Darth Vader Actor Matt Lanter's Other Star Wars Debut (That You Likely Missed)

Despite Hayden Christensen bringing Anakin Skywalker to life, the beloved Jedi-turned-Sith spent years with actor Matt Lanter voicing the character in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." Throughout seven seasons, Lanter was the voice of Anakin to a generation of "Star Wars" fans before saying goodbye to the character in 2020. However, many may not know he recently returned to a galaxy far, far away, this time in a live-action role.

Lanter's live-action "Star Wars" debut came in "The Mandalorian" Season 1, Episode 6, "Part Six: The Prisoner," playing a New Republic Solider aboard the prison ship. When Mando (Pedro Pascal), Mayfield (Bill Burr), Burg (Clancy Brown), and Xi'an (Natalia Tena) reach the ship's cockpit after fighting through the security droids, a New Republic soldier (Lanter) greets them with his finger on the trigger of a pistol. The soldier, who reveals his name to be Davan, threatens to activate a New Republic beacon and, despite Mando's de-escalation attempts, catches one of Xi'an's daggers to the chest, killing him.

Following the premiere of "The Prisoner," Lanter tweeted, "The Baby Yoda's outta the bag!" undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief as he could finally talk about his "Mandalorian" cameo. While we'd always love more of Lanter in "Star Wars," it seems unlikely he returns anytime soon — at least not as the New Republic Soldier Davan.

Although Matt Lanter's cameo in "The Mandalorian" finally gave him his live-action "Star Wars" debut, it's far from the first time the actor returned to a galaxy far, far away. After its cancellation in 2013, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" eventually returned for a seventh and final season in 2020, with Lanter and the cast reprising their roles. Then, Anakin Skywalker appeared in the anthology series "Tales of the Jedi," requiring Lanter to once again step into the role. "People ask me this all the time, 'What was it like to come back?' But I feel like I never really put Anakin down," Lanter said at "Star Wars" Celebration, crediting video games like "Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga" and other projects for keeping him in Jedi shape. "Honestly, Anakin is a part of me."

Undoubtedly, fans of "The Clone Wars" can't get enough of Lanter's many "Star Wars" returns, even if he's playing a new character like in "The Mandalorian." Thankfully, it seems like he's just a phone call away from Lucasfilm. In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lanter teased that Anakin would return to "Star Wars" soon. Although we now know he was talking about the aforementioned "Tales of the Jedi," it doesn't sound like he's ready to hang up his lightsaber for good. "I never quite put Anakin down, whether I'm doing a video game or something new for Lucasfilm Animation," he said. With projects like "Tales of the Jedi" Season 2 in the pipeline, fans can never fully rule out Lanter returning to Anakin. We just hope something is cooking behind the scenes to get him, and maybe some of his "Clone Wars" costars, back in front of the camera for another live-action appearance.