Movies - TV
Ahsoka Redeemed George Lucas’s Most Debated Star Wars Change
By BRYAN YOUNG
Spoiler Warning!
This story contains spoilers for the “Ahsoka” season 1 finale, “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord.”
George Lucas has been making minor changes to his original “Star Wars” films since they debuted. While some of the updates are unquestionably better, others left fans confused.
One of these changes came in the 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy, which saw Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker as a Force ghost at the end of “Return of the Jedi.”
Christensen had replaced Sebastian Shaw, and while this change enhanced the cohesiveness of both trilogies, some fans felt it somehow betrayed Anakin’s original actor.
Years later, the Force ghost of Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker would make another appearance in “Ahsoka,” the story of the Jedi’s former Padawan as an adult.
Had Lucas not made the change in “Return of the Jedi,” this moment would have been confusing and had minimal emotional impact on “Star Wars” fans.
The filmmaker’s forethought gave viewers an extraordinary moment that unified “Star Wars” between the various eras and delivered the perfect ending to the first season of “Ahsoka.”