On May 4, fans everywhere will celebrate Star Wars Day, the fan-made global holiday celebrating the classic science fiction films that comprise the Star Wars universe. The foundation of the holiday is the pun, “May the Fourth be with You.”
The most knowledgeable fans of the franchise could surely list dozens of characters most Americans would not recognize. 24/7 Wall St. did the opposite. Taking into account such factors as lead roles, number of film appearances, prominence on credit reels, and screen time we identified the 25 most important Star Wars characters.
Luke Skywalker is the hero and main character of three films, and in the number one position on our list. Darth Maul, the main antagonist in Episode I: The Phantom Menace, rounds out the list of 25.
Click here to see the 25 most important Star Wars characters.
A character’s importance is bound to be disputed. The iconic status of characters such as Admiral Ackbar and Greedo would for many justify automatic inclusion on a list of important Star Wars characters. With only a few scenes, however, these characters did not make the cut.
On the other hand, there are a few characters on this list who are perceived as irrelevant or are even downright hated. The Gungan military commander and politician Jar Jar Binks, despite deeply negative reception, played a major role in several of the Star Wars prequel trilogy movies.
To identify the 25 most important Star Wars characters, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed characters in each of the eight main Star Wars films — episodes I through VII and Rogue One. To make the list, a character needed to appear among the first 25 people listed in the credit reel of at least one of the films. Credit reels are generally presented by order of importance. To break ties, we selected the character with more screen time. We also considered characters who were in lead roles.
These are the 25 most important Star Wars characters.
25. Darth Maul
> Actor/actress: Ray Park
> No. of films: 1
> Force balance: dark side
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24. Jabba the Hutt
> Actor/actress: Larry Ward
> No. of films: 2
> Force balance: dark side
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23. Qui-Gon Jinn
> Actor/actress: Liam Neeson
> No. of films: 1
> Force balance: light side
22. Mace Windu
> Actor/actress: Samuel L. Jackson
> No. of films: 3
> Force balance: light side
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21. Jar Jar Binks
> Actor/actress: Ahmed Best
> No. of films: 3
> Force balance: light side
20. Finn
> Actor/actress: John Boyega
> No. of films: 1
> Force balance: light side
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19. Boba Fett
> Actor/actress: Jeremy Bulloch, others
> No. of films: 3
> Force balance: dark side
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18. Count Dooku
> Actor/actress: Christopher Lee
> No. of films: 2
> Force balance: dark side
17. Jyn Erso
> Actor/actress: Felicity Jones
> No. of films: 1
> Force balance: light side
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16. Padmé
> Actor/actress: Natalie Portman
> No. of films: 3
> Force balance: light side
15. Grand Moff Tarkin
> Actor/actress: Peter Cushing
> No. of films: 3
> Force balance: dark side
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14. Kylo Ren
> Actor/actress: Adam Driver
> No. of films: 1
> Force balance: dark side
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13. Lando Calrissian
> Actor/actress: Billy Dee Williams
> No. of films: 2
> Force balance: light side
12. Rey
> Actor/actress: Daisy Ridley
> No. of films: 1
> Force balance: light side
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11. Emperor Palpatine
> Actor/actress: Ian McDiarmid
> No. of films: 5
> Force balance: dark side
10. Yoda
> Actor/actress: Frank Oz
> No. of films: 5
> Force balance: light side
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9. Obi-Wan Kenobi
> Actor/actress: Alec Guinness, Ewan McGregor
> No. of films: 6
> Force balance: light side
8. Anakin Skywalker
> Actor/actress: Hayden Christensen, Jake Lloyd
> No. of films: 4
> Force balance: light side
7. C-3PO
> Actor/actress: Anthony Daniels
> No. of films: 8
> Force balance: light side
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6. Chewbacca
> Actor/actress: Peter Mayhew, Joonas Suotamo
> No. of films: 5
> Force balance: light side
5. Darth Vader
> Actor/actress: James Earl Jones, others
> No. of films: 7
> Force balance: dark side
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4. R2-D2
> Actor/actress: Kenny Baker, others
> No. of films: 8
> Force balance: light side
3. Princess Leia
> Actor/actress: Carrie Fisher
> No. of films: 5
> Force balance: light side
2. Han Solo
> Actor/actress: Harrison Ford
> No. of films: 4
> Force balance: light side
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1. Luke Skywalker
> Actor/actress: Mark Hamill
> No. of films: 4
> Force balance: light side
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