Han Solo is every boy’s hero, cruising from star system to star system with his hairy BFF, getting into scrapes, shooting the place up, performing occasional acts of random heroism and being rude to women until they fall madly in love with him. Key line: ‘If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.’Ĭaptain of the Millennium Falcon and cockiest space pilot in the galaxy. And, of course, because he’s played by two very fine actors, including perhaps the greatest thespian ever to emerge from this sceptred isle: Sir Alec Guinness. Because he made the undeniably ballsy move of hiding Luke Skywalker in the exact place where his father would look for him first, and didn’t even bother to change the kid’s last name. Because he spent two decades hanging out in a desert without a word of complaint. Because he wears a trimmed beard with boundless elan. Because his shades-of-beige wardrobe is both functional and stylish. Still, like the man said, many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.īecause he’s absolutely ruthless with a lightsaber. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the Dark Side will be complete!’įrom thrusting young Jedi hero to desert-wandering retainer to shimmering blue apparition, Obi-Wan is either the selfless, beating heart of the entire ‘Star Wars’ saga, or a one-man walking support network for the accident-prone Skywalker family. By the climactic battle in Return of the Jedi, Palpatine has become something genuinely creepy: a nightmarish man-crone whose seemingly bottomless capacity for hate makes him the most memorable bad guy in the series – bar one.

Palpatine’s transition from avuncular politician to devious power-grabber to lightning-fingered madman to all-powerful galactic dictator is deliriously enjoyable, and actor Ian McDiarmid works tirelessly to squeeze every ounce of lunatic glee from each successive, excessive incarnation (though the less said about his unasked-for reappearance in The Rise of Skywalker, the better). Later, he’s a wizened little wizard with the wickedest cackle this side of the Yellow Brick Road.īecause he’s one of the few characters who actually gets deeper and more interesting in the prequel trilogy. Initially, Palpatine is a seemingly trustworthy senator who guards a terrible secret: he’s actually a Sith Lord, master of evil.

The evil mastermind behind the Imperial takeover of the galaxy. RECOMMENDED: Read our full guide to Star Wars Huddleston, are the 62 best Star Wars characters in order of greatness, from the veryįirst movie to the most recent Disney+ series. Here, in an entirely subjective list compiled by Time Out’s resident Gonk-geek Tom Passion, hatred and, yes, extreme nerdiness in audiences around the world. (we’re looking at you, Lando), these iconic figures are able to inspire devotion, Whether they’re human, alien or droid noble, treacherous or somewhere in between Really work because of one thing: the characters. Spaceships and exploding battle stations, Lucas’s film and its many sequels only Host of TV series, with new ones arriving all the time.īut while the name ‘Star Wars’ may conjure images of epic starscapes, swift-moving Has grown to encompass nine saga movies, multiple big-screen spin-offs and a whole Almost half a centuryĪfter the release of the first film, the galaxy that writer-director George Lucas created

Like the universe itself, Star Wars is constantly expanding.

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