It’s been nearly 50 years since fans first saw the words, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” on the big screen, and they’ve been entranced by the Star Wars universe ever since. The franchise has since spawned three theatrical trilogies, along with stand-alone films like Solo and Rogue One, and numerous TV shows as well.
One of the franchise’s biggest draws has always been its characters, from the sandy-haired boy who would go on to become a Jedi legend like Luke Skywalker, to the rebellious Princess Leia, to everyone’s favorite rogue Han Solo. These are the anchors many Star Wars stories center around, but the universe they inhabit is vast and full of colorful characters.
In a sense, the Star Wars franchise is a lot like a championship sports team. Each member of that team — from the multimillionaire stars to the league-minimum contributors — all get a ring. These characters very well may not get their own Star Wars spin-off some day, but their contributions should also not go unnoticed.
Jek Porkins (William Hootkins)
Young Luke Skywalker’s journey in 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope begins on a moisture farm on the twin-sunned world of Tattooine, and it ends in the cockpit of an X-wing fighter ship. He fights in the Rebellion against the Empire and their monstrosity dubbed the Death Star with others, including Red Six a.k.a. Jek Porkins.
While Porkins’ screen time is fairly limited, culminating in his fiery death after his ship was shot down, his story was later told in a variety of different ways. Porkins’ Wookieepedia entry reveals that he was a trader on Bestine IV before the Empire built a military base on his planet, causing him to flee and join the Rebel Alliance.
He was also featured in the comic Age of Rebellion where he vacationed with Biggs Darklighter, and in the 2017 Star Wars anthology From A Certain Point Of View, in Jason Fry’s story Duty Roster, where it was revealed he was called “Piggy” before he was shot down.
Decades later, his legacy lived on, as it was revealed in the 2018 comic Poe Dameron #28 that an aerial maneuver dubbed the Porkins Belly Run was named after the character.
Biggs Darklighter (Garrick Hagon)
Biggs Darklighter had a slightly larger arc in the original Star Wars movie, though he ultimately met the same fate as his Red Squadron fighter Jed Porkins at the Battle of Yavin. Biggs was an old childhood friend of Luke Skywalker’s on Tattooine, as they reunited briefly before the Battle of Yavin, though there was another deleted scene with the characters.
After his vacation with Jed, he returns to Tattooine and the now-famed Tosche Station where he reunites with Luke Skywalker and reveals his plans to join the Rebel Alliance before heading to Yavin IV. They ultimately reunited again in the Rebel hangar in the film, as Biggs vouched for Luke as one of the best pilots in the Outer Rim.
Skywalker, Darklighter and Wedge Antilles were the three pilots in Red Squadron remaining towards the end of the film, with Antilles pulling out due to mechanical issues. With Darth Vader and two more TIE fighters advancing, Darklighter ultimately sacrificed himself so Skywalker could destroy the Death Star, which he did, ensuring Darklighter’s sacrifice was not in vain.
Lama Su (Anthony Phelan)
This mysterious character first surfaced in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones when Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) visits the “missing” planet of Kamino. He’s greeted by Lama Su and quite surprised to learn that he’s been expected, for quite some time, as it turns out. Obi-Wan ultimately learns that another Jedi ordered a clone army.
While the mysterious character never appeared in another movie after Attack of the Clones, he was later featured in episodes of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and, more recently, Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Lama Su was actually the Prime Minister of Kamino who oversaw the production of the clone troopers used in The Clone Wars.
Lama Su was confirmed to still be alive at the end of The Bad Batch Season 2, though it’s unclear if this character will ultimately return to the Star Wars universe at some point. The character has quite an intriguing arc throughout the prequel and the TV shows so he could be explored again at some point.
Unkar Plutt (Simon Pegg)
Simon Pegg joined a rare breed of actors to cross the proverbial sci-fi streams and appear in both the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises with his role as Unkar Plutt in 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Unkar Plutt is a Crolute junk dealer who trades food portions for scavenged parts from crashed ships on the planet of Jakku.
While he was originally thought to be somewhat of a throwaway character meant to showcase how tough it is for scavengers on Jakku, he was ultimately revealed to be much more important, especially to young Rey (Daisy Ridley). While Rey originally thought her parents sold her off for drinking money, that ultimately wasn’t the case.
It was revealed that they brought her to Unkar to protect her from her grandfather — Emperor Palpatine — who, as we all know, had “somehow” returned. His story has continued in a number of other books and Star Wars stories, though it remains to be seen if he’ll be seen on screen again in any future Star Wars movie or TV series.
Wuher (Ted Burnett)
Wuher was the bartender at Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina, known colloquially as simply the Mos Eisley Cantina to most Star Wars fans. He doesn’t have a huge role, appearing in just a few shots when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) make their way inside to try and find passage to Alderaan.
One of his few lines was to tell the droids R2D2 and C-3PO to get out because they don’t “serve their kind” at that particular establishment, with the droids quickly leaving to avoid any trouble. He was only credited as “Bartender” in the film but was given the name Wuher in later Star Wars Legends stories, later confirmed as canon.
Fans got to learn a lot more about him in 2017 with the release of the Star Wars anthology From A Certain Point of View with the Chuck Wendig story We Don’t Serve Their Kind Here. The story revealed why he hates droids – his parents were killed by battle droids during the Clone Wars, leading to his droid distaste.
Bossk (Alan Harris)
While Bossk was ultimately overshadowed by Boba Fett in the original trilogy, this Trandoshan bounty hunter was one of the best in the galaxy. After Boba Fett’s father Jango Fett (the DNA source for the clone armies) was killed by Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) in Attack of the Clones, Bossk took Jango’s son Boba under his wing.
Bossk mentored Boba Fett and taught him the bounty hunting trade, which was shown in The Clone Wars animated series, though, on the big screen, Bossk only has small appearances in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return of the Jedi to his credit.
He was seen on Jabba the Hutt’s ship before it was destroyed in Return of the Jedi, but he is believed to have escaped and could still be alive.
Captain Typho (Jay Laga’aia)
Captain Gregar Typho was the captain of Naboo’s Royal Security Forces, tasked with protecting Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. His position had a family legacy, with his uncle serving in Naboo’s Royal Security Forces before him, with Gregar succeeding his uncle as Amidala’s head of security.
The character also appeared in The Clone Wars animated series and he’s been featured in a number of books as well throughout the years. It remains to be seen if there are any other plans for Captain Typho to return to the big or small screen in the near or distant future at this time.
Lobot (John Hollis)
Lobot was one of the most visually intriguing characters in the original Star Wars trilogy, whose backstory isn’t told on screen. He’s first seen in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, as the right hand of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) in Cloud City. His cybernetic earmuffs (so to speak) told fans that he may be more machine than man.
It was later revealed that Lobot was hired to do battlefield calculations by the Empire, and agreed to have an AJ^6 cyborg construct installed on his head to help with his job, while sacrificing some of his personality. He ultimately left the empire and joined forces with Lando. It was revealed in the 2017 comic Star Wars: Dark Droids that Lando had freed him from his cybernetic impairment.
Boss Rugor Nass (Brian Blessed)
The Star Wars prequel trilogy introuced the species known as the Gungans, with Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) being the best-known of these goofy creatures. Their leader, though, was Rugor Nass, first shown in 1999’s The Phantom Menace. After Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) saves the clumsy Jar Jar, he takes him and Obi-Wan Kenobi to his secret underground city.
It is here where we meet Rugor Nass, as Qui-Gon convinces the Gungan chieftan to spare the exiled Jar Jar Binks and let him serve as a guide. His story was ultimately expanded in a number of novels and comic books, both in canon and in the Legends series as well.
