10 Major Flaws in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy That Are More Noticeable Now

Opress eventually joined his brother as an acolyte of the Dark Side by force in accordance with the Rule of Two. Honestly, giving Moff Gideon nuance would be wrong — the dude wants to steal The Child’s blood! No shades of gray there, he’s literally harvesting the cutest character ever, like if someone used Baby Groot for firewood. Esposito knows his role and plays it to perfection, harkening the Star Wars series back to its roots as a “Good vs. Evil” fantasy epic in space. Not every great villain has to be a “Big Bad” or even an “Boss Level” baddie.

Originally Played by Moses Ingram

Such retroactive adjustments to the pioneering original trilogy not only turned portions of the fanbase against the sequels, but they even cheapened the status and reputation of the franchise at large. The years since the release of The Rise of Skywalker have only seen the disastrous plot decisions become even more insulting. The return of the heroes of the original trilogy led to mixed results in the sequels. While the treatment of Han (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) was largely applauded, the handling of Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) arc in The Last Jedi was not quite so well received.

Best Star Wars Villains Ranked

Anyway, the information we have about the future of the dark side is certainly interesting. In preparation I welcome Kylo Ren and company to meet their competition with this list of the best 30 villains in Star Wars lore. The original trilogy depicts the heroic development of Luke Skywalker as a Jedi and his fight against Palpatine’s Galactic Empire alongside his sister, Leia. The prequels tell the tragic backstory of their father, Anakin, who is corrupted by Palpatine and becomes Darth Vader.

General Grievous Was A Cybernetic Murder Machine

Visually imposing, a real threat to the heroes, and with an awesome double-sided lightsaber, he was everything fans had hoped he’d be— even if his death at the hands of Obi-Wan was a little disappointing. Peter Cushing is terrific in the role, relishing the evilness of the character while never making him feel too simple or cartoonish. Tall and imposing, terrifyingly smart and manipulative, Tarkin was essential to the Empire’s survival until his death.

He first made himself known by crashing one of his ships into a cargo freighter called the Legacy Run that was traveling at light speed. Pieces of the ship burst out of lightspeed but still traveled at a high rate – making them nearly unstoppable as they hurtled toward various worlds. From that point forward, the Nihil was a constant problem for the Republic, launching attacks on important events and locations, and Ro pulled the strings behind all of them. This guy can stop a giant ship in mid-air with one hand without really working that hard. He may have been defeated by Obi-Wan in battle a couple of times, but that has much more to do with his own hubris than anything else.

Princess Leia ultimately exploited his hubris in Return of the Jedi by bringing an end to him and his organization once and for all. An accomplished military officer during the Clone Wars, Tarkin caught Palpatine’s eye due to their similar philosophies. Tarkin swiftly ascended to a position of significance after the establishment of the Empire, and became governor of the entire Outer Rim, even taking over the entire Death Star project. He was the one responsible for the destruction of Alderaan, but himself died when the Death Star was destroyed. Star Wars has created some truly brilliant villains, but there are also some that have not been nearly as good.

Many of Marchion Ro’s tactics seem to have inspired the Sith, showing how important he really is. A powerful Nightsister warrior, Asajj Ventress was recruited as an agent of the Separatists – and it’s pretty clear Count Dooku considered her as a potential apprentice. As dangerous as she may be, though, Ventress never really received the dedicated dark side training that would make her a real threat, and she was defeated time and again.

He wound up running the Death Star, in spite of Krennic’s interference, but this led to his death when the Death Star was destroyed. Like Thrawn, Tarkin would have changed the entire Galactic Civil War had he been there to lead the Empire. Grand Admiral Thrawn may not possess the Force, but he is easily one of the most dangerous Star Wars villains of all.

• The Jedi and civilians that Kun did not kill brutally often fell victim to the insanity his web of lies created.
• Physically speaking, Jabba the Hutt may be one of Star Wars’ least powerful villains.
• Three R-rated movies dominate the chart of the generally family-friendly streaming platform Disney+, including one of the biggest hits of 2024.
• He’s a genius tactician whose calm and level-headedness make him even scarier, as one can always assume that he’s constantly ten steps ahead of his rivals.

Like many characters and concepts in the Prequels, Grievous is perhaps most notable for his visual design and powerful presence. A spindly four-armed droid, he looks like a mix between a robot, a spider, and a dinosaur. This non-human form wields four lightsabers at the same time, all of which he stole from Jedi he killed. He wielded his lightsabers more creatively than any other characters in the series, and his petty brutality never lost its novelty. Although Grievous unfortunately got killed shortly after his debut, the villain had more opportunities to prove himself in various animated series such as the Clone Wars 2003 series.

As powerful as Darth Vader may be, nobody can match Emperor Palpatine – the ultimate mastermind, ruthless and malevolent, who ultimately became an avatar of the dark side itself. Palpatine was the man whose manipulations led to the downfall of the Jedi Order. He betrayed every ally without a qualm, seeing others as tools and then discarding them without a second thought. He even managed to conquer death itself, proving himself the ultimate Star Wars villain. Smart, cruel, and with an unparalleled love for the powers that are granted to him by the Dark Side of the Force, he’s perhaps the most powerful character in the Skywalker Saga. With his grubby hands all over the galaxy’s political and corporate worlds, Jabba the Hutt was one of the most powerful gangsters in Star Wars, controlling a massive criminal empire from his palace on Tatooine.

Qui-Gon, though, was a free-spirted believer of the Force, and seemed to do everything based on instinct — like believing that there was really good in young Anakin. Now, the guy wasn’t perfect, but he obviously plays a vital part in the overall story of the Star Star Wars bad guys Wars world. Had he been in proper working order, he could have enjoyed a solid working life with Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine, as first introduced in A New Hope.