Jedi, Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are fictional characters, and often protagonists, featured in many works within the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order is depicted as a religious, academic, meritocratic, and military-auxiliary (peacekeeping) organization whose origin dates back thousands of years before the events of the first film released in the franchise. The fictional organization has inspired a real-world new religious movement and parody religion: Jediism.
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. The prequel trilogy chronicles his transformation from the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. His metamorphosis begins when he is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, who later becomes Emperor. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader is severely injured and is transformed into a cyborg. He serves Palpatine for over two decades, hunting down the remaining Jedi and attempting to crush the Rebel Alliance. When Palpatine tries to kill Vader's son, Luke Skywalker, the Sith Lord turns against his master and destroys him. Vader is the husband of Padmé Amidala, the father of Luke and his twin sister Leia Organa, and the grandfather of Ben Solo.
Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyranus, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was introduced in the prequel film trilogy, first appearing in Attack of the Clones (2002) and then returning in Revenge of the Sith (2005). He is portrayed by Christopher Lee in both films, and is voiced by Corey Burton in most of the video games and animated productions in which he appears. The animated productions include the series Clone Wars (2003–2005), The Clone Wars, and Tales of the Jedi (2022). Lee voices Dooku in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars. Dooku also appears in novels and comics.
The Galactic Empire, also known simply as the Empire, is a fictional autocracy featured in the Star Wars franchise. It was first introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars and appears in its two sequels: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). It is the main antagonistic faction of the original trilogy. An oppressive, autocratic regime with a complicated bureaucracy, the Galactic Empire seeks to ensure singular rule and social control over every planet and civilization within the galaxy.
The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the Star Wars franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lightsaber skills. Luke Skywalker, his twin sister Princess Leia Organa, and their father Darth Vader are central characters in the original Star Wars film trilogy. Darth Vader, in his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker, is a lead character in the prequel film trilogy and so is his wife and the twins' mother Padmé Amidala; while his mother Shmi is a minor character in the first and second films respectively. Leia and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, renamed himself Kylo Ren and is the main antagonist in the sequel film trilogy, while they and Luke serve as supporting characters. Shmi, Padmé, and Han are the only members who are not Force-sensitive. The Skywalker bloodline, alongside the Palpatine bloodline, are the two bloodlines that are the strongest with the Force.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. The first installment of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, it was released for the Xbox on July 16, 2003, and for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003. It was ported to Mac OS X, iOS, and Android by Aspyr, and it is playable on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S via backward compatibility. A Nintendo Switch version was released on November 11, 2021.
Darth Bane is a fictional character created by George Lucas in the Star Wars franchise. In the Star Wars universe, Darth Bane is a powerful Sith Lord who lived one thousand years before the events of the films and is known for being the originator of the Sith's "Rule of Two", which states: "One master and one apprentice can be the only Sith in the galaxy at a time". Before, the Sith empire was structured much like its Jedi counterpart; due to their shortfalls, he killed them and created this new rule.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts. It is the sequel to BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and was released for the Xbox on December 6, 2004, for Microsoft Windows on February 8, 2005, for OS X and Linux on July 21, 2015, for Android and iOS on December 18, 2020 and for Nintendo Switch on June 8, 2022. Like its predecessor, it is set in the Star Wars universe 4,000 years before the events of the film Episode I: The Phantom Menace and is based on the d20 System developed by Wizards of the Coast.
The video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004) features a large cast of characters noted for its diversity and is the subject of significant discussion from gaming magazines and websites.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is a novelization of the film of the same name, written by Matthew Stover and published on April 2, 2005, by Del Rey Books.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a 2008 action-adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and part of The Force Unleashed multimedia project. It was initially developed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS, second-generation N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds. The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. LucasArts released downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing both new and previously released downloadable content, was released in November 2009, and later ported to Mac OS X and Windows. An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr, was released for the Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.
The Sith are the main antagonists in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. They are the antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who draw strength from the dark side of the Force and use it to seize power by any means necessary, including terrorism and mass murder; their ultimate goals are to destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy. The various antagonistic factions in the franchise, namely the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the First Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant, and the First Order, all originated with the Sith. Sith, known individually as Sith Lords, are, by nature, ruthless. At any point a single individual assumes absolute authority amongst their kind and is granted the honorific Dark Lord of the Sith. Sith culture is based on perpetual treachery and betrayal. The fate of Sith Lords is, typically, to be murdered and replaced by their own apprentices. Sith teach their apprentices to revere the dark side of the Force, to give full reign to aggressive emotions such as rage and hatred, and to believe that others are expendable in the pursuit of power, thus making the Lords' demise inevitable.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is a media franchise of space opera role-playing video games created and developed by BioWare, which have seen releases on the original Xbox, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, IOS and Android. The franchise takes place in the fictional universe of Star Wars by George Lucas.
Sheev Palpatine is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back as The Emperor. He is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious, which was first used in the novelization of the 1999 film The Phantom Menace.
Darth Maul, later known simply as Maul, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a powerful Sith Lord and Darth Sidious' first apprentice. Though seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the film, Darth Maul returned in the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Star Wars creator George Lucas had intended for the resurrected Maul to serve as the main antagonist of the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were abandoned when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. The character nonetheless reappeared in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels and the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, voiced again by Witwer; Park physically reprised the role in Solo. Since his initial defeat in The Phantom Menace, Maul has become an independent criminal mastermind and endured as Obi-Wan's archenemy.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based in the Star Wars universe. Developed by BioWare Austin and a supplemental team at BioWare Edmonton, the game was announced on October 21, 2008. The video game was released for the Microsoft Windows platform on December 20, 2011 in North America and part of Europe. It was released in Oceania and Asia on March 1, 2012.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan is part of the Star Wars expanded universe. Written by Drew Karpyshyn and released on November 15, 2011, Revan fills in the gaps between the RPG games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, as well as providing a backstory for events in the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Darth Plagueis is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. A Sith Lord with the ability to cheat death and create life, Plagueis is the enigmatic mentor of Palpatine, who eventually betrays Plagueis by murdering him in his sleep, taking his place as Sith Master in accordance with the Sith's Rule of Two. The character was first mentioned on-screen in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, in which Palpatine frames his life and death as a "legend" to pique Anakin Skywalker's curiosity about the dark side of the Force. Plagueis has a more prominent presence in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
