Heading into the Star Wars prequel films, everyone who had seen the original trilogy knew that Anakin Skywalker would ultimately turn to the dark side and become Darth Vader. The point of the prequel trilogy was to show the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker to become the infamous Sith Lord.
A lot of background was given to established characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Emporer Palpatine, and Yoda. The fall of the Jedi Order and the rise of The Galactic Empire culminated in Palpatine's command to "Execute Order 66" which turned once-ally clones against the Jedi.
Before Skywalker fully emerges as Darth Vader after being defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi, he goes on his own Jedi killing spree. Most memorable, perhaps, is his slaying of all the younglings in the Jedi Temple. This scene remains prevalent due to its horrifying reality, but even more has been revealed about that terrifying look on the child's face.
NEWS
During a recent Reddit Q&A, Ross Beadman, the actor who portrayed the youngling that Anakin killed in Revenge of The Sith, opened up about his brief time working on Episode III.
Beadman revealed that, while filming the shocking scene, Hayden Christensen, as Anakin Skywalker, yelled "boo!" This caused Beadman to take a frightful back step, as depicted in the film before the scene cuts away. Beadman says that Christensen's exclamation "startled me to add to my fear in the scene."
WHAT THIS MEANS
Christensen probably said "boo!" as a joke, but it clearly influenced Beadman's performance. The look of fear on his face when he takes a step back is real and adds a lot to that dark sequence. If he remembers that moment all these years later, it must've really stuck with him.
A lot of fans have criticized Christensen's performance as Skywalker endlessly ever since Star Wars: Attack of The Clones was released in 2002. While it is arguable whether such negative reception is justified or not considering the great amount of blue-screen sets used and the directing, he hasn't always been welcomed with open arms to Star Wars fandom.
In recent memory, Christensen has been welcomed back into the fold, with many fans ecstatic to hear the news of his return as Darth Vader in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series. The hope is there will be more effective moments like the "boo!" rather than cringe-worthy lines like, "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere."