The creators of the Star Wars universe have developed an entire galaxy filled with countless characters that are good, evil, and various shades of morally gray. Naturally, many of the most famous characters in this fictional world have appeared in the movies. But Star Wars has expanded deeply into other media, and there are now just as many popular figures in the growing universe that haven’t appeared in any of its core films.
It’s worth taking a look at which of the Star Wars universe’s fan-favorite characters have yet to appear on the big screen and think about which ones would make for the most powerful cinematic debuts.
Satine
Satine is one of the more captivating, and ultimately tragic, characters in the Star Wars mythology, appearing on-screen in The Clone Wars as a human Mandalorian. In fact, her quasi-romance with Obi-Wan is one of the most heartbreaking story arcs, perhaps even more than that of Anakin and Padme's relationship, especially since she confessed her love to the Jedi with her dying breath. Their romance remains one of the great "what-ifs" of the mythology, and so it might just be possible that she'll appear in the upcoming TV series focused on Obi-Wan.
Din Djarin
Din Djarin, as fans know, is the real name of the titular hero Disney+'s popular Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Since the series debuted, he’s become something of a popular culture phenomenon. It certainly helps that he’s played by Pedro Pascal, who charmed audiences on Game of Thrones with his appearance as Oberyn Martell, one of that series’ best side characters. Throughout the series' two seasons, he has shown time and again that he deserves the fans' adoration. Though he is supposedly little more than a hired gun, he repeatedly shows that he actually has a strong inner compass and moral center, as can most clearly be seen in his profoundly loving bond with Grogu.
Grogu
It’s hard to think of a Star Wars creature that has become more of a phenomenon than Grogu, affectionately known among fans as Baby Yoda (though, as far as viewers know, he’s not directly related to the ancient Jedi). From the moment that he appeared in The Mandalorian, he captured hearts everywhere.
It's hard to deny that he's adorable, even if there is a darkness beneath Grogu's charming exterior. As Ahsoka says to Din Djarin, Grogu has experienced a great deal of trauma in his life, and his abilities with the Force have yet to be fully mastered. Perhaps his appearance in a major Star Wars film project would give viewers more insight into both his background and his subsequent training with Luke.
Ahsoka Tano
For quite some time now, Ahsoka Tano has been a fan favorite, mostly because of her appearances in the series The Clone Wars, where she was Anakin's headstrong (and sometimes very impulsive) padawan. Her presence in the series helped to give Anakin more depth and complexity, and their bond, and its ultimate severing, is one of the universe's more tragic storylines. Moreover, it’s recently been announced that she’s going to get her very own series, building off her successful live-action debut in The Mandalorian.
While details are a bit sparse, it's sure to be a very exciting series, especially for fans of the character. A feature-length film would go even further in fleshing out her character's motivations and perhaps even her activities during the events of the main series.
Mara Jade
Before Disney bought the entire Star Wars franchise and jettisoned much of the established Expanded Universe, Mara Jade was one of its most famous characters, particularly since she was married to none other than Luke Skywalker. She appeared in a number of novels in the Legends series, including Timothy Zahn's very successful (and influential) Heir to the Empire, as well as in the video games.
Part of what makes her so compelling as a character to the fans is the fact that she was actually a servant of Palpatine before she ultimately fell in love with Luke. She would go on to play a pivotal role in many subsequent events, before being murdered by her nephew, Jacen Solo. Though it's hard to say how she might fit into the new mythology, there's always a chance that the creative minds in charge of Star Wars will find some way to bring her into the new (and ever-expanding) series of stories.
Revan
Revan is another of those fascinating creations of the Expanded Universe, appearing first in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as a powerful Sith who ultimately is captured by the Jedi and converted to good, though his ultimate allegiance seems to always be in flux, depending on the particular game or novel in question. Revan's popularity stems, in large part, from his innate complexity as a video game character, someone who can be changed depending on the user's desires. Though putting him a feature film would rob him of such flexibility, it would also give viewers a chance to watch his fascinating and complicated story on the big screen.
Starkiller
Starkiller’s story is another of those that’s really quite tragic, especially since they became an apprentice of the Emperor largely through Darth Vader’s forceful influence. His fall into the Dark Side is all the more striking, and sad, because of the fact that he was the son of a Jedi, so he was essentially forced to betray everything that he would have been led to believe. In the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, he is shown to have tremendous control over the Force, so it's easy to see how he could make for a fascinating and brutal movie character, especially in a midquel like Rogue One.
Darth Bane
In the history of the Sith, Darth Bane is a Sith lord who looms especially large, since he imposed the “Rule of Two," which dictates that there can ever only be two Sith alive at a given time, a master and an apprentice. In the Star Wars universe, he has only sporadically appeared on screen, for example as a ghost in The Clone Wars, and he has a brief mention in The Phantom Menace, though he has been a fairly prominent character in several Legends novels. As such, his story is ripe for reimagining on the big screen, especially since fans would love to see more movies set in the earlier historical periods of the Galaxy.
Darth Plagueis
Thrawn
Since he first appeared three decades ago, Thrawn has shown, whether in The Clone Wars TV show or in the various novels focusing on him, that he is a tactical genius, and he’s one of the most formidable Star Wars villains that fans of the series have ever seen. He is as ruthless as he is cunning, and, as Ashoka's mentioning of him in The Mandalorian makes clear, he is still lurking somewhere in the aftermath of the events of Return of the Jedi. No doubt he is just waiting for a chance to strike at the New Republic. Of all of the characters that have yet to appear in a movie, Thrawn certainly deserves that honor.