George Lucas has often emphasized that the core of the Star Wars saga is the relationship between a father and a son. While he may not have had these roles clearly defined from the beginning, as seen in early drafts of the script, he eventually shaped his characters to fit this narrative. The role of the son was ultimately given to Luke Skywalker, who embarked on his “Hero’s Journey” throughout the original trilogy. Luke starts as a young boy, is thrust into adventure with a mentor, defies the odds, and becomes a hero. However, his path was fraught with challenges.
In Episode VI, the Empire’s downfall began, although they were too blinded by their power to see it coming. The Emperor and his minions were so confident that they couldn’t foresee their defeat. The future, as Yoda says, is always in motion.
Most Star Wars films are celebrated for their action-packed, multi-threaded, climactic endings. In “Return of the Jedi,” there was a large space battle above the forest moon of Endor, an epic duel between father and son with lightsabers, and the taunting of an evil menace. The battle above Endor was paired with a ground battle that succeeded due to the brave actions of the Rebel Alliance soldiers and the Ewoks. Had any of these battles gone in favor of the Empire, the galaxy might have been a very different place.
The Battle of Endor was the final fight in a long war of Rebellion against a tyrannical Empire. The Rebellion struck while the iron was hot and dealt a fateful blow to the Emperor and his minions. In the end, good prevailed, but not without a spectacular space battle.
Rescuing Han Solo from Jabba’s clutches was no easy task. It required a well-thought-out plan, consisting of many parts and relying on cunning and chance. It all concluded with a battle in the Tatooine desert over a mostly underground creature buried in the sand. The battle and its aftermath provide a lot of material to cover.
Obi-Wan once told Luke that he’d never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley Spaceport. Well, Luke eventually found one when he arrived at Jabba’s Palace. Who knows all the things we didn’t get to see in that loathsome palace?
The Star Wars universe is vast, spanning dozens of comic book stories, book series, movies, video games, and TV shows. The canon timeline begins with three beings: a Father, a Son, and a Daughter. The Daughter was of the light, the Son was of the dark, and the Father was charged with keeping the balance between the two. These beings had the ability to create life, and thus the Star Wars universe began.
Over thousands of years, beings evolved throughout the galaxy, and some became sensitive to the Force. These beings gathered on the planet Ahch-To and started the Jedi Order, dedicating themselves to peace and justice. However, a Jedi eventually fell away to study the dark side, forming the Sith. A massive battle ensued, and a Sith super-weapon was fired, petrifying everyone involved.
Another Jedi fell away and started the Ordu Aspectu, seeking immortality. Momin, another Force-sensitive being, was trained by a Sith Lord. He killed his master, formed his own army, and charged the Jedi at Mustafar. The Jedi were victorious, but Mustafar was transformed into a lava-covered wasteland. Momin imbibed his spirit into his helmet, making it a powerful dark artifact. The Jedi, unaware of its dark influence, took the helmet back to their temple.
The Jedi won a significant battle against the Sith on Coruscant, driving them almost out of existence. To contain the dark Sith power, the Jedi constructed their temple atop a Sith shrine on Coruscant. Over time, these decisions, along with Palpatine’s corruptions, weakened the Jedi. By the time we meet Mace Windu a thousand years later, he admits that the Jedi can no longer see the future and are almost cut off from the Force.
After the battle on Coruscant, the Sith and Jedi continued to fight the Sith Wars for hundreds of years. The Mandalorians joined the Sith and retook Coruscant for a time before being defeated by the Jedi. The Sith realized their numbers made them an obvious threat, so they implemented the “rule of two” (a master and an apprentice) and decided to live in the shadows. The only Sith left was Darth Bane, who took Darth Zannah as his apprentice.
The Old Republic was dismantled, and the Galactic Republic was formed, a partnership of planets and peoples determined to keep peace in the galaxy. The people of the Galactic Republic lived without war for a thousand years.
Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious were the latest Sith and Sith Master. Sidious learned everything he could from Plagueis and then murdered him in his sleep. In his quest to create the perfect Sith apprentice and eventual army to overthrow the Jedi and rule the galaxy, Sidious created at least two beings by force manipulation. He hid these beings in the galaxy and tried to influence and corrupt their hearts and minds from conception.
Publicly, Sidious went by Sheev Palpatine and sought to throw the Empire into chaos and rise to political power in the Galactic Senate. He chose the son of a witch to be his Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. Meanwhile, Jedi Master Dooku took Qui-Gon Jinn as his Jedi Learner. Dooku loved learning the prophecies of old Jedi mystics and instilled this respect in his young Padawan. At the same time, Jedi Master Sifo Dyas had visions of an upcoming war with the Sith. The Jedi Council, calling him a warmonger, stripped him of his Jedi status. He commissioned a clone army on his own to aid in the battle he foresaw.
Dooku, disheartened by the Jedi’s choices, left the Order and returned to his home planet. Qui-Gon Jinn, now a Jedi Master, took Obi-Wan Kenobi as his Padawan. Jinn, distant from the Jedi because of Sifo Dyas and Dooku, received force visions of the future. Meanwhile, Sidious’ force-babies were growing up. One fought the dark side and went into hiding, while the other, Anakin Skywalker, was left unaware and exposed to Palpatine’s influence.
Anakin grew up a slave on Tatooine, where he and his mother were treated terribly. Palpatine convinced the Trade Federation to set up a trade blockade outside his home planet of Naboo, hoping to influence Naboo’s young queen, Padme Amidala, to force the issue of war in the Galactic Senate. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were dispatched to extricate the queen and bring her to safety. They ended up on Tatooine, where they found Anakin. Sidious sent Darth Maul to kill the Jedi, but they escaped with Anakin.
Qui-Gon Jinn realized Anakin had powerful force abilities and believed he was linked to an old Jedi prophecy about one who would bring balance to the Force. Sidious used the chaos he orchestrated to become Chancellor Palpatine. The Jedi, manipulated by Palpatine, became the personal mercenaries of the Galactic Empire.
The Jedi fought successfully against the Trade Federation’s blockade on Naboo, but Qui-Gon Jinn died in battle. Anakin became Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Padawan despite the Jedi Council’s concerns over his anger and fear. Dooku, watching from afar, decided to join Sidious to destroy the dark side from within. Sidious ordered Dooku to kill Sifo Dyas as a show of loyalty, and Dooku complied.
Chancellor Palpatine took a public interest in Anakin’s training, planting seeds of mistrust between Anakin and the Jedi. Dooku led more star systems into alliance with the Trade Federation, starting the Clone Wars. Anakin, assigned to protect Padme, fell in love with her. He had visions of his mother’s suffering and went to Tatooine, where he found her dying. Anakin unleashed his power, killing the Tusken Raiders who had tortured her.
Obi-Wan discovered the clone army, and the Galactic Republic allowed Palpatine to put it into action. Obi-Wan was captured, and Dooku revealed the truth about Palpatine. Obi-Wan didn’t believe him and escaped. The first battle of the Clone Wars began, and Sidious implemented “Order 66,” turning the clones against their Jedi Masters.
Anakin and Padme married in secret, further alienating Anakin from the Jedi. Anakin was given a Padawan, Ahsoka, who was later accused of murder and left the Order. Anakin, disillusioned with the Jedi, sought power to save Padme, who was pregnant with his child. Palpatine revealed himself as a Sith Lord and promised to teach Anakin how to save Padme. Anakin joined Palpatine, becoming Darth Vader.
Anakin killed Dooku, Mace Windu, the younglings, and the Separatist leaders. Padme followed Anakin to Mustafar, where he tried to explain his actions. Obi-Wan interrupted, and a fight ensued. Obi-Wan defeated Anakin, leaving him mutilated and burned. Palpatine saved Anakin, building him a suit to keep him alive but in constant pain.
Sidious declared himself Emperor, and the remaining Jedi went into hiding. Padme gave birth to twins, Luke and Leia. Leia was sent to live with Bail Organa, and Luke was sent to Tatooine. Luke grew up dreaming of becoming a fighter pilot, while Leia’s force abilities were buried deep.
Construction on the Death Star continued, with scientist Galen Erso secretly sabotaging it. Vader raised a group of rebels called the Inquisitors to hunt down surviving Jedi. Han Solo escaped slavery, joined the Imperial Navy, and later became a smuggler. He eventually joined the Rebel Alliance.
Galen Erso’s daughter, Jyn, formed a group of Resistance fighters to save her father. The Rebel Alliance united against the Galactic Empire, and Jyn’s team transmitted the Death Star plans to Leia before being killed. Vader sensed a disturbance in the Force on Tatooine, becoming suspicious about the fate of Padme and their child.
Source: Various Star Wars Canon Sources
