"Revenge of the Sith" had a big theatrical re-release as the Hayden Christiansen renaissance continues

Instead of going to theaters to see a legacy sequel, people went out to see a legacy re-release, but in a way it is encouraging whenever a "the theatrical experience still matters" moment like this occurs. Even if it is for a mediocre movie like "Revenge of the Sith." One can assume this means in two years we will be getting a 50th anniversary re-release of "Star Wars," but our primary takeaway here is a clarifying of a "Star Wars" news drop from earlier this year.

At the big Star Wars Celebration event earlier this month, Hayden Christensen came out during the "Ahsoka" panel and confirmed he would be playing Anakin Skywalker in season two. This was greeted with rapturous enthusiasm. Christensen has also reprised the role in the first season of "Ahsoka" and the one season of the Obi-Wan Kenobi show starring Ewan McGregor. This enthusiasm would have felt odd back in the 2000s. Christensen's work in the prequels was generally considered poor, and we'd agree with that assessment. Granted, he was much worse in "Attack of the Clones" than "Revenge of the Sith," but the only impact he made on screen was negative, and Christensen's career went nowhere post-"Star Wars." It seemed Hollywood agreed Christensen didn't have the chops.

Now, though, we have seen audiences fork over $25.2 million domestically (and $17 million internationally) to see "Revenge of the Sith" in theaters. Clearly, a lot of people like this movie, or at least have fond, nostalgic feelings for it. Christensen is a part of that. Those are the people were were cheering for Christensen at Star Wars Celebration and are excited to see him in "Ahsoka." It's uncomplicated for them. He's the guy they like in the thing they like.

(h/t The Hollywood Reporter)