After a three year break from the sci-fi genre, Hayden Christensen returns to take the lead role in Fox's upcoming Jumper, about a young man named David who flees the rigors of his broken family life after discovering the genetic ability to teleport himself from one location to another. Leading up to the film's release on February 14, we jumped our way to L.A. for a recent press conference to hear what Hayden had to say about jumping through time, the possibility of a Jumper trilogy, how he now feels about his time within the Star Wars saga, and what it's like to spend time on his farm in Canada.

Hayden Christensen on where he'd like to jump in real life:

"Right now I’d go back to my farm just north of Toronto because I haven’t been there for a little bit. But you can’t really pick one place as a Jumper because you go everywhere. I’d want to see every square inch of the planet. I’d probably need about a week to be a teleporter. It would be cool."

Christensen on the power of "jumping" compared to his powers in Star Wars:

"I think it’s the ultimate super power. I was thinking about what would top it. I think it’s Doug Liman’s secret fantasy to be able to teleport, but a lot goes with teleporting as well. It allows for other abilities."

On the possibility of Jumper becoming a trilogy:

"It’s not for certain, but Doug has definitely set it up in a way that would allow for that - the story and the characters. The characters are conceived in a way that allows for a lot of growth and a lot of different turns. So if we do make more movies, they won’t just be the same stagnant person we knew in the last one. It’s an evolution."

Christensen on having another potential franchise to work with:

"I wasn’t planning on it. When I finished the Star Wars movies, I was looking forward to just getting back to basics, and I did that for a little bit. I did some smaller movies and then when I heard about this movie, my agent called me up and said, 'There’s this movie out there called Jumper about a guy who can teleport. It’s science fiction.' I can’t say it really sparked my interest right away. It was like, ‘I just finished with Star Wars.’ But then Doug Liman was directing it, so that changed everything."

On whether he feels underappreciated as an actor after the success of Star Wars:

"I don’t really... the Star Wars movies are their own beast and I’m blessed to be a part of it, but that’s one character that I got to play and obviously the one I’m most associated with. But I definitely enjoyed playing it and I don’t know if it’s necessarily been a hindrance because I’ve gotten work that I wanted to do."

On retaining his own individuality as an actor without always being viewed as Darth Vader:

"Well, I wasn’t going to play Superman [laughs] because I played Darth Vader, but aside from that it’s not too much of a stigma. It’s opened doors. Having worked with George Lucas opens a lot of doors. I’m sure if I hadn’t done those films I wouldn’t be here talking about this movie. And this is something that I’m genuinely really, really excited about. I’m really proud of this film. So everything I’ve done so far up until now has led me here."

Jumping and Farming with Hayden Christensen Page 2