Jedi, Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are the main heroic protagonists of many works of the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi Order is depicted as a monastic, academic, military, and meritocratic 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.
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in Star Wars (1977), and he returned in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Over three decades later, Hamill returned as Luke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, cameoing in The Force Awakens (2015) before playing a major role in The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He later played a digitally de-aged version of the character in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, appearing in the second-season finale, which premiered in 2020, and The Book of Boba Fett, in the sixth episode, released in 2022.
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. Star Wars creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader". Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever. His masked face and helmet, in particular, is one of the most iconic character designs of all time.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a younger version of the character serves as one of the two main protagonists, alongside Anakin Skywalker, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy he is introduced as Ben Kenobi, an alias he uses while in hiding from the Empire. He is a mentor to Luke Skywalker, to whom he introduces the ways of the Jedi. After sacrificing himself in a duel against Darth Vader, Obi-Wan guides Luke through the Force in his fight against the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, set two decades earlier, he is initially a Padawan (apprentice) to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later mentor and friend of Luke's father Anakin, who falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes Vader. The character briefly appears in the sequel trilogy as a disembodied voice, speaking to protagonist Rey. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media, including the streaming television miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which McGregor reprised the role.
A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the Star Wars franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about 3 feet (0.91 m) in length emitted from a metal hilt around 10.5 inches (27 cm) in length. First introduced in the original Star Wars film, it has since appeared in most Star Wars films, with at least one lightsaber duel occurring in each installment of the "Skywalker saga". The lightsaber's distinct appearance was created using rotoscoping for the original films, and with digital effects for the prequel and sequel trilogies.
"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" is a musical theme present in the Star Wars franchise. It was composed by John Williams for the film The Empire Strikes Back. Together with "Yoda's Theme", "The Imperial March" was premiered on April 29, 1980, three weeks before the opening of the film, on the occasion of John Williams' first concert as official conductor-in-residence of the Boston Pops Orchestra. One of the best known symphonic movie themes, it is used as a leitmotif throughout the Star Wars franchise.
"Duel of the Fates" is a musical theme recurring in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Expanded Universe. It was composed by John Williams and recorded for the film soundtrack of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and the London Voices. This symphonic piece is played with both a full orchestra and a choir. The lyrics are based on a fragment of an archaic Welsh poem Cad Goddeu, and are sung in Sanskrit. The piece debuts during the final lightsaber duel in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. With the music video for this theme, the LSO became the only classical group to ever have a video debut on MTV’s Total Request Live. "Duel of the Fates" lasted 11 days on the countdown.
Mustafar is a fictional volcanic and lava planet in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the final prequel film, Revenge of the Sith (2005), it also appeared in the films Rogue One (2016) and Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The lava planet consists largely of volcanic environments, featuring lava rivers and active volcanoes. It is mostly remembered for the role it played in Revenge of the Sith, being the site of a climactic lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former pupil, Darth Vader, which resulted in the latter's disfiguration and need of life support. The planet also featured in various spin-off media, including the VR game Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series (2019), which reveals that Mustafar used to be a forested planet, and explores the origins of its current state.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is an action video game based on the movie of the same name. It was released on May 4, 2005, for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Symbian OS. For the Xbox 360's backwards compatible lineup, Revenge of the Sith is one out of the over 400 backwards compatible games for the 360. As part of the PlayStation 2 classics program, the PlayStation 2 version was re-released in Europe on the PlayStation Network on February 11, 2015, and in North America on April 28, 2015. Meanwhile, the Xbox version was also added to the backwards compatibility list for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 15, 2021.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game developed 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 the macOS and Microsoft Windows. An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr, was released on Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.
Star Wars: Visionaries is a 2005 collection of 11 stories written and drawn by concept artists who worked on the film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. The book is published by Dark Horse Comics and edited by Jeremy Barlow.
The Sith are the main antagonists of many works 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 monastic and kraterocratic cultist organization of supernaturally gifted Force-wielders driven by a machiavellian-imperialist agenda of galactic domination and revenge against the Jedi Order. The various antagonistic factions in the franchise, namely the Separatist Alliance, the First Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant, and the First Order, all originated, either directly or indirectly, from the Sith.
Sheev Palpatine, also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Initially credited as the Emperor in the original trilogy films, he serves as the main antagonist of the nine-film Skywalker saga, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In creating Palpatine, Lucas was inspired by real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.
Darth Maul, also known simply as Maul, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared as the secondary antagonist of 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 computer 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.
Kylo Ren is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared as the primary antagonist of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), in which he is portrayed by Adam Driver. Driver reprised his role in the sequel films Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), with the character also appearing in Star Wars Resistance (2018–2020), The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (2020) and LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales (2021).
The Grand Inquisitor, introduced simply as The Inquisitor and also known as the Master of the Inquisitorius, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Voiced by Jason Isaacs, he is featured as the main antagonist of the first season of the animated series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), after being introduced as a Pau'an Temple Guard in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, who defects from the order during Order 66 and is tasked to hunt down all remaining Jedi by Darth Sidious in its aftermath. Following his suicide, the Grand Inquisitor's redeemed spirit — The Sentinel — aids Kanan Jarrus against the Inquisitorius, knighting him as a Jedi, before being enslaved by the Sith as a Temple Guard once more.
Cal Kestis is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He is the player character and main protagonist of the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, an action-adventure game developed by Respawn Entertainment, and its upcoming sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Within the series, Cal is a former Jedi Padawan who survived the Great Jedi Purge and went into hiding. Years later, he is detected using the Force and is then led on a journey to rebuild the Jedi Order. He is portrayed through performance capture by American actor and model Cameron Monaghan.
Star Wars: SC 38 – Reimagined is a 2019 fan remake of the 38th scene in Star Wars (1977), in which the characters of Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi and Darth Vader engage in a lightsaber duel on the first Death Star. It was directed by Philip Silvera, and stars stuntpeople, Dan Brown and Richard Cetrone, performing in the new footage as Kenobi and Vader respectively. It was uploaded by FXitinPost to YouTube on May 8, 2019.
