When the Star Wars prequels were released, they were widely considered a disappointment by longtime fans. However, for many kids at the time, those were their movies and that's why we've seen the discussion around them change in recent years.
We're sure you're already aware of how the vitriol surrounding his performance as Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace negatively impacted Jake Lloyd; a couple of years later, Hayden Christensen faced a similarly tough time from critics and fans with Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
Talking to Empire, the actor - who has recently reprised the role of Anakin/Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka - explained how it felt to be scrutinised from such a young age (he was 18 when he was cast).
"It was a big adjustment for me. Everything changed pretty quickly in my life when I got cast in Star Wars, you know? It was an exciting time, but everything was very new. I appreciated that George Lucas went out of his way to try to help me navigate a lot of that. But there’s no way of really preparing for it. You just sort of learn as you go."
As for how challenging that was to deal with, Christensen admitted that it hurt to have his performance torn apart and shared his belief that there were those who perhaps took it all a little too seriously, forgetting that Star Wars is...well, Star Wars.
"Because Star Wars has had the cultural impact that it has, these characters almost become public domain, where people feel a sense of ownership over them. The character was criticised, my performance was criticised, and that part sucked. But I also felt like I had some context that perhaps helped a little bit. When Episode I came out, there was a lot of excitement that they were making a new Star Wars, and it was going to be the backstory of Darth Vader."
"But I had friends that were upset that the character was starting off as this young kid. And I watched the film, and I loved it. It was everything I wanted and more. And I didn’t understand the disconnect between the movie that I saw, and the negativity in some of the reviews. In a way that sort of criticism, I think, comes from a certain failure of their own suspension of disbelief."
"If you’re gonna go sit in a theatre, and the opening scroll starts with, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away”, that’s setting the stage that anything is possible. These people don’t need to sound and behave the way that we might expect. And if you’re going to sit down and think that you’re getting something that is of our current zeitgeist, then you’re setting yourself up for something else. You know what I mean?"
It's hard to argue with anything the actor says here and, unfortunately, we've seen history repeat itself with some of the recent Disney+ TV shows and the sequel trilogy before that.
It's unclear when and if Christensen will return to this Galaxy Far, Far Away, though rumours are already swirling that he'll play a lead role in Ahsoka season 2.