INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Hayden Christensen Returns To ‘Star Wars’ Universe As ‘Episode VIII’ Movie Title Revealed?

By Jinger Jarrett
Published on: 02:12 PST, Mar 28, 2016

Production on the latest episode of the third Star Wars trilogy started last month. Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted in December, and so far, it has grossed over $2 billion. Currently, Disney has at least three anthology movies in the works, and there are five more movies on the table. For Star Wars fans, this means that there will be a new Star Wars movie every year through at least 2020. Rumors abound as new characters are added to the movie franchise, while some characters may be leaving. Once again, rumors of Hayden Christensen’s involvement have surfaced.

The Morning Ledger reported that although the title of Star Wars Episode VIII has yet to be released or even teased, a promotional item for the film has been reportedly leaked, and a potential title for the new movie has been making the rounds on both Facebook and Reddit. The title that has been suggested for the latest installment is Tale of the Jedi Temple.

As previously reported in the Inquisitr, in the latest installment, General Leia, who leads the Resistance, will get severely injured. Although there is no word yet on whether or not she will die, rumors say that somehow Kylo Ren, a.k.a. Ben Solo, her son with Han Solo, is somehow involved.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Han Solo was killed by Ren while actor Harrison Ford, who portrayed Han Solo, hinted that there is a possibility that Han Solo isn’t dead after all and may also return. In another story published in Inquisitr, there were rumors circulating that actor Hayden Christensen, who portrayed Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, might return in Star Wars Episode VIII.

Although some fans expressed disappointment over the new title, and it is based on a promotional card, the official release date on the title isn’t set until May 4. As for Hayden Christensen’s return to Star Wars, no word has been given officially by Disney on whether or not he will return.

The Daily Campus reported that Hayden Christensen was originally selected for the part of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader by George Lucas. Christensen came from a casting director’s pool of 1,500 candidates. His performance as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader was poorly received, and he received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his part in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Hayden Christensen rode his new found prominence to star in the blockbuster hit Jumper in 2008. Once again, Christensen received bad reviews for his part in the movie, earning comments like the ones made by critic James Berardinelli.

“Christensen has enough highlights on an uneven resume to convince me he can act, but lazy performances such as this don’t make him someone to watch for.”

After the release of Jumper, Hayden Christensen largely disappeared from mainstream movies and bought a farm in Toronto in 2008. Christensen did appear in Vanishing on 7th Street in 2009 and Takers in 2010. He said he largely chose parts based on work that appealed to him instead of focusing on films that would benefit his career.

In 2013, at the Cannes Film Festival, Hayden Christensen announced that he would be returning to the film industry in partnership with his brother, Tove. They launched a production company called Glacier Productions, and they would partner with Russian producers. After the announcement of the production company, Christiansen and Glacier Productions announced an 11-film slate, with films with budgets in the $10 million range. In 2014, they released American Heist. Since then, Hayden Christensen has appeared in Chinese action film Outcast with Nicolas Cage and Christian drama 90 Minutes in Heaven.

[Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images]

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