Luke Skywalker is undeniably the hero of the original Star Wars trilogy. He destroys the Death Star, he confronts Darth Vader, and he ultimately saves the galaxy by bringing his father Anakin back to the light side of the Force. Mark Hamill gave audiences a timeless symbol of good that generation after generation could look up to.

But in the larger context of the Star Wars universe, there are a few characters with more significance than Luke. From Jedi Master Yoda to big bad Emperor Palpatine to mainstay droids C-3PO and R2-D2, some characters are even more important than Luke in the original trilogy.

Yoda

Yoda in the Dagobah swamp in The Empire Strikes Back

Yoda is one of the most powerful Jedi who ever lived, and one of the few survivors of the Great Jedi Purge. In the original trilogy, he teaches Luke to harness his Force powers after Ben Kenobi’s initial training. Yoda is the one who inspires Luke to believe in himself.

When Luke determines that it’s impossible to lift his X-wing out of the swamp with the Force, Yoda demonstrates that anything is possible if he concentrates and sets his mind to it.

C-3PO

C-3PO on Tantive IV in Star Wars

Along with his buddy R2-D2, C-3PO is one of the only characters to appear in every single movie in the Skywalker saga. He was built by a young Anakin on Tatooine, and from that moment on, he was around for every major event in the rise and fall of Darth Vader.

In Return of the Jedi, Threepio saved the Rebels from the Ewoks’ wrath when the furry critters mistook him for a shiny golden deity. If Threepio didn’t say something, the Rebel heroes would’ve been cooked into a stew and served on a silver platter.

Han Solo

Han Solo with a blaster in Star Wars

Han Solo enjoys his own “hero’s journey” alongside Luke’s in the original trilogy. Whereas Luke was always unwaveringly good, Han needed to transform himself into a better person. When fans meet Han in Mos Eisley Cantina, he’s a selfish smuggler who only cares about himself and how much he’s getting paid.

Throughout the trilogy, Han managed to become a key hero of the Rebellion without hailing from a special bloodline or having exponential Force powers. He shot the TIE fighters off of Luke’s tail in the Battle of Yavin, making his destruction of the Death Star possible.

Emperor Palpatine

Emperor Palpatine in his throne room in Return of the Jedi

Not only is Emperor Palpatine the big bad of the original trilogy; he’s the big bad of the entire saga. As explained by the prequels, he turned a functioning democracy into a dark dictatorship. Ian McDiarmid’s mesmerizing performance veers between deceptively camp and authentically menacing.

In the original 1977 movie, Vader is introduced as the de facto leader of the Empire. But as the trilogy goes on, he turns out to have a boss. The Emperor is the manipulative puppet-master pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

Ben Kenobi

Ben Kenobi on the Death Star in Star Wars

Ben Kenobi is the wise mentor who guides Luke on his first steps into a larger world. He continues to loom over the narrative as a Force ghost long after he allows Vader to strike him down so he can become more powerful than the Sith Lord could possibly imagine.

Kenobi inspires Luke to use the Force to destroy the Death Star and withholds information about his father until he’s ready to hear it. As the prequels demonstrated, Kenobi is the perfect embodiment of the Jedi teachings: a warm, wholesome, noble warrior.

R2-D2

R2-D2 on Tatooine in Star Wars

Like his stuffy companion C-3PO, R2-D2 was present for every major event in the tragedy of Darth Vader and made an appearance in every single chapter of the Skywalker saga. After providing Anakin with a snarky sidekick in the BBY timeline, Artoo became Luke’s snarky sidekick in the ABY timeline.

This plucky astromech droid gives Luke his lightsaber while he walks the plank on Jabba the Hutt’s barge. If Artoo wasn’t there to carry out the plan, Luke would’ve been fed to the Sarlacc Pit and the trilogy would’ve been cut short.

Leia Organa

Leia with a blaster in Star Wars

When Luke leaves Dagobah to save his friends and confront Vader, the ghost of Ben Kenobi says, “That boy is our last hope,” and Yoda says, “No... there is another.” He’s referring to Luke’s twin sister, Leia, who similarly inherited sky-high levels of Force sensitivity from her estranged father.

Not only is Leia a Force prodigy on the same level as Luke; she’s one of the top brass in the Rebel Alliance. Leia was deeply entrenched in the fight against the Empire long before Luke got involved in the Rebel cause.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader Force-chokes Admiral Motti in Star Wars

If the Star Wars saga can be distilled down to one key storyline, it’s the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader was introduced as a faceless symbol of evil in the original Star Wars movie, but The Empire Strikes Back revealed that there was a corrupted Jedi apprentice under the mask.

Throughout Return of the Jedi, Luke is determined to bring out the good that he believes still exists within his father. Vader ultimately achieves redemption and saves the day when Luke’s love inspires him to turn on Palpatine and bring down the Empire that he helped to create.

NEXT: 10 Star Wars Prequel Characters Who Stole The Spotlight From Anakin