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Star Wars: Why did Anakin ignore Kenobi’s ‘high ground’ warning? Hayden Christensen has an answer

What was Anakin Skywalker thinking during the final moments of his climactic duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi? We finally have an answer

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith — Image credit: Lucasfilm

Features by Joshua Lapin-Bertone, Contributing writer

Published on Fri Jun 21 2024

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“It’s over Anakin, I have the high ground!”

This piece of dialogue from Obi-Wan Kenobi was more than an iconic line, it was a turning point in Anakin Skywalker’s life. During the final moments of the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith lightsaber duel, Kenobi warns his former apprentice not to advance, but Anakin foolishly ignores him. We all know what happens next – Kenobi maims Anakin, and his body rolls into lava. Skywalker barely survives and lives out the remainder of his life in the Darth Vader armor (which acts as a light support suit).

This was one of the biggest turning points of the saga. If Anakin had listened to Kenobi’s warnings, the duel may have had a different outcome. Who knows what that would have meant for the galaxy.

During a spotlight panel at Megacon 2024, Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen was asked about the infamous high ground warning. Would Obi-Wan have still beaten Anakin without the high ground?

“No, it was all about the high ground. That’s the whole premise of that scene,” Christensen said.

So why did Anakin ignore Obi-Wan’s warning? According to Christensen, we can blame Darth Maul.

“In Episode I when Obi-Wan is fighting Maul, and Maul has the high ground. And he (Kenobi) does this amazing move, flips over him, and cuts him in half. I assume that would’ve been something that was like folklore level status at the Jedi Academy. Everyone talked about it obviously. So, when I’m confronted with ‘I have the high ground,’ I’m sure that Anakin in the back of his head was thinking ‘I’m going to show him,’ and it didn’t work out.”

Ouch. At least he got the cool Darth Vader outfit.

About Megacon 2024

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Jan 01 - Jan 01

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Joshua Lapin-Bertone: Joshua is a pop culture writer specializing in comic book media. His work has appeared on the official DC Comics website, the DC Universe subscription service, HBO Max promotional videos, the Batman Universe fansite, and more. In between traveling around the country to cover various comic conventions, Joshua resides in Florida where he binges superhero television and reads obscure comics from yesteryear.