Over the course of seven films (so far) in the Star Wars franchise, there’s been a hell of a lot of characters bounding around the galaxy far, far away. With STAR WARS Identities: The Exhibition announced to be taking over The O2 from November 18 right through to September 2017 (Priority Tickets go on sale on Wednesday), we’ve compiled some of the most underrated characters to inhabit that distant space world. Beware, some spoilers.
Shmi Skywalker
Shmi is severely underrated when you remember she’s basically the woman who spawned the whole Star Wars story. In a sci-fi take on the birth of Jesus, she was chosen by the Midi-chlorian creatures to give birth to Anakin Skywalker and let him leave Tattooine to train with the Jedis aged nine years old. If only she knew the chaos that would follow…
2-1B
It’d probably be quite tricky to prevail in all those lightsaber fights with only one hand, so it’s lucky 2-1B was around in The Empire Strikes Back. The medical droid came to the rescue when Luke Skywalker had his hand cut off in a duel with Darth Vader, building him a replacement that eventually helped him get his revenge.
Raymus Antilles
Sometimes when you’re battling to save the galaxy, you need a helping hand. Antilles was captaining the Tantive IV ship on which Princess Leia was hiding and was strangled to death by Darth Vader after he refused to give him the Death Star plans. He basically sacrificed his life for the greater good so he deserves a bit more recognition.
Qui-Gon Jinn
Like Shmi, Qui-Gon Jinn can take a lot of responsibility for later events in the franchise. He is the Jedi Master who trained Anakin and taught him the ways of the Jedi. He was also one of the series’ many rebels, defying the Jedi council when he saw fit.
Count Dooku
Played by Christopher Lee, Count Dooku is one of Star Wars’ best, but most under-rated, bad guys. His lightsaber fight with Yoda, a creature barely a quarter of his side, is as funny as it is gripping. Despite being a bit evil, Dooku was a fantastic fighter and leader, but was ultimately brought to a stop by one character who would later join the dark side – Anakin Skywalker.