ahsoka works so well. Hayden has kept up with his character even as he evolved beyond his influence. People sometimes say that he came back as if he never left but it isnt true. He came back and embraces everything good that happened while he was gone.
I love revenge of the Sith so much it is probably my favorite movie, period.
I know Hayden got a lot of hate for Episode 3 at the time but his character has grown a ton since then. I'm glad that fans now enjoy him and his performances.
I'm really glad you like Rebels and wish more people got into it too. It was one of the first forms of Star Wars content I ever watched (yes I know it's weird), and stayed attached to it ever since because of that. Sure, it was pretty goofy at times. I mean, Imperial black ops force wielders with lightsabers that spin around to help them fly? Of course it's not entirely perfect, but I think it's overall a great show that both newcomers to Star Wars and old fans can get behind, and I hope the Ahsoka series carries it's charm. On any case, great video as always. Keep up the great work!!!
I think the reason Rebels feels so much like George Lucas is because he kind of made it during the 2008 Clone Wars. One of his original ideas for Clone Wars was the crew of a ship doing missions and trying to survive during the Clone Wars, almost exactly like what Rebels is just in the Imperial era instead of the Clone Wars era.
Almost. The Idea came from dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy: A Togruta Padawan ( Ashla) and her Twi'lek master (Sendak) are working together with the smuggler (Cad) and his girlfriend (Lupe) as well the Gungan-muscel (Lunker).
The Jedi and his padawan would work with the smugglers to track down arms dealers to disrupt the Hutts, and a few times per season they would be ordered back to help defend Kamino or Mon Calamari. Sometimes the would Anakin and Kenobi, but just short.
But George lucas had other Ideas: he wanted the focus back on Kenobi and Anakin and tell the more of their story, which he couldn't in the live action movies.
But he loves the idea of the crew and the design of Ashla, so thats why Ashla became Anakins Padawan Ahsoka.
Henry Gilroy left the Clone Wars as a storywriter to some point, but was brought back by Filoni in Rebels. So I think they rewrite and flesh out their idea in rebels with the Ghost crew.
I tell people all the time that Rebels is not just important to the overall story but a great show and worth watching. Great video today!
The films are but a foundation for our passion of star wars, and the animations have absolutely done so much justice for star wars as a whole.
Don’t get me wrong, i’m so happy that people are finally giving him the love he deserved.
BUT where was this before?? I always loved Hayden as Anakin. Absolutely perfect. He didn’t write the script, which is what i always hear from people that hate on him say
92 kid here ….grew up on star wars, this video spoke my exact sentiments exactly. didn’t watch all of clone wars until a yr and half ago. glad i did
Hayden was asked about this at Celebration 2022 or 2023. Or maybe another Con. Anyway he stated that Clone Wars really showed Anakin becoming a hero and one of the best Jedi (generals) which the movies did not really portrayal.
Looking at his fall to the Darkside, in hindsight. For a long time, it did feel very sudden. But I never really asked myself what happened in those three years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The clone wars showed that very well. it really flushed out his fall a lot more.
I was also born in 92 ... I don't know how much of a role that has played into my opinions of the episodes 1 2 asn 3 but I loved those movies I remember episode 1 coming out when I was very young and I was instantly in love with Star Wars ... I didn't watch the Clone Wars TV show when it originally came on TV I had a lot going on and I didn't have the attention span to follow a TV show but it was something I got into when I first got Disney+ which might I add the Star Wars content on it's own makes Disney+ worth the price but I'm really happy I went back and watched Clone Wars it's massively underrated
"hayden followed the clone wars"
he is the chosen one, he brought balance
Rebels is really good, I’m glad you think so. Sure, the first season is kinda meh, but just like TCW, it’s got some brutal scenes. The grand inquisitor beheads two imperial grunts off screen, just like Savage beheading the Black Sun off screen. And that’s from season 1!
So humble and filled with humility.
The moment we see Ahsoka and Anakin(Hayden) interact in the Ahsoka series will be monumental, even more so than Luke showing up in The Mandalorian. Kinda like Daredevil showing up in No Way Home. It authenticates all that has happened outside the movies. The Clone Wars and Rebels always felt a little fan fiction-ey to me, with all its lore and world building (artifacts and force feats, Daughter, Son, Bendu?) that we will probably never see in a live action setting. Having Hayden and Ahsoka in live action, will make all of that real to me. CGI Luke couldn't do that for me. Hayden can.
still think it should have been kyle katarn show in in stead of luke, But of course many people wouldn't know who that is.
I love Kenobi series so much, It was my go to May the 4th watch-a-thon for this year. I can explain to my kids why Leia felt that Obi Wan was her last chance! I think it was a really well made series and the inclusion of Hayden as Anakin and Vader was very cool! And it gladdens my heart to hear that he still enjoys Star Wars
Great video Eck! Think Hayden binged Clone Wars prepping for Obi Wan! About to do a full rewatch of everything before Ashoka. Watched Tales of the Jedi Dooku eps. Would love a video on that and the difference with Qui Gon
Hayden is going to be in Ahsoka. Either as a Force ghost or a flashback. Rumors are leaning to a clone wars flashback. Either way i am stoked ti have him back. As someone who didn't like his addition to ROTJ. I have changed my opinion of that in the past few years. It will be great to have Hayden to play Vader in future projects.
I agree so much abut the suplament material. i tried to read the aftermath books, i have bought 77 starwars books. I returned the last book in that trilogy. it sucked. But i totally agree with you. we need a clone wars for the sequels, with no KK. Say, an animated "heir to the empire" that can tie into ashoka
I agree that Rebels is super underappreciated. The Caleb Dume and Maul arcs while tragic are among the most satisfying and well done in the entire franchise. The fact they both got a better ending than Luke, Leia and Han is one of the most frustrating parts about the sequels (besides the horrible writing).
I won't go so far as to say The Clone Wars saved the prequels for me. The prequels were what they were, and I only really find any value in Episode III, because that at least showed Anakin's turn to the dark side (which is what we were promised the prequels were going to be about). But The Clone Wars really gave Anakin the characterization that he never got in the prequels. They made Anakin someone to care about.
I LOVE the last two seasons of Rebels.
SAME! and I also always say “clone wars is the best thing to happen to Star Wars since Star Wars”
Anakin is a good character and he played it the best he could
Hayden did the best acting he could with what he was given. People dump on him when it wasn't his fault. He was perfect for Anakin.
I was born in 1992 as well, revenge of the sith was the first Star Wars movie i ever saw in the cinema and it will forever hold a place in my heart.
Obvious the scene you mentioned where Vader and Obi-Wan are fighting in the Obi-Wan show is pretty amazing when Vader's helmet breaks and you can see his face the emotions that come across are mesmerizing. I would argue it's such an engrossing scene I could be forgiven for missing the fact they were recreating the scene of Luke training in the force cave on Dagobah where he kills the vision of Vader only to find his own face staring up at him from a broken helmet. I honestly didn't put that together until like 2 days ago and I have felt so stupid ever since
I love Star Wars so much, and it makes me happy to hear that I wasn't the only one who shooed off The Clone Wars, as you, I also rectified that and now its my favorite thing that has been done(RotS is my favorite). It really shows the struggle that the mains went through and it really did Anakin justice.
My problem with the sequel trilogy is simple:
They murdered Luke Ideologically.
They cut him mourning the loss of Han Solo, one of his oldest lifelong friends and the man who had along with Kenobi introduced him to the wider galaxy beyond his moisture farm.
THey kept in him chugging blue milk andh aving sloppydribble on his hobo beard.
All of the other complaints; the first order being a joke, holdo being an idiot, canto bite, etc. ALL of it... pales in comparison to what they did to Luke.
There is no redemption for the sequel trilogy as it is al in service of propping up KK's self insert Rey Palpatine.
So them basically in mandolorian going 'yea the sequel trilogy exists' just... leaves me incredibly disinterested in star wars moving forward.
Same here
True the amount of disrespect they showed the original trilogy sealed their fate of being a horrible disjointed mess of a trilogy
I will give props to Adam Driver and Daisy Riddly for their great performances. It wasn't their fault the characters they played were so bad, ugh, Rey, she was stuck trying to polish a turd. She gave as good an effort as could be expected.
@@steveleavell114 Agreed on both counts. I don't ever want the actors to feel targeted, and sadly the star wars community has a bad history of shitting on the actors for factors out of their control.
Thank Rian Johnson and kk for that
what the clone wars did for the prequels gives me hope for the sequel trilogy and beyond, and why i won't just write off stuff like the new Rey movie.
One of The Clone Wars's benefits with regards to Anakin is getting to show the character traits that cause his fall in more positive circumstances. He will do ANYTHING to protect the people he cares about, and that puts him in some scary situations even if he is "saving the day." Remember the episode with the traitorous Mandalorian senator who puts Obi-wan and Satine in a situation where they can't stop him without compromising their ideals, and Anakin just comes in, kills the guy and then gives a grinning shrug that is completely out of tone with the scene?
Anakin's face peeking through the mask was something, but when he almost captures Obi-Wan and then just stands there, watches from the other side of the fire, was The Moment for me! It showed that even at the peak of being Darth Vader, he still felt conflicted, even regretful, perhaps.
This is Darth Vader who I can see being moved by Luke, and later embracing the light side of the Force again.
Rebels is just so good. I didn't expect to like it at all, but things like the Bindu and Thrawn really solidified it as one of favorite Star Wars stories. I'm so excited for Ashoka to continue that story.
Oh, hey. I'm a '92 baby as well. Cheers to our 30s, Eck. Good luck with 'em, lol.
Without the shows the movies did enough. Everyone seems to forget anakin murdered tusken children in Episode: II it wasn't a sudden turn but the shows did help
Yeah he did kill them if i were padmae id run for the hills not stay with a physco path
@David Ordaz anyone that says otherwise is just a prequel hater, yes the prequels have their flaws.
The interesting thing is if you study female sexual fantasy, almost ever hetero male love interest is a dangerous man she can “tame.” It’s funny how often the theme appears in non-erotic literature as well.
@@ryanwilliams5904 yeah well if people don’t like the prequels its alright
Hayden has ALWAYS been my favorite actor. Ever since "love is a house" in 01
It’s nice to hear that he still wants to play the character
I actually did feel that Hayden was taking some cues from CW in his performance in Kenobi. Was glad to see it wasn't just my imagination.
Rebels is most definitely underrated. I feel that is about to change with Ahsoka and Rebels seemingly becoming essential material to watch for it. They best get ready for a gut punch. Terrific show after you get past the world building of the first season.
My only issues with how anakin has been handled is that you get the movies portrayal of anakin as an immature, whiny kid whos learned nothing, but then we get the clone wars series and anakin is so much more mature and we see how knowledgeable, wise and understanding he is. The movie anakin and clone wars anakin always seemed like two different people to me. What would be amazing is more live action scenes where we see more of Hayden Christiansen as anakin during the clone wars. Just so we can see why anakin, after being the way he was in the second movie (episode 2 attack of the clones) seems to revert back or appear unchanged in revenge of the sith, despite what the clone wars shows us.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve become more finder of the Star Wars mythos… but I dove back into the movies just recently. A deeper dive to really understand what I didn’t catch when I was a kid (I’m 45… i when to all the releases of the first trilogy in the theater, obviously I had to watch the re-releasing of New Hope in the early eighties). I’ve always been curious about Clone Wars and it took a review of the first episode by Rob over at Geek Culture Explained that made me finally check it out. What a show. I’m on season 7 now and I must say this is such a brilliant show. Top to bottom, just brilliant.
i love the most replayed bit is the outro
The thing about Hayden as Anakin is that he NAILED the part in the prequels! He played a character who knows how valuable he is, being always special treated and constantly called "the chosen one." Because of that, in episode 2, he acts brash and arrogant, and you dislike him ON PURPOSE, same with Episode 3 where the weight of it all starts to grate on him, and while in the duel with Dooku you want to see him win, it sets up his final fall from grace and by the end, you hate him and you're vocal about it. That is the POINT though! He's a Wrestling Heel, where you are suppose to boo the character; that's what made him so good! If you were indifferent to him, then he failed in his role... but everybody had an opinion on Anakin, and therefore he did his job better than anybody else could.
Hearing Hayden say that warms my heart
One thing that I noticed about the first few animated series (The Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance) is that the it takes the series until the midway of season 3 to really get good, and the reason Resistance isn't looked on well is that it was canned after two seasons. It didn't have the time to come into itself as a show and really develop the way that especially TCW did. Rebels somewhat suffers from that, basically only having a season and a half of "post-maturity" content, and IMO that may be why it's so often slept on as a show. And in contrast, now that it's completed, TCW has 4 full seasons post-maturity and IMO The Bad Batch rolled right of the heels of TCW season 7, starting off stronger than the other animated series because of it.
I've been watching Rebels and I fully agree about how underrated it is. I can see why Thrawn is such a fan favorite now.
Dang man you and I are pretty much in the same boat in terms of where we are in the fandom. I'm not a big Star Wars guy myself, but I was also born in1992 and I liked the prequels. I also was turned off by the Clone Wars series initially but I started watching it to give it a fair chance since I've heard good things from it. It's cool that Hayden took from the show to aid his own performance in the Kenobi show.
Good to see the star war fandom isn't bullying their actors into near suicide as much anymore. Improvement!
About that moment where anakin gets a glimpse of his future in the clone wars, when I saw that the first time I really hoped that was anakins motivation for eventually joining the Darkside in episode 3.
I thought anakin was the guy who always kept the things he struggled with for himself, which was always his problem and not telling anybody about this would have fit his character in my opinion.
So him allready knowing the sacrifices he would have to make in the future to defeat Palpatine would be a way better motivation then him being naive about Palpatine rescuing padme/the problems he had with the jedi counsel.
I was a bit disappointed when at the end of the episode when he loses all memories of those visions.
Imagine the extra weight that would've placed on vaders death scene with Luke where you see a destroyed man who needed to fall so deep to save everyone in the long run.
And the fight with obi Wan in episode 3 would have been so powerful because suddenly it isn't a fight between good and misguided evil but a fight between the good and somebody who needs to go trough this path for everyone and would never in a million years be able to explain this to obi wann.
Which forces them to fight even when their end goals align.
On the topic of improving the post Endor worldbuilding, I'm glad they aren't outright retconning Aftermath and other early canon books. Aftermath wasn't perfect, but it's still important to the story regardless of quality. So happy the supplementary stuff still matters!
Hayden my beloved
My Family Always liked and made me watch star wars but what actually made me like star wars was clone wars, it made me so interested in the universe and the characters
I started watching rebels recently and I’m honestly really surprised how good it is and also chopper is pretty cool
It's a good point that I hadn't thought about
I was around for the original movies and I absolutely love the prequel I always have. I think they’re great.
Hey dude, I was also born in '92. The prequel trilogy changed was amazing. I saw them all in theaters. In a way they had a big impact on my life as far as what books I read, videos and games I played. People used to hate hayden for how he played Anakin, but he did amazing. Perfect IMO. Revenge of the Sith will always be my favorite movie.
I always thought the Resistance cartoon had the potential to do for the sequels what Clone Wars did for the prequels. i loved that show.
3:27 personally I think this is one of the best scenes in star wars ever, especially if you've seen the Clone Wars
yes I also seen revenge off the south on the night it came out in 2005 loved it I was 8 years old and is one off my favorite. Movies
THIS is why I subscribed last summer. Your take is like a nerd fest argument without the over talking. I’m only 4 years older than you and my kids WONT watch Pokémon but once the oculus came with VADER holy man we’re about to fire up episode two right now. Amazing. Just like your take. Keep it up!!!
Just like Rosario Dawson, hearing about Hayden’s love for Clone Wars and Rebels is going to make their reunion in Ahsoka that much more special.
0:58 this zoom in was funny as hell lmao. Ben was like "ain't no way hes still alive"