10 Greatest ‘Star Wars’ TV Show Characters, Ranked (original) (raw)
Luthen aka Axis using a listening device in Andor.
Image via Lucasfilm
Published Nov 5, 2025, 5:05 PM EST
Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.
A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.
Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point.
Sign in to your Collider account
It originated with George Lucas' Star Wars all the way back in 1977, but the galaxy far, far away soon expanded into one of the biggest and most iconic multimedia franchises in history. It has become a pillar of modern pop culture like no other, and it obviously includes some of the greatest and most fun characters that science fiction has ever had to offer.
Some of Star Wars' best characters have originated in books, like Grand Admiral Thrawn, or in video games, like Cal Kestis. Of course, most have seen their first appearance in movies, like the Skywalkers and even Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex (icons best known for their television appearances). But one should never overlook television when it comes to Star Wars, as the small screen holds some of the franchise's most complex, entertaining, and compelling characters. This list will rank the best Star Wars characters from the many TV shows based on their complexities as individuals and their contributions and impact on the overall franchise.
10 The Stranger
Saying that The Acolyte was controversial would be the biggest understatement in Star Wars history, but it's also undeniable that the show had plenty of positive things to offer. Even its biggest haters typically agreed on what the series' best aspect probably was: The Stranger, a.k.a. Qimir, the story's primary antagonist. He's a Sith Lord who was active during the High Republic Era, and with The Acolyte canceled, it's a shame that there's little probability that fans will ever get to know much more about him—at least in a television project.
One of the franchise's best lightsaber wielders, The Stranger was not only a genuinely terrifying force to be reckoned with (his fight against multiple Jedi in episode 5 is one of the best lightsaber sequences in all of modern Star Wars), but also a truly compelling character. There was a lot of dramatic juice in his backstory, and his personality was something that fans were interested in seeing more of. Whether Manny Jacinto will ever get to return to the role that made him a Star Wars legend, only time will tell.
9 Hondo Ohnaka
Hondo Ohnaka, voiced by Jim Cummings, and his monkey-lizard Pilf Mukmuk perched on his shoulder look up in disdain.
Image via Lucasfilm
He may not have many emotional layers or have a particularly complex story, but Hondo Ohnaka is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining characters in all of Star Wars. Voiced by the legendary Jim Cummings, this infamous pirate and outlaw originated in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and has made further appearances in shows like Rebels and Forces of Destiny.
Witty, charismatic, and with a complicated moral code that's always a delight to see in action, Hondo is always a welcome addition to any side story of any Star Wars show. The mixture of his self-interested actions and surprisingly friendly demeanor to certain characters never fails to be entertaining, and it's no surprise that the character became so popular. In fact, Disney decided to add him to place him at the center of their Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run attraction at their parks.
8 Sabine Wren
sabine-wren-star-wars
Image via Lucasfilm
Criminally underrated even today, Star Wars: Rebels gave birth to several of the franchise's best animated characters, Sabine Wren definitely being among them. Voiced by Tiya Sircar in Rebels and played in live-action in Ahsoka by Natasha Liu Bordizzo, this Mandalorian warrior and revolutionary leader (whose Force-sensitivity is a point of contention in the fandom) is one of Rebels' most multifaceted characters.
It's precisely the many layers that Sabine has to her personality that make her so interesting and compelling. She's smart, artistically gifted, and a formidable warrior, but she can also be rash and emotionally immature. She has one of the most tragic stories of any character in Star Wars television, and a tragic story always goes a long way for a character in this franchise.
7 Din Djarin
Brendan Wayne as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian
Image via Lucasfilm
It's pretty surprising to believe that, from 1985's Droids (the very first Star Wars TV show ever) all the way to 2019, there had never been a single live-action Star Wars show. The Mandalorian came to change that fact, and as such, there was a lot of pressure on its shoulders. Enter Din Djarin, one of Pedro Pascal's best TV characters.
Din, who both the fandom and several characters in the series also tend to refer to as Mando, is—along with Grogu—the heart and soul of The Mandalorian. Highly episodic and with a tendency to embark on side adventures, the series lives and dies by its protagonist, and he more than lives up to that mission. Din is a badass, has a cool suit of Mandalorian armor, is a force to be reckoned with in a fight, and has a deeply interesting and nuanced story. Throughout its ups and downs, Mando has stayed one of Star Wars television's most fun heroes.
6 Crosshair
Crosshair in a scene from Season 2 of The Bad Batch in front of a wall of aurebesh writing
Image via Lucasfilm
Clone Force 99, a.k.a. the Bad Batch (all voiced by the legendary Dee Bradley Baker), is a squad of genetically-engineered elite clone troopers who first appeared in the final season of The Clone Wars. Then, they got their own show, Star Wars: The Bad Batch. The three-season series was never perfect, but it remained emotionally compelling all throughout its run, and a lot of that came from its best character: Crosshair.
Crosshair, who becomes an Empire-aligned villain pitted against his brothers early on in The Bad Batch, is practically the protagonist of the show—thematically, at least. His arc and transformation as he explores the darkest pits of the Galactic Empire are the whole point of The Bad Batch, and even when it was one of the more middle-of-the-road animated Star Wars series, this show always had one of the franchise's most complex and morally nuanced antagonists.
5 General Grievous
Image via Lucasfilm
Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars is no longer canon, so General Grievous' first canon appearance is technically in Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, but the undeniable fact remains that this cyborg warrior originated in Tartakovsky's cult classic. It's no coincidence that fans tend to agree that Grievous' best and most fearsome portrayal will always be his original appearance.
General Grievous' design, fighting style, and iconic voice (provided by several actors over the years) are all creative lightning in a bottle.
Even outside of Clone Wars, though, Grievous is constantly at the heart of some of Star Wars television's best battles. His design, fighting style, and iconic voice (provided by several actors over the years) are all creative lightning in a bottle. Even as Grievous' character degraded into more of a cowardly brute throughout his history, he always remained (and always will remain) one of Star Wars' most iconic and terrifying antagonists.
4 Cad Bane
Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett
Image via Lucasfilm
The most feared bounty hunter in the entire galaxy during the Clone Wars Era, Cad Bane also happens to be one of Star Wars' most badass characters. From his first appearance at the end of The Clone Wars' first season to his first live-action appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, this Duros mercenary is such a force of nature that he was even able to put up a fight against Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos single-handedly.
But Bane's coldest moment and greatest action sequence is by no means the only thing he has going for him. Sly, dangerous, and treacherous, he's someone whose next move not even the audience is ever able to predict. Voiced by Corey Burton, Cad Bane has some genuinely interesting bits of backstory, but it's watching him in action that makes him such a villainous delight.
3 Hera Syndulla
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla in episode 3 of Ahsoka
Image via Lucasfilm
Yet another character who proves that Rebels is a criminally underrated show, Hera Syndulla is arguably the show's best character. Voiced by Vanessa Marshall in Rebels and played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Ahsoka, this Twi'lek pilot—daughter of a freedom fighter and widowed lover of a Jedi Knight—soon became one of the most central figures in the Rebel Alliance's fight against the Galactic Empire.
There are countless reasons why Hera is such a beloved character. She's both a no-nonsense commander and a deeply compassionate woman, a duality which makes her fascinating. Her deeply compelling yet awfully tragic backstory certainly doesn't hurt in terms of engaging qualities. She's the kind of Star Wars character who would dominate Squid Game, and if that doesn't say everything anyone should need to know about why they should love Hera, nothing possibly could.
2 Dedra Meero
Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) wearing an inmate's uniform and sitting in her Imperial prison cell in Andor Season 2
Image via Lucasfilm
There's no way around it: Tony Gilroy's Andor is the best that Star Wars has been since the '80s. This deeply complex and emotionally riveting critique of fascism and authoritarianism is not only the most thematically consistent that the franchise has been with George Lucas' vision since the original trilogy, but also a genuinely engrossing drama in its own right. It's filled to the brim with fascinating characters, and though its best (the titular Cassian Andor) originated in a film, there is also Dedra Meero.
Played impeccably by a chilling Denise Gough, Dedra is one of the most complex and interesting characters of any science fiction show of the 2020s. She's at the heart of one of the most perfect endings in sci-fi TV history, and about as emotionally and thematically engaging as Star Wars characters get. She's one of the most ruthless and capable agents at the ISB's disposal, and her discipline and not-quite-complete lack of empathy are key to Andor's narrative.
1 Luthen Rael
Stellan Skarsgard in Andor Season 2
Image via Lucasfilm
If there's any Andor character so good that he rivals Cassian himself as the show's best character, that would undoubtedly have to be Stellan Skarsgård's Luthen Rael. An expert spy passing as an extravagant antiques dealer in Coruscant, Luthen was key to the birth of the Rebel movement, and he's one of Star Wars' most morally complex and thematically interesting characters.
What's not to love? Skarsgård's performance is absolutely masterful, capturing even the most complicated aspects of Luthen's personality with perfect pathos and nuance. The character has several unforgettable scenes (including one of the most rousing speeches in Star Wars history), his backstory is riveting, his motivations always remain exquisitely puzzling and mysterious, and his relationship to all of the show's other main characters is as intriguing as it is engaging. Luthen Rael truly is one of the best characters in the whole franchise, and definitely the best in all of Star Wars television.
Andor
Release Date
2022 - 2025-00-00
Network
Disney+
Cast
Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, Denise Gough, Adria Arjona, Genevieve O'Reilly, Faye Marsay, Anton Lesser, Elizabeth Dulau, Varada Sethu, Alastair Mackenzie, Alex Austin, Andy Serkis, Anton Valensi, Brian Bovell, Clemens Schick, Gary Beadle, Josh Herdman, Kathleen Kennedy, Lee Boardman, Lee Ross, Lucy Russell, Malcolm Sinclair, Matt Dunkley, Michael Jenn, Richard Dillane, Rupert Vansittart, Stanley Townsend, Tim Faraday, Tony Gilroy, Chike Chan, Joshua James, Andy Gathergood
Showrunner
Tony Gilroy
Seasons
2