Hayden Christensen Confirms Anakin Skywalker Will Return In Ahsoka Season 2

In the first season of Dave Filoni's Ahsoka, there was no shortage of "yippee!" worthy moments for dyed-in-the-wool Star Wars fans — from the return of Rosario Dawson as the twin-saber wielding Togrutan, to getting to see Rebels' Ghost crew and Grand Admiral Thrawn in live-action, to the discovery of a whole other galaxy even farther, farther away. But for many, the peak of Ahsoka Season 1 was Hayden Christensen's reappearance as The Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker. And for those people, this is where the fun begins, because Anakin Skywalker will be back back back in Ahsoka Season 2.

Speaking on stage at Star Wars Celebration today, Christensen himself confirmed that Ahsoka's old master will return for Season 2. And while, as you'd expect, nothing more was said about the nature of Anakin's role in the upcoming series, which starts shooting its next eight-episode run next week, Christensen has clearly loved being a part of Filoni's show. “It’s a very compelling period in Anakin’s life that we never really got to see in live-action,” said the Canadian actor about the appeal of getting to play Clone Wars era Anakin in the show. “I was really excited to do in live-action what George [Lucas] and I used to talk about while shooting Episode III.”

Though that's about as much as Christensen was able to say about the season ahead, confirmation of Anakin's return was by no means all that we learned from today's panel. Over the course of the hour-long presentation, Empire got a first look at Rory McCann's Baylan Skoll as the Game Of Thrones actor prepares to take over the part from his late friend Ray Stevenson; there were some tabletop miniatures shown of Admiral Ackbar's Home One ("Ackbar and Thrawn go head-to-head in Season 2," Filoni confirmed) and a creepy looking cave on a hilltop; we got a first look at the incredibly cute Loth kittens — or 'Lothballs' as Rosario Dawson calls them; and Filoni confirmed that the Mortis Gods — whose statues appeared at the end of Season 1 — is "a big mystery that we're going to get into" when Ahsoka returns.

There was also something quite unique that fans at the Celebration Stage panel got to see as a teaser for Season 2 before it starts shooting: a sort-of mock trailer in the vein of Empire Strikes Back's 1980 concept art teaser. In the footage, we got confirmation that the Ghost crew — Eman Esfandi's Ezra Bridger, Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Hera Syndulla, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo's Sabine Wren — will all be back in Season 2, this time with added Chopper and Steve Blum's Zeb Orrelios. Lars Mikkelsen will also return as Grand Admiral Thrawn, and has seemingly set a course for Dathomir with his gathering forces. Elsewhere, Baylan Skoll and Ahsoka Tano are heading for a face-off as our heroes find themselves fighting battles in two galaxies, while blink-and-you'll-miss-it images of a Dathomirian witch, concept art of giant machines, and mythic figures promised that Filoni is set to lean even further into the mystical side of Star Wars in the season to come.

For now, that's about as much as Filoni, Jon Favreau, and the cast and crew of Ahsoka Season 2 were willing to divulge at today's panel, but hearing the creatives' unbridled enthusiasm for the show and effusive praise for their collaborators — especially the late, great Ray Stevenson, and McCann as the man tasked with recapturing the mercurial intensity of Baylan Skoll — is enough to have us very excited for what's to come. Now, we're off to go and put in a good word with Dave and see if he can hook us up with a Loth kitten. They are so cute!