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LIST
The Cool and the Cruel
Amidala, Queen / Padmé Neberrie
(Natalie Portman)Queen Amidala (who may also be her own handmaiden Padme Naberrie) is the young beautiful monarch of the planet of Naboo and the future mother of Luke Skywalker and his twin sister, Leia Organa. She is a strong ruler in the capital city of Theed on the ancient and beautiful planet as it falls in the middle of a great trade war with rival Nimoudia. It's likely that the Queen plays the role of her handmaiden when she wants to get around incognito.
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Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader
(child - Jake Lloyd / adult - David Prowse, voice - James Earl Jones)The 9-year old Anakin Skywalker and his mother live in the slave quarters of Mos Espa on Tatooine. The boy is industrious and a natural when it comes to technology. The drudgery of his surroundings forces him to look elsewhere for happiness: to his dreams of flying a starfighter. This otherwise happy and loving child also unfortunately carries the misery of a slave's life that may give him a basis of pain for his eventual turn to the dark side of the Force. This could also be facilitated by his richness in the Force and his frustration and impatience.
Growing to a height of two meters tall, he becomes the very symbol of evil dressed in his black robes, helmet and suit which sustain his life with technology after his body's mutilation in a battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi. With the Emperor's support, Vader has become the Empire's Official Bogeyman and is one of the most powerful players in the new Imperial order.
Discovering that he has a son who is similarly endowed with the Force, he tried to capture him but instead is rescued back to the good side of the Force by his own offspring, turning on the evil Emperor and finally arriving at peace before dying.
Admiral Ackbar
(Tim Rose)This Mon Calamari commanded the Rebel Fleet to victory over the 2nd Death Star at the Battle of Endor. His enthusiasm and intelligence make him the perfect symbol of the Alliance's diversity. He brought his race's impressive fleet into the Alliance. As far as we know, he's still alive somewhere gracing a plate garnished with parsley and lemon.
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Ben Kenobi, Obi-Wan
(young - Ewan MacGregor / old - Sir Alec Guiness)This impressive Jedi Master began as an apprentice of the great Qui-Gon Jinn. His blue lightsabre, hand-made, has served as a symbol of his strong beliefs and his power. While not yet fully trained, he was given to train the young Anakin Skywalker. This begins a chain of events that lead to his defeat at the hands of his once-student in A New Hope.
He rose to become a General in the Clone Wars, fighting alongside legendary figures such as Bail Organa of Alderaan, but disappears afterwards, biding his time as a crazy hermit on Tatooine until the moment arrives when he must attempt to set things right and commence his training again, this time of Skywalker's son, Luke.
Boba Fett
(Jeremy Bulloch)One of the best bounty hunters around, Boba Fett (whose employers range from Jabba the Hutt to the Empire itself) manages to finally capture Han Solo and return him to Jabba encased in frozen carbonite. His Mandalorian armor is deadly with all sorts of weapons, from lasers to flame throwers, and he manages to always pop up when you least expect him. He goes way back and we'll be seeing him in the early episodes as one of the Jedi's enemies. We see him finally fall into the a desert creature's lair to be digested slowly but who knows if this is really the end for him?
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C-3PO
(Anthony Daniels)
It seems that our loquacious butleresque friend was put together from spare parts by young Anakin Skywalker himself. He (how do we know it's a 'he'? - do you see any extra bits?) is a protocol droid, providing translation in "over 6 million" languages from machine to Ewok. He's also supposed to be expert in etiquette, yet his penchant for sarcasm would seem to minimize his value in this respect. Partnered with R2-D2, his little blooping buddy, they seem to end up in the heat of the action, despite Threepio's complaints.
In the earlier trilogy, we see that he is not yet complete and it's interesting to see that he somehow never gets too far from his maker, even in the second trilogy, and despite the odds, remains "in the family", so to speak.
Chewbacca
(Peter Mayhew)
Han Solo's sidekick has been with the charming rogue smuggler since he helped save the Wookiee people from slavery. Big, huge and hairy, his strength has come in useful more than a few times in the typical dealings of the rascally space captain. He's also acted as the conscience for Han, providing a moral support that is almost more important than his physical power.
Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious?
(Ian McDiarmid, Clive Revill in Empire Strikes Back)
Emperor Palpatine began as a representative to the Senate from the Core worlds. A mild man, he ingratiated himself with the two factions forming within the Senate, received everyones compromise vote and then laughed as he declared himself Emperor.Strong in the dark side of the Force, even to the point of writing a couple treatises on the matter, he quickly hunted down and eliminated his rivals, especially the Jedi Knights.
He gained power quickly and with the help of Darth Vader, his right-hand man and his other Grand Admirals, he ruled the galaxy with total control. It was only upon the arrival of Luke Skywalker on the scene that things took a turn for the worse with Palpatine and after the loss of 2 Death Stars, giant moon-sized destroyers, the Empire's time was limited. Eventually, his physical body gets destroyed by a now-turned-for-the-good Vader and his son, Luke. His spirit, like that of Yoda or Kenobi's, however, still lives on to cause more mischief in the future.
Ewoks (this is Wicket)
(Warwick Davis)
The Ewoks, the most common sentient species on Endor, usually make their communal dwellings high in the trees. They were encountered by the Rebel strike force on the Endor moon preparing to knock out the Empire's shield that protected the 2nd Death Star. They took to heart Princess Leia and her friends and with the help of the Rebels and the most basic of tools and weapons, they destroyed the Imperial Station and forced the shields down, allowing the Millenium Falcon, manned by Lando Calrissian to destroy the Death Star.Their language is quite melodic and C3PO could speak a variation of it. They are a simple yet warm people.
Han Solo
(Harrison Ford)
This crazy Corellian space pirate is your typical rough-on-the-edges, heart of gold type of guy. His Wookiee comrade helped keep him honest and of course, then he met Princess Leia and fell in love. Further domesticated, he has become a major playor in the Rebel Alliance and his ship, the Millenium Falcon has been involved in the most important battles against the Empire.While attempting to gain help from an old partner-in-crime, he ended up getting caught in an Imperial trap, frozen in carbonite, and delivered to his one-time boss, Jabba the Hutt, by the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. Luckily, he was freed (and thawed) by Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia and their friends.
Jabba The Hutt
(CGI programming and Puppet)
The Hutt's are notorious crimelords and Jabba has a particularly nasty reputation as being one of the powerful. Part-time bogeyman, part-time gangster and all-around bon-vivant, this large slug-like being gets involved when one of his pirates, Han Solo, dumps a smuggled shipment to avoid trouble with the Empire and Jabba wants him taken care of. He ends up receiving Han frozen in carbonite but later on is strangled by a chain-wielding, barely-dressed Princess Leia. Imagine what you will.
Qui-Gon Jinn
(Liam Neeson)
This well-known Jedi Master has been teaching and fighting for the good side of the Force for a long time. One of his best and most famous apprentices, Obi-Wan Kenobi has taken the best traits from his master and continued the way of the Jedi. Qui-Gon Jinn seems to be the only one to believe in the good potential of young Anakin Skywalker's power against the judgement of the Jedi Council.
Lando Calrissian
(Billy Dee Williams)
This one-time troublemaker and ex-smuggling buddy of Han Solo ended up somehow in command of the Cloud City on the gas giant Bespin. Turning a primarily industrial installation into a major centre for gaming, pleasure and recreation, he has ensured the loyalty of his citizens. He gets pressured by the Empire to turn over his friends to Darth Vader, however, at the last minute, his good loyalties come to the fore and he helps fight on the side of the Rebel Alliance.
Princess Leia Organa (Skywalker) (Solo)
(Carrie Fisher)
The names will be explained in a second. This feisty woman was raised by Viceroy and First Chairman Bail Organa of Alderaan, although her real parents were dimly lost in her early childhood. But Bail Organa raised her well, with goodness and strength in her heart and deep opposition to the evil Empire. It was a natural progression to one of the top leaders of the Rebel Alliance. She ends up getting mixed-up somehow with Luke Skywalker and his friend, Captain Han Solo. Getting deeply involved with both of them, things only make sense when it is discovered that Luke is her brother, having the same hidden heritage as herself. It turns out that Luke and Leia are twin children of Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala of Naboo. But after Anakin switches to the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader, the children are separated and hidden from their father to ensure their safety. Later on, after the Empire is vanquished and Vader comes back to the good side of the Force, Leia ends up marrying Han Solo and thus are all her names explained.
Luke Skywalker
(Mark Hamill)
One of our favourite people in this galaxy, Luke has crawled out of the misty wastes of the desert suburbs to develop strong powers to save the galaxy from evil. How much better can you get? Although at one point he does french his sister, we can forgive later after he loses his hand in a fight with his recently-discovered father, Darth Vader. He was raised by his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on the remote dust planet of Tatooine. It appears that his uncle Owen is really the brother of either Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi. He makes friends with a wide selection of characters, including a space pirate, a 900-year old muppet who can levitate space craft using his mind and of course, tons of aliens from all over.His discovery of his past comes as tumultuously as for his sister although somehow he 'knew it all along'. His strength in the Force is such that everyone wants him on their side. Alas, poor Luke has no love interest. Maybe he'll end up with some nice Ewok lady in the third trilogy - if it ever comes out.
Mace Windu
(Samuel L Jackson)
One of the strongest and most respected members of the Jedi Council, Mace Windu's authority regarding the Force is greatly revered. He stays in the Jedi Temple most of the time, yet his fighting skills are as deadly and reknowned as those of any other Jedi.
Maul, Darth
(Ray Park)
This master of the dark side of the Force and of his trade-mark double-bladed lightsabre is one of the more fearsome creatures of evil in this galaxy. His tremendous power seems to be the equal of a strong Jedi Knight and he seems to play a big role in power balance in the galaxy. Darth Maul is apprentice to another strong evil and together the two are very dangerous to the Jedi Council.
Grand Moff Tarkin
(Peter Cushing)
Grand Moff Tarkin is Governor of the Imperial Outland Regions, and one of Emperor Palpatine's Grand Admirals. Tarkin is the one who came up with the Imperial policy of Rule By Fear, and it is his determination and brilliance that has been responsible for the creation of the first Death Star.His genius unfortunately knows no moral limits and he has no problem with destroying the planet of Alderaan with one shot from the Death Star's super-destructo-laser canon. He seems to be the only person who talks to Darth Vader without fear and cringing and as such, must be the desired ally of many underlings.
R2-D2
(Kenny Baker)
This spunky little maintenance droid has all the guts and soul of a plain full of charging tigers crammed into his tiny frame. Beeping and booping his way across the galaxy, he was present at most of the major events leading to the elimination of the Empire including the destruction of the first Death Star. He (?) and Luke Skywalker have a special bond, and NO I won't go there.
Shmi Skywalker
(Pernilla August)
The mother of Anakin Skywalker, Shmi lives with her son in the slave quarters of Mos Espa on Tatooine. Part of her son's great pain may be traced to his pain at seeing his mother's suffering.
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Yoda
(Frank Oz)
The difference between these two pictures is only a human generation, roughly the difference between 830 and 900 years or so. This ancient creature has been one the most powerful and most honored beings of the good side of the Force. Making his home eventually on the swamp planet of Dagobah, he waits to train, to guide and to exist in the Force.His power and wisdom have made him the master of many an aspiring Jedi Knight and his apprentices list among them the best of this already inspiring group. Before he dies, he completes the training of the son of Anakin Skywalker, Luke and helps restore the balance of the Force to the galaxy.