The Star Wars universe is home to some of the most iconic villains ever created, from Darth Vader to Emperor Palpatine to Boba Fett to Grand Moff Tarkin. Every great villain needs a great introduction, like Vader stepping over Rebel corpses on Tantive IV to Fett being told not to disintegrate Han Solo when he catches him.
From Jabba the Hutt sitting upon his throne in The Force Awakens, Star Wars movies often give their villains unforgettable introductions.
Grand Moff Tarkin In Star Wars (1977)
Before Princess Leia recognizes his foul stench, Grand Moff Tarkin is introduced alongside Darth Vader in a meeting of top Imperial brass aboard the Death Star. Vader was established as the de facto ruler of the Empire, but Tarkin has the gall to question Vader’s authority.
Tarkin created the template for every smarmy Imperial bureaucrat performance in subsequent Star Wars projects. No one could ever top Peter Cushing’s iconic original turn.
The Emperor In The Rise Of Skywalker
Emperor Palpatine’s resurrection in “Somehow, Palpatine returned,” delivered by an exasperated Oscar Isaac).
Ian McDiarmid’s performance certainly didn’t disappoint. Zombie Palpatine was a truly terrifying sight when Kylo Ren uncovered his gloomy underground hideout on Exegol.
Jabba The Hutt In Return Of The Jedi
The first act of Return of the Jedi follows on from crime boss Jabba the Hutt’s palace.
Essentially the Vito Corleone of a galaxy far, far away, Jabba is introduced atop his throne, surrounded by gunslingers and sycophants in his shady palace, where danger lurks around every corner.
Kylo Ren In The Force Awakens
Max von Sydow brings his usual gravitas to the role of Lor San Tekka in the opening scene of The Force Awakens. He was the perfect actor to kick off the sequel trilogy and establish the mystery surrounding its main antagonist.
When Kylo Ren arrives on Jakku and terrorizes the local villagers, Lor San Tekka stands up to him and teases his former identity: “I know where you come from, before you called yourself Kylo Ren.”
Jango Fett In Attack Of The Clones
Boba Fett’s equally badass bounty hunter father is hired to kill Pé Amidala in Attack of the Clones. He’s glimpsed on the fringes of a few scenes as he subcontracts the hit to Zam Wesell, whose attempt on Pé’s life is foiled by Anakin and Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan travels to the planet missing from the Jedi Archives, Kamino, and learns that Jango is the genetic template for an army of clones. In a rainy standoff, he also turns out to be the bounty hunter trying to kill Pé as he springs into action in his armor.
Darth Vader In Revenge Of The Sith
The grand finale of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, completed Anakin Skywalker’s inevitable turn to the dark side. When he arrives in Palpatine’s office in the midst of a heated lightsaber duel with Mace Windu, Anakin is forced to choose which one to save.
Since Windu has always underestimated Anakin and Palpatine has always told him what he wanted to hear, he saves the latter. Anakin pledges himself to Palpatine, who anoints him to the Sith: “Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth Vader.”
Darth Maul In The Phantom Menace
The first prequel movie, the full might of Darth Maul until he confronts Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan on Naboo and ignites the second blade of his lightsaber. But he’s first seen alongside Darth Sidious as his beady-eyed apprentice.
After the movie has established a functional democracy protected by the Jedi without a Sith Lord in sight, Maul teases the dark turns that the story is about to take: “At last, we will have revenge.”
Boba Fett In The Empire Strikes Back
When the Millennium Falcon manages to give the Imperial fleet the slip in the second act of The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader hires a team of bounty hunters to track them down. He tells Boba Fett, “No disintegrations.”
This throwaway line immediately established Fett as one of the deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy. If Vader himself, the evil overlord of the Empire, has to tell him to take it easy on his latest bounties, he must be quite a formidable badass.
The Emperor In Return Of The Jedi
Throughout the original Star Wars trilogy, it was teased that an even more evil, even more powerful Sith Lord was pulling Darth Vader’s puppet-strings from the shadows. The Emperor was mentioned by name in the first movie, then glimpsed in hologram form during a video call with Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.
When he finally appeared in person in Return of the Jedi, his menacing presence lived up to the hype. The Emperor commanded respect from legions of Stormtroopers and Vader himself as he arrived on the Death Star and stepped off his ship.
Darth Vader In Star Wars (1977)
The original Star Wars movie opens in the middle of an intense space battle between a plucky little Rebel ship and a much, much larger and more foreboding Imperial Star Destroyer. After the Stormtroopers have killed every Rebel troop waiting for them, their de facto leader boards the ship.
Darth Vader is a quintessential faceless symbol of evil, and he gets the perfect introduction as he strides through the smoke of war, callously stepping over the corpses of his enemies.
