It's been quite a while since Star Wars fans have had new content to look forward to, especially when it comes to live-action. The Mandalorian finished its second season late last year, and The Bad Batch Season 1 came to an end several months now.
Thankfully, the drought is about to come to an end. The Book of Boba Fett will be premiering on December 29, and following it is an entire string of shows. This includes Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Mandalorian's third season.
Even more will be going into production early next year, including the highly anticipated Ahoksa starring Rosario Dawson. The show has longtime Star Wars genius Dave Filoni as its writer and executive producer, alongside The Mandalorian's Jon Favreau serving as an additional executive producer.
Not many details are known about the plot, but the first huge casting news has just been released: Darth Vader is back.
Darth Vader Joins the Ahsoka Series
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Hayden Christensen, the actor responsible for portraying Darth Vader, will be joining the upcoming Ahsoka series on Disney+.
Sources propose the theory that Vader, or simply Anakin, may also be a Force Ghost in the show.
In order to physically appear, since Ahsoka is set to take place after The Mandalorian's second season, the character would only be able to appear in flashbacks, seeing as Darth Vader would be dead at that point in time.
Production for Ahsoka is due to start in early 2022, and fans will be able to see Christensen reprise the role first in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show.
Darth Vader and Ahsoka Meet Again
The last time these two characters interacted in chronology was when Darth Vader nearly killed Ahsoka in Star Wars: Rebels. So, no matter what form Hayden Christen's Darth Vader takes, the two will likely have a lot to talk about.
The Force Ghost angle is probably what fans should expect. It makes the most sense canonically and is an easy tool to explore the relationship and dynamic between the two for the first time. After all, there will be plenty of people following Ahsoka as a character for the first time, so they may have zero knowledge about her time under Anakin Skywalker as his padawan.
It's no surprise to see the show bring Anakin back into the fold. The characters obviously have a deep connection from their time in Clone Wars and Rebels; on top of that, Rosario Dawson's relationship with Hayden Christensen in real life played into her casting as The Mandalorian's Jedi.
Ahsoka is no doubt going to be a fan favorite show. The ending point of Rebels seems to be the jumping-off point for the Rosario Dawson-led series, with rumors pointing towards Ahsoka hunting down Thawn and Ezra's locations—in fact, the casting for both characters may have been underway for quite some time now.
The show does not have an official airdate on Disney+, but fans can likely expect to see the show at some point in 2022. It's difficult to imagine that it would release any later than early-to-mid 2023.
