Hayden Christensen Says 'Star Wars' Fans Always 'Got' The Prequel Trilogy

Actors Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen have a lot of love for their characters in a galaxy far, far away.

At Star Wars Celebration, the two celebrated the 20th anniversary of “Attack of the Clones,” which marked their first on-screen appearance together. After the 20th anniversary panel in Anaheim, California, the two actors sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about how the perception of the prequel trilogy has shifted over the years.

Although the reception to the prequel trilogy was mixed when it first came out, Hayden Christensen, who plays Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, believes that the fans always got it and said it was the critics who didn’t.

Christensen first called the reaction he gets from “Star Wars” fans “so heartwarming,” adding, “I’ve always felt that the fans got it. That was never in question for me.”

“But certainly, the critics wanted to find all the flaws that they could,” he added. “If you're looking for flaws in anything, you can find something. But these stories are for the fans. They're meant to bring joy and happiness to people, so it means a lot to get to witness that now to the degree that we do. It's amazing.”

After the trilogy first came out, the Emmy-award-winning actor admitted to trying to move on from the films after their critical response. That being said, his perspective of the prequel trilogy seems to have shifted since this time.

After revisiting his character again in “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and seeing how excited fans are to see his character again, McGregor said, “I feel like I'm able to claim it, in a way, which I don't know that I've ever done properly.”

The “Halston” actor said that he felt “there was a sort of challenge” when making the prequel trilogy, referencing the heavy use of bluescreen and greenscreen to allow creator George Lucas “to build the worlds that he built.”

“But for us, the actors, it was hard to make emotional moments realistic when you're surrounded by nothing and oftentimes speaking to nothing,” McGregor continued. “Your scene partner is a tennis ball on a stick, and it's hard work. I was just saying to Hayden, no one phoned it in. We all came with our A games, and we all tried our best.”

“And then, for the critics not to like them… The noise that came at us afterwards wasn't positive,” he added.

McGregor said that he “maybe sort of put my blinkers on a little bit to the Star Wars world to an extent and just went on with my career and have been lucky to do the work I've done” after its lackluster reception.

“But I did play Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels,” he pointed out. “And I liked what we did. And I liked the experience of doing it. So I was really glad to stand on that stage this morning and feel that.”

Christensen, who plays Darth Vader in the latest Disney+ series, said that it was a “thrilling sight” to see Ewan McGregor back as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“We got together a little before we started filming, just to catch up, but seeing him again as this character was mind-blowing,” Christensen explained.

McGregor said, “The atmosphere on set was really electric that day.”

“I came on set, and I'd been shooting for a little while before Hayden started,” he continued. “I couldn't believe how many people were there. I was looking around, going, 'There's so many people on set today!' I couldn't figure out what was going on.”

“And then the penny clicked when [he] walked out in the suit, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, everyone's here to see Hayden as Vader,’” he recalled.

New episodes of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” are released every Wednesday on Disney+.