“Fans have forgiven Hayden Christensen”. Run that line through your head a few times and see how it begins to sound, eventually it might start to become kind of annoying and even silly since no matter how positive it’s supposed to be, the ‘forgiveness’ that Christensen has been given by Star Wars fans and their apparent acceptance of him as ‘their Anakin’ is the fallout of the hatred and intense dislike that’s been levied at the current trilogy that pulled so far away from what George Lucas, the originator and storyteller that helped to bring this saga to life, accomplished with the prequels. It’s no secret that few ‘real fans’, basically diehards that happen to think that anyone that doesn’t know the facts and history of Star Wars is just a casual fan, took to the version of Anakin Skywalker that Hayden represented. It’s also true that the acting and the dialogue was incredibly choppy and not all that great in some spots, but on the whole the prequels were a gateway into the past to see just what had come before the original trilogy and why the galaxy was the way it was in the original movies. The fact that fans think they have some moral high ground, as Jonathan Wright of We Got This Covered alludes to, is kind of funny since this assumes that they have the first and final say on anything that happens in the Star Wars universe and that their word is law and can’t be undone. Oy, I’m laughing at the moment just thinking about those that would tell others from atop their bantha just how the SW galaxy really works, or should.
Something else that’s true however is that Hayden didn’t really find any meaningful or popular roles after Star Wars as one of his only movies, Jumper, was a good idea that wasn’t pulled off so well since it could have been something that might have served an overall purpose in cinema, but instead it became a one-off that didn’t go anywhere. He was in another movie called Takers that also didn’t go anywhere, and after a while his career just kind of went belly-up. But hey, the Star Wars universe forgives him now, and some even think it’s too bad that he wasn’t brought in as part of the final movie, no doubt as a Force ghost, since that went over so well in the original trilogy. Andy Scott of Looper has more to say on this matter.
It’s not much of a secret that the most diehard fans are also the nuttiest sometimes since they have a very preconceived notion of how things SHOULD go, and tend to throw a massive fit when things don’t go the way they want. Being real and fair I’ve done the same as a fan and have tried to catch myself at it more than once, and it’s becoming easier since being a fan is great, it’s a feeling of belonging, of being a part of a community that thoroughly enjoys something the brings people together over a shared interest. But there is such a thing as taking it too far, and those fans that actively end up hating something about the saga they’ve loved for so long is one example. Oh yes, when The Last Jedi came out I was definitely one of those in the theater wondering ‘what the hell did I just watch?’, and I was one of those claiming that Kennedy and Johnson were actively ruining the franchise, and in part I still believe that some of their decisions are highly questionable. But as far as ruining a saga that’s been running for decades and has the ability to run for longer, nothing that’s happened to date has been capable of ruining Star Wars in its entirety, and Hayden’s efforts didn’t even come close despite the poor acting at times. So when people say they ‘forgive’ Hayden for what happened in the prequels it’s enough to laugh since it sounds more than a little asinine, but it also sounds incredibly egotistical and even ridiculous in a way that brings to mind a know-it-all fan trying to impress the people around them with their vast knowledge of science fiction stories that unfortunately many people might like, but don’t want to hear in lecture form.
The fact that the hatred of the prequels is now being shifted onto the current trilogy is proof of many things, but one that comes to mind, that the fans are bound to be notoriously fickle no matter what generation is making the majority of the comments. People were up in arms when The Empire Strikes Back came out, and years later it’s become one of the best-loved movies of all time. Just think what’s going to happen when people actually take a look at The Last Jedi and claim the same. The laughter might very well be heard around the world by those who remember these days.
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