TORONTO -- Not even a real war can halt Star Wars.
Hayden Christensen, the fair-haired 20-year-old who claimed the coveted role of Anakin Skywalker in the next two prequels of George Lucas' sci-fi saga, plans to fly to London today to shoot some additional scenes for Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones.'
"George is just fine-tuning the story," assured Christensen, who previously did TV movies and series before muscling out such name talents as Leonardo DiCaprio and Ryan Phillippe for the plum assignment.
"He kind of builds the movie like Lego. He'll assemble it all and just add piece by piece and take it back when he thinks it is necessary."
While Clones won't march into theatres until May 22, those wishing to get a preview of the little-known Canadian's acting chops can check out Life as a House.
During his Star Wars screen tests, Christensen signed the required confidentiality agreements, vowing to stay mum about prequel plot specifics and a Jedi knight keeps his word. Otherwise, you may end up with James Earl Jones dubbing all your dialogue.
But this lad with the looks of a clean-cut Greek statue who already has launched a thousand downloads did reveal a few juicy, albeit minute, tidbits about the next chapter.
- What does he think of the hotly debated title Attack of the Clones? Well, Christensen says there is an attack ("epic," he said) and there are clones (one is rumoured to be Bobo Fett, the cult figure that the actor said is his favourite Star Wars character).
"There was the same sort of reaction when they announced The Phantom Menace. They didn't know what it was about and it didn't make sense. But I thinks it works with the new film."
- Does he interact with Jar Jar Binks? "He's not my sidekick but we relate sporadically throughout the film."
- Is he a pro at light-sabre handling now? "They don't teach you the style of fighting, they teach you the choreography of the fight. So if you ask me to pick up a light sabre and show you some tricks, I can do that. But put someone in front of me and say fight them, well, unless I've been told where to step and where to swing, I can't."
STAR WARS UPDATE
A spy at George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic says this about Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones: "This is the Star Wars you've been waiting for!"
Highlights include a light-saber battle featuring more than 20 Jedi knights against an army of droids and monsters and Natalie Portman showing off "her half-exposed body."