Star Wars Legacy Characters

In this blog I examine which Star Wars characters have been most important to the franchise and will be important in the future. I judge these “Legacy” characters on three criteria, Film Count, Years Between Appearances, and Potential For Future in order to determine which of these iconic characters Disney will be able to utilize the most in future films.

#16 –Grand Moff Tarkin

Film Count: 3

Years Between Appearances: 39

Potential for Future: Low

Disney resurrected Peter Cushing from the dead to reprise Grand Moff Tarkin in “Rogue One”. Tarkin’s appearance in Rogue One was met with mixed reviews, with some fans not noticing that the character was CG, and others finding the effect took them out of the film. A young Tarkin was present in “Revenge of the Sith” but that effect was even worse. I don’t consider it likely that we will see Tarkin in further Star Wars films.

#15- Mon Mothma
Film Count: 3

Years Between Appearances: 33

Potential for Future: Low

Mon Mothma has been portrayed by two actresses, Caroline Blakiston in “Return of the Jedi”, and Genevieve O'Reilly in “Revenge of the Sith” and “Rouge One”. Mothma is a strong character, but has never really been a fan favorite. It’s hard to think of political Mothma is going to be featured in her own standalone story or work her way into anyone else’s. I think her future in the film franchise is limited, yet you can see her in the current season of “Rebels”.

#14- Emperor Palpatine

Film Count: 5

Years Between Appearances: 25

Potential for Future: Low to Medium

Though he hasn’t been seen on screen since “Revenge of the Sith”, Palpatine’s legacy has an affect on the Star Wars galaxy as a whole, after all it was he who turned the Old Republic into the Galactic Empire. Palpatine is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in 4½ Star Wars films, meaning that he appears in the Special Edition of “The Empire Strikes Back”. I am actually a bit surprised that Palpatine (and McDiarmid) was left out of Rogue One. Although McDiarmid is 72, I wouldn’t necessarily rule out an appearance of the character in the future. Maybe in an Obi-Wan Kenobi Anthology story?

#13 Nien Numb

Film Count: 3

Years Between Appearances: 34

Potential for Future: Medium

Nien Nunb helped Lando Calrissian take down the second Death Star and also piloted an X-Wing against Starkiller Base. It is confirmed Nien Numb will be in Episode VIII and there is great potential for him to continue to appear in the franchise. Yet because he is essentially a puppet that doesn’t even speak “Basic”, his role will always be a secondary one. Mike Quinn, who portrayed Nien Numb in “ROTJ” and “TFA” is only 53, so there is not reason we won’t see him back for years to come.

#12 Lando Calrissian

Film Count: 3
Years Between Appearances: 38

Potential for Future: Medium

Unless Disney is keeping a well-kept secret, we probably won’t see Billy Dee Williams reprise Lando in “The Last Jedi”, though- it’s worth noting that Billy has reprised the character in “The Lego Movie”, “Robot Chicken”, and “The Freemaker Adventures” & “Rebels”. We will see Donald Glover portray a young version of the character in the “Han Solo Anthology” film in 2018. Beyond this film one wonders where Disney could take this character. Could we see an entire movie spinoff based on Lando alone? Probably not, but one can dream.

#11 Admiral Ackbar

Film Count: 3

Years Between Appearances: 34

Potential for Future: Medium

Admiral Ackbar will make his third appearance in “The Last Jedi” this December. Though he will once more be puppeteered by Tim Rose, he will no longer be voiced by Erik Bauersfeld because the actor died last year. This begs the question, will they find an alternate voice actor for Ackbar or will his Episode VIII appearance be dialogue free?

#10 Boba Fett

Film Count: 3½

Years Between Appearances: 22

Potential for Future: Medium

Boba Fett first appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978 (in animated form), and he appeared in “The Empire Strikes Back”, “Return of the Jedi”, “A New Hope Special Edition” and “Attack of the Clones”. Seven actors have portrayed Fett in the films, but most famous is Jeremy Bulloch who was under the mask for the original trilogy films. I am almost flabbergasted how little Disney has utilized this character since acquiring Lucasfilm. As far as I can tell he has appeared only in a handful of comics. Although I’d be willing to bet Disney is saving Fett for something big- probably a stand-alone film.

#9 Yoda

Film Count: 5

Years Between Appearances: 25

Potential for Future: Medium

Frank Oz has voiced Yoda for 5 Star Wars films and one wonders if the 72-year-old actor will ever portray the character again. If it does happen, I really hope they bring the puppet back, CGI Yoda just doesn’t do it for me. Yoda is one of the most recognizable and beloved characters in the Star Wars films, and the potential for him to return in films is almost limitless since he has a 900 year old history and a force-ghost form. Technically Oz recorded new lines for Yoda during production of “The Force Awakens”, but they didn’t make the cut. Maybe we’ll have better luck with “The Last Jedi”.

#8 Princess Leia

Film Count: 7

Years Between Appearances: 40

Potential for Future: Low to Medium

Carrie Fisher will be seen as Leia one final time in this summer’s “The Last Jedi” and rumors are Disney is scrambling to try and figure out how to handle Fisher’s untimely death. Certainly there will be rewrites to “The Last Jedi” and “Episode IX” to deal with this issue. Leia’s potential usage in Star Wars films seems small, especially after Disney stated they would not be recreating the character with CGI. Leia’s character was quite young in “A New Hope”, so the chance of recasting her is also quite low. Maybe a Anthology story about a very young Leia growing up on Alderaan? Sadly it seems that the death of Carrie Fisher, may really spell the death of this iconic character.

#7 Obi-Wan Kenobi 

Film Count: 6

Years Between Appearances: 35

Potential for Future: Medium to High

The fact that Ewan McGreggor is quite eager to reprise this Jedi Master, makes me think that we will get one or more “Ben Kenobi” stories in the future. I listed Kenobi’s film count as 6, but maybe it should be 6½ considering the line that Ewan McGreggor recorded for “The Force Awakens”. Most fans agree that McGreggor’s Kenobi was probably the strongest character in the prequels and only enhanced Alec Guinness’ portrayal of the role.

#6 Han Solo 

Film Count: 5

Years Between Appearances: 41

Potential for Future: Medium to High

I think it is going to be hard for some fans to grapple with the fact that Han Solo has been recast. Some fans will dismiss the 2018 Star Wars film outright, because no one can ever be Han Solo other than Harrison Ford. Although I am willing to give Alden Ehrenreich a chance, he has some big shoes to fill, doesn’t he? If this film is successful, I would assume that Disney would consider pursuing more Han Solo films, but even if Ehrenreich’s appearance is a one-off, I don’t think you can count Harrison Ford out of another appearance either. Though his character was killed in “The Force Awakens” there are certainly other ways to bring the Ford back to the screen.

#5 Luke Skywalker 

Film Count: 6

Years Between Appearances: 40

Potential for Future: Medium to High

Luke Skywalker made only brief appearances in “The Force Awakens”, although the character is sure to have a much bigger role in “The Last Jedi”. One can even hope that they continue Luke’s story well into the future of the franchise, although there are potential problems here. One reason Skywalker was the MacGuffin in “The Force Awakens” is that JJ had a hard time fitting him into the film without Luke taking over the plot completely. I mean this is Luke Skywalker- the character isn’t going to fade quietly into the background very well. It’s his iconicity that betrays him- for many of us Luke is the very center of Star Wars. For the story to move forward with new characters, to give these new characters space to grow- they may have to kill off Luke. I hope this doesn’t happen soon, but I also understand the necessity of it.

#4 Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker

Film Count: 7

Years Between Appearances: 39

Potential for Future: High

Vader’s usage in both “Revenge of the Sith” and “Rogue One” had mixed receptions. In Rogue One, the problem was the suit. They tried to emulate, the low budget “New Hope” version of the character instead of the shiny “Empire” and “Jedi” version of the character that most of us have in our heads. There’s also the problem of James Earl Jone’s aging voice and the alterations they made trying to make him sound younger. There’s also that pun… I think the end result is that audiences see a weird cosplay version of Vader instead of the Vader they remember from the 70s and 80s. Still Vader is such an iconic Star Wars character that I am positive that there will always be a place for him in the future of Star Wars. Don’t count out future Vader appearances, even if there isn’t one on the immediate horizon.

#3 C3-PO 

Film Count: 9

Years Between Appearances: 40

Potential for Future: High

C3-PO gets the first line of the Original Trilogy and the final line of The Prequels. In fact, until we see Luke in “A New Hope” it’s pretty much Threepio’s story. Anthony Daniels is the only actor with speaking roles in all eight Star Wars films and will certainly have more to say in his ninth appearance this December. The problem with portraying a character for 40 years is that it means Daniels is aging as well. The 71 year old actor can’t portray the protocol droid forever and- sadly- Threepio is sure to be recast eventually. It’s a little sad that Threepio doesn’t have much to do in the Prequels or Sequels considering his role in the original trilogy was so vast, but Threepio will ultimately outlive his human counterparts and appear in Star Wars films from now until… probably forever.

#2 Chewbacca

Film Count: 6

Years Between Appearances: 41

Potential for Future: Very High

Chewbacca is an unlikely film character by any measure. You never know what he is growling about. Chewbacca was famously killed off in the 1999 book “Vector Prime”, however when Disney abolished the old canon, he got a second chance at life. Chewbacca is the only character who is sure to appear in both 2017’s “The Last Jedi” and 2018’s “Han Solo”. If Disney is smart they won’t be killing off Chewie any time soon. With Peter Mayhew transitioning out of the films and Joonas Suotamo taking over the role, there is no reason why we can’t have more of the mighty Chewbacca.

#1 R2-D2

Film Count: 9

Years Between Appearances: 40

Potential for Future: Very High

R2-D2 is the greatest Legacy character that Disney has at their disposal. Though he is sometimes portrayed by an actor, often he is what he is- a robot. R2 has the advantage of never getting old and his usefulness as a character is pretty limitless. He can be written into a film as much as little as necessary. R2 speaks in warbles, which means that the audience can easily relate to him by letting their imaginations inform their viewing experience. We have been subjected to 40 years of R2-D2 and he will likely be around for 40 more.