The 10 Best Star Wars TV Characters

Star Wars fans have been blessed with some truly great TV series, Andor rising above all with its complex political storylines and incredibly developed characters. But animation gave us just as much drama and heartache, with The Clone Wars expanding the story between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Since then, we've seen several beloved characters reappear in other live-action series like Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and The Mandalorian.

The expansive universe offers so many characters to love and hate. Heck, I have my own roster of Glup Shittos, like the Ithorian Jedi youngling Byph (he's so cute I could explode) or Jabba's band leader Max Rebo ("Lapti Nek" is my jam).

But today, we want to look at some of the most iconic roles in Star Wars television.

One note. The Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie was originally a pilot film composed of four episodes stitched together, released in theaters in 2008. It serves as the introduction to the series and Anakin Skywalker's new padawan, Ahsoka Tano.

The four-episode arc on which the movie was based was intended to be the start of the show's first season, per Wookieepedia.

So are we fudging a bit when we include two key characters who were introduced there? Maybe. Technically. But they're so iconic, we hope you'll forgive us.

Here are our favs.

The Clone Wars Credit: Disney

Hondo Ohnaka

I met Hondo a little late, first in animatronic form, on Disneyland's Smugglers Run ride. Who was this snarky guy who didn't seem to care about park-goers' welfare? But then I finally got into The Clone Wars (also embarrassingly late) and saw his origin story as a salty pirate leader.

Jim Cummings voiced this Weequay. After his introduction, Hondo quickly became one of the most entertaining characters in the franchise. He's a rough-around-the-edges scoundrel who's only loyal to wealth, but he's got just enough heart to make you root for him anyway. Even his betrayals feel affectionate.

Hondo showed up again in Rebels. His kind of chaos works across different eras and crews and is always fun.

The Bad Batch Credit: Disney

Echo

Here's a clone who deserves his own spotlight. Echo first appeared in The Clone Wars series (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker). He was initially a member of the ragtag Domino Squad but worked with his brothers to defend Kamino against an attack. Later, during a big mission at the Citadel, he seemed to die in an explosion but was actually captured by the Separatists and turned into a cyborg. He would later be rescued by Rex and Anakin.

He makes his reappearance in The Bad Batch and joins the misfit Clone Force 99. Baker gave him a distinct, earnest personality that separated him from Rex and the other clones.

Rebels Credit: Disney

Saw Gerrera

We first meet a young Saw on Onderon in The Clone Wars, helping lead a rebel band against the occupying Separatists. Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Rex secretly train Saw and his resistance fighters, who were led at the time by his sister. She tragically dies just before they're able to liberate the planet.

Years of fighting and the eventual rise of the Empire make him more and more extreme through Rebels and finally in Andor and Rogue One.

He's complicated, and by the end, a little unhinged, but it's easy to see how a struggle like Saw's would lead to mental instability. But he's also one of the franchise's most pragmatic and inspiring characters, and it's incredible to witness his character arc throughout his various appearances.

The Mandalorian Credit: Disney

Din Djarin

Pedro Pascal became the face of The Mandalorian when the show premiered in 2019, and the warrior Din Djarin captured audiences immediately. The bounty hunter became a reluctant father figure to Grogu, and somehow Pascal conveys so much emotion through body language and vocal performance, even when his face is hidden behind a helmet.

Din's journey from lone wolf to someone willing to sacrifice everything for his adopted son is the heart of the series. Pascal sells every moment of it. We're so looking forward to The Mandalorian and Grogu. This is the way.

Andor Credit: Disney

Kleya Marki

Kleya Marki runs the Rebellion communications hub in the series Andor with a cold efficiency and dedication to the cause. Elizabeth Dulau makes every scene count, but shines especially during her Season 2 backstory episode when she's tasked with singlehandedly invading a Coruscant hospital and humanely ending Luthen's life, all before escaping to get information about the Death Star to Yavin.

As Luthen's assistant, adopted daughter, and fellow rebel operative, Kleya is stern and calculating and not above using her feminine wiles as a spy. She's the person who makes the hard calls that Luthen sometimes hesitates on. Dulau plays her with zero sentimentality—until she has to say goodbye to her father figure. What a queen.

Andor Credit: Disney

Syril Karn

There are enough tragedies in Star Wars to break your heart a dozen times over. Kyle Soller's performance in Andor created one of the most unsettling and sympathetic villains in Star Wars.

Syril throws his weight behind the Empire because it gives his life order and purpose, not because he's nefarious or wants the subjugation of others. In his story, he thinks he's the hero. Soller plays him with awkward intensity, and you love him because he never had a chance under that domineering mother of his. He really just thinks that if he plays by the rules, he'll succeed, which is probably why the rebels frustrate him so much and why he becomes obsessed with catching Cassian Andor.

By the end, both his mother and his partner, ISB leader Dedra Meero, use him up and leave him dry, and he starts to see during the Ghorman Massacre that he might not be on the right side. Dan Gilroy himself told me that Syril would have joined the Rebellion if he'd lived just a bit longer.

Like I said, a heartbreaker.

The Clone Wars Credit: Disney

Cad Bane

One of the coolest bounty hunters in the galaxy showed up in The Clone Wars when Corey Burton gave life to this Duros gunslinger dressed like a space cowboy. Cad Bane became an instant fan favorite with one of the most iconic hats in media (honestly, on par with Indy's fedora), twin blaster pistols, rocket boots, and that gravelly voice.

He goes toe-to-toe with Jedi and walks away on multiple occasions. He's all business, but he's also a guy with principles who will usually fight fair.

Burton returned to voice him in live-action later in The Book of Boba Fett, using performance capture technology, a treat for longtime fans. Although I have to say the hat wasn't quite as impressive in this iteration.

The Clone Wars Credit: Disney

Captain Rex

Is there a clone cooler than Rex? We don't think so. For many fans, the "Carnage of Krell" arc, in which Rex openly defied his Jedi commander General Pong Krell, made him an icon among the clone commanders. He is Anakin's right-hand man throughout the Clone Wars and a close friend to Ahsoka Tano.

Rex technically first showed up in The Clone Wars movie in 2008, voiced by Baker like the rest of the clones. Rex is loyal, brave, and questioning in ways that make him feel fully human. He is a good soldier, but knows how to get creative and when to stand up for his men.

Baker continued voicing him throughout The Clone Wars and later played an aged version of the character in Rebels, making Rex one of the most enduring characters in Star Wars animation. Watching him grapple with Order 66 and then fight alongside the Ghost crew years later gave us incredible character development across two different series.

Andor Credit: Disney

Luthen Rael

Luthen is that guy. He is everything to the Rebellion. Nothing would have gotten done in Andor (or, later, Rogue One and A New Hope) without him.

This antique dealer who's secretly orchestrating a rebel spy network might be one of the most morally complex characters Star Wars has ever produced. Stellan Skarsgård's performance is incredible and deserved more awards attention. No, I'm not bitter about that.

He's not a hero in the traditional sense. He's willing to sacrifice anyone and anything for the cause, including his own soul. If someone needs to die to protect a secret, then that person dies, usually by Luthen's hand. His monologue in "One Way Out" about what he's given up for the Rebellion is still devastating. Skarsgård swings the character from easy charm to grim calculation with a quiet intensity that no other Star Wars character has ever matched.

Rebels Credit: Disney

Ahsoka Tano

There's no other character quite like Ahsoka, whom many fans grew up with over the course of multiple seasons of different Star Wars shows.

Ashley Eckstein voiced the character when she first appeared in The Clone Wars movie in 2008, and she evolved from Anakin's snippy padawan into one of the most beloved figures in Star Wars. We see her mature, leave the Jedi Order, survive Order 66, and endure the betrayal of the master she loved.

Rosario Dawson later brought her to live-action in The Mandalorian and her own series. When fans heard she was hunting Grand Admiral Thrawn during those early live-action appearances, it made everyone positively giddy. Thrawn, along with Ezra Bridger, disappeared into the Unknown Regions at the end of Star Wars Rebels, in which Ahsoka was also central.

No one else, beyond the original trilogy characters, has been so key for so long to the core Star Wars story. Ahsoka Season 2 just wrapped filming last month, so we can't wait to see where the character goes next.