Since he signed on to play Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader for the second and third films in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, there's no doubt that Hayden Christensen has done his share of cinematic traveling.

But there's a distinct difference between Christensen's trip to "a galaxy far, far away" and his destinations in the new box office hit "Jumper."

"Other than the stuff in Cairo, everything else we more or less were able to do for real," Christensen said in a recent @ The Movies interview, referring to an awe-inspiring computer-generated shot atop a sphinx in Egypt.

That's because, he added, the last thing director Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith") wanted was to make the film "in front of a blue screen where he was interchanging backgrounds."

"He really wanted us to go to the locations and let the environment have an effect on us. So, everything that you see is there," said Christensen, who has scenes spanning across the world from Tokyo to the Roman Coliseum to New York City. "Of course, we obviously weren't falling from the Empire State building, but we filmed a little bit on top of it."

Christensen stars as David Rice, a young man with a genetic anomaly that allows him to bend time and space and teleport to anywhere in the world in a split second. Discovering his capabilities as a teen, David primarily uses his superpower for personal purposes, all the way from teleporting to exotic destinations throughout the world, to moving from one side of his couch to another.

But as fast as David can move, he's still being tracked down by Roland ("Star Wars" star Samuel L. Jackson), a modern-day leader of the Paladins, a mysterious organization that has for centuries battled "Jumpers" like David in order to protect the world from being destroyed by his kind.

"Jumper" is interesting in that it relates to comic book superhero themes and characters -- most notably the teleporting Nightcrawler in "X-Men" -- yet is not a comic book film, per se. Given the fact that he was a fan of the comic book genre growing up, combined with the world of possibilities "Jumper" presented, the 26-year-old actor, well, jumped, at the chance of doing the film.

"To be a part of this movie was exciting, not only because I get to do something in the genre, but yet create something original," Christensen said. "It felt like a very fresh and contemporary take on what it would actually be like to have a super power."

To do so, Christensen said, Liman weaved the mythology of teleportation into "a reactionary world to make the film feels as truthful as possible."

"It asks, 'What would happen if you got a superpower? Are you really going to go and make a costume and try to go and save the world?' Probably not -- you're probably more likely to find out how to use it for your own benefit at first. I really responded to that," Christensen said. "It's a world that could involve further exploration. There's a lot you can do with the concept of teleportation and the war that is being set up between the Paladins and the Jumpers. I find that conflict really interesting in that it's not black and white. You don't have such an obvious good and bad."

In addition to reveling in the ambiguity of the characters, Christensen is excited by the way Liman executed the story in "Jumper" because it works on so many levels: Not only does it have thrilling visual effects sequences for those into action and adventure films, but also layered within is subtle commentary on the overall dangers of religious fanaticism and attitudes towards people like the Paladins, who deem Jumpers as "abominations."

"Doug is a very smart filmmaker. He's built this film in a way that it will allow people who like to intellectualize about those concepts to go ahead and do that within the context of this story," Christensen observed. "I don't think the film really labors or dwells on the point. It's very subtle, but I think it's something that Doug is consciously inserting into the story. It's great subtext. It's a lot of fun to go to work and have Doug raise those points of discussion."

While Christensen and Jackson's involvement in "Jumper" symbolized a return of the Jedi to the big screen, in a sense, the actor said he wouldn't mind taking another trip for real through the George Lucas' "Star Wars" universe.

The obvious opportunity at this point would be the recently announced "Clone Wars" computer animated feature film -- a springboard for a television series slated for this fall. But having only learned about the upcoming film and television project about the same time it was made public, Christensen said that he doesn't know yet whether he or any other of his "Star Wars" cast mates will be involved.

"Obviously, if they'd ask me, I'd do it in a heartbeat," Christensen said. "Sam Jackson mentioned the project to me and said that he was going to give George a call and see if he could get involved."

Whether he's a part of the "Clone Wars" project at some point or not, Christensen said that he's happy to forever remain a part of the "Star Wars" family. And while some actors bristle at the notion of being associated with a particular character throughout their career, Christensen is more than happy that The Force remains strong with him.

"Obviously, 'Star Wars' was a huge opportunity for me and opened a lot of doors, but just on a basic cool level, I got to play Darth Vader," Christensen enthused. "It's not often where you get to work on a film and run around everyday with a lightsaber ... I really have no qualms about that character following me for the rest of my life."