In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt Lanter revealed that he’s returning to the role of Anakin Skywalker for a new Lucasfilm animation project – though we don’t know what!
“There’s some new Lucasfilm Animation going on,” Lanter said. “I’ve been a part of some things I can’t talk about yet. You’ll see Anakin again. I never quite put Anakin down, whether I’m doing a video game or something new for Lucasfilm Animation.”
Lanter has provided the voice for Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars movie, The Clone Wars series, Rebels, Forces of Destiny, The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, and numerous video games, including Battlefront II. He also had a cameo appearance in an episode of The Mandalorian, playing a New Republic soldier. His role as Anakin has provided immense depth to the character and, for an entire generation of fans, has in many ways become the definitive sound for the heroic Jedi Knight before his fall.
So just as Hayden Christensen is returning to the universe, so too is Matt Lanter. We just don’t know what for.
A clue, however, is that it’s a project for Lucasfilm Animation, so it doesn’t appear to be for a video game. Another clue is that he mentions, “You’ll see Anakin again,” so he’s returning to that specific role, not just to Star Wars in general. We currently know of just one Lucasfilm Animation project, and that’s The Bad Batch. It’s possible that Anakin could make a cameo appearance, whether at the beginning of the show (if I’m correct in guessing that it takes place shortly before Order 66), or more likely in a flashback or hologram of sorts – much like in Rebels.
But I find it just as plausible that Lanter is referring to a project that hasn’t been announced yet. It’s almost certain that Lucasfilm Animation is working on more than just this one project, so it’s possible that there’s another one in the works that Lanter has been a part of. What could that be? Well, I’ll once again return to my pipe-dream wish that I doubt will happen (I’ve written about it multiple times, as you can see here and here): I want to see an animated show following Luke Skywalker in-between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy. And if that were to happen, of course he’d likely talk with his father’s Force ghost – something that we know he did during that period.
Ok, so I only mention that because I really want to see it, not because I’m guessing what this project is. In all likelihood, it’s nothing major, but it’s certainly really awesome to think that we’ll be getting more of Anakin Skywalker, voiced by Matt Lanter, to come!
Star Wars Thoughts 