Daisy Ridley’s Rey and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren are front and center, alongside co-stars Mark Hamill, John Boyega and the late Carrie Fisher, in the new trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi.’ Lucasfilm
Star Wars turned 40 this year, and four decades have spawned nine movies and endless characters, be they Jedi or Sith, Rebels or Imperials, twisted bounty hunters or adorable porgs.
In honor of the milestone anniversary (and the arrival of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in theaters Thursday night), we’re ranking the 40 best movie characters in Star Wars history, from the original heroes of 1977 to the new Episode VIII. Some, though, just will never make the cut — sorry, Jar Jar.
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Also: The definitive ranking of all 9 ‘Star Wars’ movies, including ‘The Last Jedi’
Earlier: A refresher on your ‘Force Awakens’ favorites going into ‘The Last Jedi’
Here’s our rundown, from the good to the very, very bad:
40. Bail Organa: Listen, politicians may not have the best reputation in the Milky Way, but in the galaxy far, far away, the senator from Alderaan not only took in Baby Leia and kept her hidden from the Empire but was also integral in the formation of the Rebel Alliance. He’s got our vote.
39. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo: Sporting purple hair, Laura Dern’s resistance leader is hard to read: She goes way back with Leia, but doesn’t appreciate Poe Dameron’s trigger-happy attitude.
38. Jek Porkins: He died as a hero during the Battle of Yavin. More importantly, he was a role model for dudes with dad bods who wanted to squeeze into the cockpit of an X-wing.
37. Captain Phasma: The First Order’s supreme female Stormtrooper proves she’s more than just a cool suit of armor in Last Jedi.
36. Supreme Leader Snoke: He leads the nefarious First Order of the new trilogy and … well, that’s pretty much all we know. Snoke makes the list because he gives Star Wars fans fits online theorizing about his origins and is finally wading into the battle via a neato Star Destroyer.
35. Director Orson Krennic: Anybody in middle management can relate to this Imperial officer who’s saddled with getting a big project up and running (in his case, the first Death Star), forced to deal with uncaring bosses and winds up having some rebellious types screw the whole thing up.
34. Count Dooku: Christopher Lee with an awesome cape and a lightsaber. How do you not love that combination?
33. Wedge Antilles: The Tom Cruise of the Rebel Alliance. The X-wing flyboy was a top gun taking on AT-ATs in the Battle of Hoth and being an integral member of Red Squadron during the attacks on both Death Stars.
32. Mon Mothma: The Rebels’ primary mover and shaker behind the scenes, she first opposed the evil Palpatine in the Galactic Republic and then was integral in the growing resistance against the Empire.
31. Darth Maul: The Sith apprentice never got much to do in The Phantom Menace before getting sliced in half, falling down a shaft and being left for dead. Still, from his horns and tattoos to the double-bladed lightsaber, Maul’s bad-guy chic is hard to beat.
30. Wicket W. Warrick: Arguably the cutest Ewok, Wicket became the unofficial furry mascot of the Rebel Alliance and also has a cooler name than his buds Paploo, Logray and Chief Chirpa.
29. Qui-Gon Jinn: Liam Neeson’s wise Jedi master was the first one to figure out that Anakin Skywalker was something special. It’s probably for the best he didn’t see the very dark turn the kid would take.
28. General Hux: The embattled First Order military man could be the most stressed-out guy in the galaxy, first watching as Starkiller Base was blown sky high and then having to chase various rapscallions in the Resistance.
27. Maz Kanata: She likes Wookiees, running a crazy space bar, looking into people’s eyes to see their souls and collecting antique lightsabers. The old folks had Yoda as their feisty oldster and the kids now have Maz.
26. Mace Windu: Samuel L. Jackson with an awesome tunic and a lightsaber. How do you not also love that combination?
25. K-2SO: The most human of all the various Star Wars droids also is the snarkiest robot in the Rebel Alliance. And we adore him for it.
24. Padmé Amidala: The queen of Naboo as well as Luke and Leia’s mom, Padmé honestly wasn’t the greatest at picking guys, and her friendship…
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