As Christensen explained, "Obi-Wan Kenobi" takes place at a unique point in Anakin/Vader's life. Darth Vader does appear at the end of "Revenge of the Sith," and is obviously a major character in the original trilogy, but this is the first time the audience sees a live-action Vader during the in-between years. At the end of "Revenge of the Sith," Anakin Skywalker has just become Darth Vader, and during "A New Hope" he's been Darth Vader for 20 years. In "Obi-Wan Kenobi," however, the character is in the middle of those two extremes.
"This is the first time we've seen Vader sort of chronologically this close to the Anakin Skywalker character," Christensen said, describing the scene when Vader and Obi-Wan have their lightsaber duel on Mapuzo. "So there are some indications of Anakin in there."
Elsewhere in the interview, Christensen talked about the challenge of returning to the character. Unlike during the prequels, when Christensen mostly played Anakin Skywalker as Anakin Skywalker, this time he's playing Anakin post-transformation into Darth Vader. It's a much different point in the character's journey.
As Christensen put it, "I always see Anakin as a throughline and an undercurrent to this character. Vader is trying his best to kill off that side of him, but there always has to be a little bit of Anakin in there."
It can be dicey to bring back an iconic character, and sure, there will always be "Star Wars" fans who object to any major creative decision. Overall, however, Christensen's hard work, and that of his fellow Vader performers, has paid off.
