ST Anakin Skywalker in the New Films

Hayden does not look that old. Gosh.

 

Hayden looks young for his age these days, and it would be really easy to make him appear a little younger; they do that on TV shows and movies for flashbacks all of the time very successfully; no comparison to trying to make Harrison a 24 year old Solo. As far as "if a director wants a different actor, they should get it," that is dodging the point; that is about like pointing out the sky is blue; again, of course they COULD recast him, that is not a debatable point; they could put Rodney Dangerfield in as Anakin if they wanted. The point is WOULD they, and what is the likelihood? Quite slim.

OK, but it would be silly to compare a subtle accent to changing the main character of the saga to a different actor. The ST has shown a pretty solid commitment to it; certainly going way beyond using the same actors for main characters; some say they even went to far to establish continuity. I don't think they minimize it as you are.

 

No, I'm not talking about likelihood. IMO, the important point is SHOULD a director recast a character because the existing actor doesn't fit their idea of that character in the new story he or she is telling. And my answer to that is yes. If a new actor can get the job done in a more satisfying way, continuity (in terms of physical resemblance) should be a secondary consideration.

 

Again then by that logic you can argue that Luke and Leia are far more important to recast for the ST than a spirit Anakin ever would for the likely scene or two he would be in.

 

But likelihood and what you are talking about are related- Rian is unlikely to WANT to do that because it wouldn't be a good move in all likelihood. I think your hypothetical is true in general, but it would have to be a far more extreme situation than you suggest for that to be the right move for Rian to make, which (again) is why it is really unlikely to happen.

 

Dumbledore was recast because the original actor died. Hayden is not dead. Spider-Man was recast because the franchise was rebooted. Star Wars has not been rebooted, it has been continued and expanded upon. Apples to oranges.

 

Well, I think it highly unlikely that Anakin's force ghost will be appearing in VIII, so yeah, it's unlikely that anyone will be cast.

However, if for whatever reason Anakin's force ghost were to feature heavily in the film, I could certainly imagine Johnson looking at various actors to play Anakin, including Hayden.

 

Probably not in 8, and it isn't going to be an extensive role with all of the new characters they are developing, but the likelihood he would use someone other than Hayden is small in the event that Anakin were brought back. I am sure he could find a better actor than Billy Dee Williams if Lando were brought back, but you know what? My money is on Billy Dee. There would have to be extreme negatives to break continuity avoid bringing back the actor who played the character previously extensively (and whom the image of the character is built), and frankly there isn't except for with those who just don't like Hayden, which there will be for any actor. Hayden is a professional actor that has developed over the years; the idea that he would blow up SW with a brief force ghost role is far-fetched. Meryl Streep could have done a much better acting job than Fisher if they had done a recast, but it wasn't going to happen, just like they aren't going to replace Hayden. Fisher is not the world's best actress, but continuity was important; she WAS able to pull it off and make a satisfying appearance; and she will have a larger role by far overall than Hayden would..

 

It's not about finding the best actor available for these recast, it's about finding a person suitable for the job. Some of us think that Hayden simply doesn't have the skills to pull it off. As I explained before, the actor would probably have to portray a range of different things because a reformed Anakin is a complex character.

And sadly, Fisher's acting wasn't too good either. As sad as it is, someone else may have given us a more convincing portrayal.

I want to ask you a question: if Hayden is put through screen-testing and doesn't perform, would you then be okay with a recast?

 

"Best person for the job" is pretty subjective, and it in all likelihood would be the person within continuity according to those making the movie. Some of YOU don't like Hayden or Fisher's acting, but YOU are not making the movie. Hamill and Fisher certainly weren't more successful in their acting careers than Hayden at his age (and Hayden became a recluse by choice, or he would be in far more movies); you could make the same case about replacing them. The point is, they didn't and won't. Nor are they likely to do so with Hayden. Continuity may be less important TO YOU, but clearly it isn't to LFL/DIsney and most movie makers. The vast majority of any kind of exceptions are in far different circumstances for any movie series.

Hayden is no more likely to fail a screen test than either of them, short of poor effort or something highly unlikely happening (e.g. he gets too strung out on drugs to act). If he is that unwilling to put in the effort to do the role, than yeah, maybe he shouldn't; but we are in the fairy land of hypotheticals here- he is going to come back with adequate effort; he isn't going to squander that opportunity to be back in SW.

 

I think HC is arguably gives the two best performances in the 7 movies so far. Anakin is hands down the most complex character that Star Wars has ever seen or likely ever will see.

Sure there can always be extenuating circumstances but all things being equal then in terms of Force spirit Anakin there would be no point to using anyone but HC for the less than handful of scenes he would likely be used in.

Now can someone else play mutilated under the mask Vader? Sure. There really would be no requirement to use HC as such since between the visual and voice as seen in ROTJ there is no requirement.

 

I agree. As much as I dislike the actor, I'd hate it if they recast anyone. And that goes for any movie, as well...unless of course, if the film takes place way before the actual actor's age, or if he or she is now dead.

Having said that, Hayden's return isn't really necessary, though...considering how there was a different and very aged actor in the OT that played the Vader role, I would like it if they would stick with choosing a more older actor, instead. Whether it was through the severe injuries or deterioration through use of the dark side, Anakin as we came to know him in Return of the Jedi is a very different person than Hayden is at this point in his life. Now, if they were to make an anthology film that takes place right after ROTS, then by all means, recast the guy.

 

I think we should all get used to recasts going forward. They will eventually become a pretty normal occurrence, I suspect.

 

No, Hayden is Anakin. Only IF Hayden flat out refused then possibly a recast if the storyline calls for Anakin. Which as an actor would be a fate worse than death to go against Disney. IMO.

 

No. Anakin is Anakin, and he has been portrayed on the silver screen by Hayden Christensen, Sebastian Shaw, Jake Lloyd, James Earl Jones and David Prowse. In the future, other actors may portray this tragic hero of cinema, much as countless actors have portrayed Hamlet or Tiny Tim.

 

The question asked was would I be okay with a recast if Hayden didn't make the cut. I gave my answer.

Jake Lloyd portrayed Ani, as a little boy.
Hayden portrayed Anakin, Jedi.
David Prowse portrayed Vader in costume only.
Sebastian Shaw portrayed a dying Vader/disfigured Anakin long before GL made the PT.
JEJ voice of Vader.
Hayden replaced Shaw as force ghost in RoTJ when RoTS was released.

In my mind Hayden is Anakin.

 

Yeah, Hayden played Anakin in some past Star Wars films. That doesn't mean other actors shouldn't play Anakin in the future, IMO.

 

if hayden auditions and gives a crappy performance, they would be pretty dumb to hire him. plenty of reasons why they would choose to recast.

 

Mark was not the greatest actor in the original Star Wars but could you imagine anyone else other than Mark playing Luke and turning around to face Rey in TFA?
That's how I feel about Hayden too. How big could his part be anyway? And that's MY opinion. That's all.
Who really knows for sure what the future holds now.
The GL days are gone and the new Story group are libel to do anything to keep those dollars coming in....

 

doesn't matter if it's a big part, anakin is a difficult character to portray. and especially when it's after being vader for 20 years. hayden isn't a good enough actor to pull that off.

 

IMO Hayden would do fine as I am sure he has matured as an actor in the past 11 years and I think he did a pretty good job portraying an angst Anakin.

can we agree to disagree?

 

In MOST PEOPLE's mind Hayden is Anakin. Laughable to make it like those other actors are any comparison. Hayden is the IMAGE of Anakin virtually everywhere, including TCW.

I think this is pretty much how it will go in SW, as it is in most movie series. They will recast when it is necessary.

 

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