It didn't take much force (get it?) to convince Hayden Christensen to join the cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The highly anticipated limited series, starring Hayden and Ewan McGregor, premieres May 25 on Disney+. But while we wait—lightsaber in hand, of course—Christensen opened up about his role and personal journey back to the dark side.
In order to get Hayden involved in the project, the series director Deborah Chow went to the 40-year-old actor in person.
"Deborah came up and we spent the day chatting," Hayden told Entertainment Weekly. "She told me a little bit about the project and her vision for it, and I just thought that it sounded wonderful. I was very excited to come back."
While slipping back into Darth Vader's suit "was very surreal," Hayden says another moment hit him even harder: Seeing Ewan return to his original role.
"The first time that I saw Ewan as Obi-Wan again," Hayden said, "that was a very special moment for me, and one that I'll remember for a very, very long time."
So, what do we have to look forward to as they reprise their iconic roles?
"The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader," according to the series description.
Deborah explained that though it "was conceived as a limited series," it is "one big story with a beginning, middle, and end."
"The approach has always been that it is one full story," she continued in the same interview.
And the remaining Jedi are fleeing.
"The Empire is in the ascendancy," series writer Joby Harold added. "All the horrors that come with the Empire are being made manifest throughout the galaxy, so everything that was in the prequels has crumbled. The Jedi order are being all but wiped out, and those Jedi that have survived are on the run and they're in hiding."
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 25 on Disney+.