A Hayden Christensen Sci-Fi Movie Got An Unexpected Spin-Off On YouTube

If I asked you to think of a 2000s sci-fi movie starring Hayden Christensen, two movies would probably leap to mind immediately — and neither would be "Jumper." However, after starring as Anakin Skywalker in the last two Star Wars prequels, Christensen went on to appear in this 2008 sci-fi thriller with his "Star Wars" co-star Samuel L. Jackson. "Jumper" starred Christensen as David Rice, a man with the ability to teleport — or "jump" — who finds himself hunted down by a religious group called the Paladins, whose goal is to eliminate all such jumpers. Jackson featured as Roland Cox, the leader of the Paladins.

"Jumper" jumped into theaters to lukewarm reviews. While the movie has its fans, critics were generally unimpressed, and in a year that also saw the release of "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight," "Jumper" was quickly overshadowed and largely forgotten. However, that didn't stop a spin-off series from appearing years later. Debuting in 2018, "Impulse" was a YouTube Premium exclusive (then called YouTube Red) set in the world of "Jumper." Christensen did not reprise his role, with the series instead following new jumper Henrietta "Henry" Coles, played by Maddie Hasson.

Its home on the largely overlooked streamer YouTube Premium probably cost "Impulse" more mainstream success, though the series proved popular enough to receive a second season in 2019. The series has also received a generally more positive response from critics than "Jumper" did.

"Jumper" was based on a novel by Steven Gould, the first of a series of five books (plus one short story). Plans existed for sequels to the movie — both David and Roland are alive at the film's end — but given the underwhelming box office performance of "Jumper," these follow-up films never entered production. Instead, "Impulse" became the first continuation of the "Jumper" universe — and currently remains the only continuation of that universe. The series shared its name with the third novel in Gould's "Jumper" series, though the similarities between the two more or less end with the title. Both follow a teenage girl jumper, but in the book this character was Cent, the daughter of the protagonists of the first book/movie. In the series, Henry was instead introduced as a new character with no connection to Hayden Christensen's David.

The series ventures into dark territory, with Henry discovering her jumping abilities as a classmate attempts to sexually assault her. Initially, Henry's jumping is shown to occur alongside the seizures from which she suffers and panic attacks, with fear being the principal trigger for her powers. Like Christensen's David from "Jumper," she is also shown to have some degree of telekinetic ability. When she first jumps, she also crushes the car in which she was being attacked, leaving her attacker permanently paralyzed.

By the end of "Impulse" season 2, Henry has finally learned to control her abilities. Unfortunately though, Henry's full capabilities are never explored in great detail, as the series was canceled after its second season.