Fans will see Anakin Skywalker return in a new Star Wars project this year. Anakin Skywalker’s last canonical appearance was in The Return of the Jedi, but the character has appeared in cameos elsewhere since.
Where will Star Wars’ Anakin Skywalker be returning in 2026?
Anakin first debuted in 1999’s The Phantom Menace and has since become a fan-favorite character due to his appearances in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars, and more.
EA, Respawn Entertainment, and Bit Reactor announced Star Wars Zero Company, a tactical video game, last year. A new trailer for it at Summer Game Fest last week confirmed that the game will feature Anakin Skywalker in a cameo appearance. As glimpsed from the game’s new trailer, the former Jedi appears at the end of the footage.
Anakin appears in his Jedi robes, holding a blue lightsaber. The short footage suggests that Anakin won’t have turned to the dark side yet in the game’s story. The upcoming game is a single-player turn-based tactics game in the vein of XCOM, with many former XCOM developers working on it.
The game is set during the Clone Wars era, making Anakin’s appearance a natural fit. It features a rogue group of mercenaries, the eponymous “Zero Company”, fighting to uphold justice in the Galaxy. Players will take control of Hawks, a “disgraced Republic Officer” leading the Zero Company. The team includes members of different archetypes in the Star Wars universe, from astromechs to Clone troopers to the Jedi.
Players will also be able to create their own squad members and affect their relationships with the Hawks. The developers have also confirmed that the game will feature iconic locations from the films, including Vandor and Mapuzo.
Anakin’s appearance in the Star Wars Zero Company trailer reveals that the character will, once again, be based on actor Hayden Christensen’s likeness. The actor has reprised the role in small doses across the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka series.
Star Wars Zero Company will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on August 27, 2026.
