Samuel L. Jackson and Hayden Christensen surprised fans at a special 20th-anniversary screening of “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, April 25, 2025. Christensen took the stage wielding a red lightsaber.
He recounted his memories of making the final prequel, where his character Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader and helps Palpatine take over the Galactic Republic. “I see a lot of lightsabers out here,” Christensen said to the audience. “I see a lot of red lightsabers, which truth be told is my personal favorite lightsaber color.”
He was then interrupted by Samuel L.
Jackson’s voice from offstage. “Hold on, Skywalker,” Jackson said. “This party ain’t even over.” Christensen then introduced Jackson to the excited crowd.
Christensen’s favorite lightsaber color revealed
Jackson expressed his amazement at the film’s enduring popularity. “Twenty years later, I can hardly believe that we’re still as popular — as happenin’ — as we are.
I haven’t seen Hayden in a while, but I’m so, so, so happy to come back, see him, and see all of you at the same time. Thank you all so much. We had a great time making the film.”
He reminisced about his role as Jedi Master Mace Windu and joked about his character’s dramatic end while confronting Palpatine.
“I hope you enjoy the effort that went into this and watching me do my ‘I move almost all backwards’ fight with Palpatine,” Jackson said. “And for the record — Mace lives!”
Jackson has long teased the possibility of his character’s return, even making an audio cameo as Windu’s unseen ghost in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Despite this, Mace Windu remains canonically dead in the franchise—at least for now. To close their surprise appearance, Jackson and Christensen led the fans in a unified chant of “May the Force be with you.”
Christensen has confirmed appearances in upcoming “Star Wars” projects, adding to the excitement of the night.
His continued involvement with the franchise keeps fans eagerly anticipating more from a galaxy far, far away.
