A Reel Opinion: The Top 10 Best STAR WARS Characters

For the past 43 years, the STAR WARS films have provided some of the most iconic, beloved, and hated characters in cinema history. The place-setting of a far, far away galaxy allowed series creator George Lucas, and everyone else who has followed in his footsteps, massive amounts of freedom in creating the population. From masked villains, to gunslinging and sword-swinging heroes, to cute droids, to mysterious bounty hunters and ruthless gangsters, to brave princesses and queens, to aliens ranging from adorable to grotesque. They are characters based on classic archetypes; wizards, pirates, farmers, outlaws, peacekeepers, and bad guys who wear black. Their characteristics reach back through film lore and even further to ancient times.

Each of the 11 films in the Saga has provided timeless characters that fans have latched onto. Even the films that struggled with critics still managed to generate a character or two that has resonated. Fans are passionate about it, and if we ask 10 different fans who the best character is, chances are we’ll get 10 different answers and one fistfight. With the month of May the official/un-official STAR WARS month, Reel Speak will take on the challenge of ranking the Top 10 Best Characters from the films. The criteria is cultural impact, the test of time, and the character’s overall development. 

So let’s punch it…

10. DARTH MAUL

When George Lucas set out to make his Prequel Trilogy (1999-2003), one of his goals was to show the heroic Jedi and the evil Sith in their prime. He accomplished this thanks in no small part to Darth Maul…as played by Ray Park. His spectacular debut in THE PHANTOM MENACE, as the horned, blood-red faced assassin with a dazzling double-bladed lightsaber, gave us some stunning sword and stunt work that still amazes today after countless viewings. The character’s eventual return in TV and eventually in a spin-off film gave him a depth and a reputation as one of the most tragic characters in STAR WARS, but even without that, his presence in PHANTOM is the instigator of the best lightsaber fight ever put to film and a highlight of the Prequels. 

9. KYLO REN / BEN SOLO

The Big Bad in the Sequel Trilogy (2015-2019). He was the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia who burned down his uncle Luke Skywalker’s new Jedi order and turned to the dark side…following in the footsteps of his grandfather Darth Vader. As Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), he was ruthless and fearsome, and as a tormented son he constantly seemed to be in pain. Similar to his father, he was conflicted internally and externally, making for some of the best character work for a STAR WARS baddie. 

8. OBI-WAN KENOBI

Played by the late great Alec Guinness in the Original Trilogy (1977-1983), and then by Ewan MacGregor in the Prequels. The first version we saw of him was a wise mentor, and the younger version a dashing war-time Jedi dealing with one crisis or another. Both versions represent the purest form of the Force, and both the burden of failure. 

7. C-3P0 and R2-D2

This may be a bit of a cheat, but we simply cannot talk about one without the other. The two droids, as played by Anthony Daniels in 10 of the 11 films, and the late Kenny Baker in two trilogies, were the very first characters we were introduced to in A NEW HOPE in 1977. They took on the persona of a Laurel and Hardy or Abbot and Costello with their bickering and mishaps, but their loyalty to the good guys could always be seen through their nuts and bolts. 

6. REY

As played by Daisy Ridley in the Sequel Trilogy, she had the best qualities of two of her predecessors; the humble beginnings of Luke Skywalker, and the fierce bravery of Princess Leia. She was a nobody on a junkyard of a planet, but the will of the Force would eventually lead her across the galaxy to find her destiny. Her trials and adventures of saving friends and battling evil, along with her will to mend a broken Luke Skywalker, gives her a rich character journey worthy of a STAR WARS character. Her unique hairstyle and wardrobe, and skills with a staff and eventually a Jedi’s weapon, instantly made her a hero to a new generation of young women. 

5. PRINCESS LEIA

The late great Carrie Fisher gave Princess Leia, the leader of the Rebellion against the Empire, the spitfire attitude needed to survive not only against the evil of Darth Vader, but a galaxy mostly populated by men. Leia stood out over her six films, not only as a strong leader but a loyal friend…and maintained a balance of strength and beauty. Perhaps her defining moment came in A NEW HOPE, when the vertically-challenged Leia, being towered over by Darth Vader and his handler Moff Tarkin, never wavered and spat fire back at them. Never once intimidated and forever the vessel of hope. 

4. YODA

From his debut in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980), to his leadership on the Jedi Council in the Prequels, the 900-year old, diminutive-yet-powerful master of the Force will always be a central figure in STAR WARS. His power was formidable but was never used unless he had to…driving home his philosophy that the Force should always be used for knowledge and defense and never for attack. His unique design and language style has been parodied and quoted for over 40 years, and he is instantly recognizable as a vital element of STAR WARS. 

3. LUKE SKYWALKER

When Lucas sat down to write STAR WARS, he was heavily inspired by the writings of Joseph Campbell, who had explored in-depth the necessary steps of the journey of the hero. This was a journey that Luke, as played by Mark Hamill for six films, would take on in a loyal path that goes back to ancient storytelling. Luke would come from nowhere, rise to be a galactic hero, and then lose it all before finding his way again. It’s a 40-year character arc that some fans can’t wrap their heads around. In the early days of the franchise he was the face and the name of STAR WARS, and the images we have of him, from swinging across a chasm to piloting an X-wing, are seared into our memories and instantly recalled when the name Skywalker is mentioned. 

2. HAN SOLO

Harrison Ford gave this cocky smuggler the perfect balance of arrogance and charm, and immediately endeared him to male and female fans. With his co-pilot Chewbacca and his famed ship the Millennium Falcon, Solo began his 40-year journey as a disbeliever who only took care of himself. He would turn from that to be a war hero and a father, and similar to his friend Luke, would turn away from that in the face of failure only to come back to the only fight worth fighting for; love and family. Solo lights up the screen every time he’s present; from flooring it while piloting the Falcon through an asteroid field, to yelling at everyone around him, to just saying “I know”.  

1. DARTH VADER

How complex is the overall story of Anakin Skywalker, the fallen Jedi who would become Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith? Over the course of 40 years it has taken six different actors to tell his story, starting with his first appearance in A NEW HOPE (David Prowse), his unmasking (Sebastian Shaw), his early days (Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christiansen), his cameo in ROGUE ONE (Spencer Wilding, Daniel Naprous), and James Earl Jones providing the sinister voice. The character’s beginnings would be similar to his son Luke, coming from a nowhere planet only to have the will of the Force intervene and send him far, far away to meet his fate as the most ruthless villain in the galaxy. His hate for himself and his former mentor Obi-Wan gave him power, and his anger led him to wipe-out not only the Jedi but his own troops who had failed him. More machine than man, his design called back to the samurai of old, and the sound of his mechanical breathing is recognized by everyone today…fans or not. He is the owner of the most-quoted lines in all of the Saga, including the whopper at the end of EMPIRE. The word “iconic” gets tossed around a lot, but this is the one case where it is needed.  STAR WARS was created to tell stories about the triumphs over evil, but somehow a bad guy became the face of the Saga. Only Darth Vader could be so bold.   

REEL SPEAK'S TOP 10 BEST Star Wars Characters

1. Darth Vader
2. Han Solo
3. Luke Skywalker
4. Yoda
5. Princess Leia
6. Rey
7. C-3PO and R2-D2
8. Obi-Wan Kenobi
9. Kylo Ren / Ben Solo
10. Darth Maul