Star Wars: Hayden Christensen Admits He Finally Apologized to the Youngling He Terrified in the Prequel Trilogy

One of the most distressing sequences in the Star Wars prequels was the scene in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith in which Anakin Skywalker is tasked with slaughtering all the Jedi, including the Younglings who turned to him for salvation as they witnessed their elders being eradicated. Actor Hayden Christensen recently looked back on that moment and noted how he tried to frighten one young actor, Ross Beadman, to evoke a genuine reaction from him, which makes for a tragic and iconic sequence in the movie. Luckily, Christensen would ultimately reunite with Beadman and jokingly admitted that he made amends for intimidating the young boy.

While speaking with Empire Magazine about the intensity of the sequence, Christensen expressed, "Kids seem to forget about that scene when they meet me! There's not any fear or intimidation. They're just excited to meet Anakin. There was a lot of talk about us doing that scene, and I love that George [Lucas] did it. It was a bold move. And it's shocking." 

He continued, "When we were filming that, we were having a hard time getting the reaction that we wanted from the kid. And so I shouted, or growled at him, because we needed a genuine moment of him being startled. It got the response that we needed, and it makes that scene work really well ... I saw him years later. I said, 'Sorry about how that went.'"

Christensen starred as Anakin in both Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and while initial reactions to the prequel films were divisive between older and younger audiences, the more time passed, the more the reception to the prequel trilogy shifted towards the positive. Additionally, the more time that passed, the more Christensen began to appear at public events in support of the franchise, including appearances at Star Wars Celebration.

Fans grew even more excited with the announcement of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, which brought back Christensen's costar Ewan McGregor to reprise his role as the Jedi Master, with Lucasfilm then revealing that Christensen would also be returning to the franchise. That six-episode series allowed the actor to not only embody Darth Vader, but also reprise his role as a younger Anakin.

Last year's Star Wars: Ahsoka continued the excitement among Christensen fans, as the actor got to explore the dynamic he had with his padawan as seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

While Star Wars: Ahsoka is confirmed to be getting a Season 2, it has yet to be revealed if Christensen will appear in the new episodes.

What do you think of the actor's remarks? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!