Over the weekend, fans in Salt Lake City flocked to the FanX convention. Among the attractions was a planned panel featuring ‘Star Wars” Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) and Ian McDiarmid (Emporer Palpatine). But about an hour and a half before the panel was to have taken place, Disney reportedly called and demanded it be canceled.
Below you can see a video that captures the confusion exhibited by the fans who had hoped to attend, as well as the speculation as to the reason why Disney pulled the plug:
The general consensus is that Disney canceled the panel because they were worried about spoilers for ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ being revealed. The trailer for that movie ended with McDiarmid’s infamous cackle, so it may be a given that he will return in some capacity in the new film. But Christensen’s return would be more of a shock.
RELATED: Palpatine Returns In The Latest ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ Poster!
While it may have been possible that Disney nixed the panel simply because of McDiarmid’s presence, it seems that they went out of their way to include Christensen. After all, they could have simply asked McDiarmid to pull out and allowed Christensen to go on. That would have been an easier adjustment, as fans would have at least gotten a panel of some sort. But the fact that Christensen was also asked to pull out means that maybe he knows stuff about ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, most likely because he’s in it.
But I’m not sure fans had any clue that Christensen would be in the movie. Ironically, by canceling this panel to prevent spoilers from leaking, Disney looks to have leaked this major cameo… if it turns out to be true.
J.J. Abrams directed ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, which is not only the last film in the current trilogy, but caps the entire “Skywalker Saga” that began with ‘A New Hope’ in 1977. We’ll find out if Hayden Christensen is in it when it opens on December 20.
Source: ComicBook.com
