Rian Johnson Reveals Anakin was Almost in The Last Jedi Instead of Yoda

Probably one of the best moments to come out of The Last Jedi was when Yoda appeared to an old Luke Skywalker to give him one more lesson. What's interesting is, there was a brief time where instead of Yoda, we would have gotten Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker.

Credit: Lucasfilm

When talking to fans on Twitter about what changed when the movie was being made, director Rian Johnson has revealed that they briefly considered having Anakin appear to Luke instead of Yoda. He posts:

While a lot of people cry foul that they didn't get to see Hayden Christensen return as Anakin's Force ghost, I think Johnson really had a point when he decided that it would be Yoda who would make the appearance. After all, it was Yoda that had been a mentor to Luke, not Anakin, and it would make sense to watch Yoda impart some more wisdom to his old student—especially when it concerns Luke taking on a student of his own.

Admittedly, some argue that Luke could have been communicating with Anakin in the 30 years between Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi, but they have to take into consideration that these movies are made for general audiences and not for everyone who has read all the expanded material. An appearance from Anakin may have gotten a cheer from the fanboys but would have definitely confused anyone who was just a casual fan. Besides, it's Yoda that we really get to watch have a bond with Luke onscreen.

For now, we haven't gotten any updates on Rian Johnson's Star Wars trilogy, but I still have hope that he'll eventually get to pursue that in the future. The Rise of Skywalker may have been a low point for Star Wars creatively, but maybe the spirit of Johnson's approach can be adapted moving forward.

Hopefully, the Disney+ series can keep the lore nuts and ‘true fans' distracted.

For now, you can watch The Mandalorian Season 2 now on Disney+.

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