10 Best Disney Star Wars Characters (& 5 Worst)

Ever since Star Wars was acquired by Disney in 2012, there have been major additions to the franchise, though some characters have been better than others. These major additions have included new Star Wars movies and TV shows, the latter of which have premiered mostly on the Disney+ streaming platform. Since 2012, the Star Wars franchise has expanded in ways many audiences never dreamed of being possible.

Despite all the new content Star Wars has put out since its acquisition by Disney, not all viewers have loved what’s come since the House of Mouse took over. Despite these feelings, Star Wars has produced more onscreen stories in the last ten years than ever before. With all of these new titles come new characters, and as with any franchise, some characters are collectively loved, while some are collectively hated. Here are some of the best and worst Disney-era Star Wars characters.

15 Best: Din Djarin

First Appeared: The Mandalorian (2019)

The Mandalorian was revolutionary because it was one of the first original series to come out on Disney+. The show followed masked bounty hunter Din Djarin on his adventures across the galaxy after acquiring a companion in a small green creature. Din Djarin has quickly become one of the most important and well-liked Star Wars characters since Disney took over Lucasfilm. Pedro Pascal’s commanding voice paired with Djarin’s personality has made him beloved. Once a lone wolf, Din has since become a devoted and loving father to his foundling, and his transformation has been a delight to witness.

The Mandalorian & Grogu
is currently in production.

14 Best: Cassian Andor

First Appeared: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story brought a gritty view of the Rebel Alliance to the big screen in fantastic fashion. The story was compelling, but one of the standouts was Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. The character was so intriguing he received his own prequel series, Andor. Andor has since become one of Star Wars’ best shows with compelling storytelling and poignant moments that are inspiring. Cassian’s story of an orphan who was taken in by loving parents to a rebel who helped weaken the Empire by getting the Death Star plans makes him one of the greatest recent characters.

13 Worst: Supreme Leader Snoke

First Appeared: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Supreme Leader Snoke was an odd addition to the Star Wars sequel trilogy because he wasn’t nearly as menacing as Palpatine had been in the original and prequel trilogies, and his goals were never clear. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker showed that Snoke was a genetic construct of Palpatine, who had been using Snoke all along. Snoke had a lot of potential, especially when it came to showcasing a brand-new dark side user, but the character ultimately fell flat, as his most interesting moment came when Kylo Ren killed him in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

12 Best: Ezra Bridger

First Appeared: Star Wars Rebels (2014)

Disney’s first Star Wars project came in animated form with the Star Wars Rebels television show, which followed a young Force-sensitive boy named Ezra Bridger. Ezra became a fan-favorite character because he was relatable in a lot of ways; he was trying to find his place and was an incredibly generous person. For four seasons, audiences saw Ezra grow into an amazing Jedi who would do anything for his found family, including sacrificing himself in the Rebels series finale. The character was brought to live-action in Ahsoka, where he proved to be the same good person audiences knew and loved.

11 Best: Master Sol

First Appeared: The Acolyte (2024)

While still a new character, Lee Jung-jae’s Master Sol stole the hearts of many Star Wars viewers when he appeared in The Acolyte. Lee Jung-jae has said that he wanted to model his Jedi Master character after Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn, and he was able to bring that heart to a deeply complicated character. Sol’s relationship with Osha, paired with how emotive he was in moments alone, made him a truly bright spot in The Acolyte, even when the storytelling occasionally fell flat.

10 Worst: Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart

First Appeared: Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021)

He thought recovering Dr. Hemlock’s research would help get him back in Palpatine’s good graces, and that ultimately didn’t make sense for his character.

Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart was never meant to be a character that audiences liked, but some issues with his character ultimately made him very one-dimensional. Rampart was the Imperial officer who ordered the destruction of Kamino in The Bad Batch season 1 finale, but he never grew beyond that. In The Bad Batch season 3, when Clone Force 99 broke Rampart out of an Imperial prison, he was still loyal to the Empire. He thought recovering Dr. Hemlock’s research would help get him back in Palpatine’s good graces, and that ultimately didn’t make sense for his character.

9 Best: Hera Syndulla

First Appeared: Star Wars Rebels (2014)

Hera Syndulla is widely regarded as the best pilot in the galaxy, and rightfully so. Throughout Rebels’ four seasons, Hera proved again and again that she was born to fly. Not only do her skills as a pilot shine, but she also has a large heart that positively impacts her decision-making as a general in the Rebel Alliance. Hera’s other appearances in The Bad Batch and Ahsoka build on her character in ways that show such complexity, that it makes it incredibly hard not to love someone who audiences have lovingly crowned the ultimate space mom.

8 Worst: Captain Bombardier

First Appeared: The Mandalorian (2019)

The Mandalorian’s first two seasons were such hits, but when the quality of storytelling wasn’t of the same caliber in season 3, viewers noticed. While The Mandalorian season 3 wasn’t bad by any means, it was disappointing. One of the season’s lowlights came in episode 6, when Din Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze met Captain Bombardier and his wife, the Dutchess, on Plazir-15. While Jack Black’s performance as Captain Bombardier was fun, his character was distracting and felt wholly unnecessary. Giving the character a redesign and more screen time to develop probably would’ve helped make him more likable.

7 Best: Poe Dameron

First Appeared: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Poe Dameron is one of the first characters audiences meet in the sequel trilogy, and he is one of the best. While Oscar Isaac’s character sometimes suffered from a lack of screen time, his character had a fantastic arc over the three sequel trilogy movies. Audiences got to see Poe grow from a reckless pilot who had little regard for others to a strong leader who would do anything for his friends and the galaxy he lives in. While Poe hasn’t been seen since The Rise of Skywalker, it’s possible he could appear in the upcoming New Jedi Order movie.

6 Best: Grogu

First Appeared: The Mandalorian (2019)

Grogu is one of the best Star Wars characters simply because he’s so iconic. Grogu doesn’t speak, but the emotions that are able to be displayed in his facial expressions speak volumes. Grogu is still a little bit of a mystery, but viewers should be happy that such an important and adorable character will be hitting the big screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu movie. It will no doubt be amazing to see Grogu go on more adventures with his adoptive father, Din Djarin.

5 Worst: Haja Estree

First Appeared: Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Obi-Wan Kenobi did an amazing job bringing back characters and their actors from the prequel trilogy to tell another vital story. The show was fun, but had some bits of writing that took audiences out of the show. One such instance revolves around the character Haja Estree. Haja was scamming people by making them think he was a Jedi that could get them off-world. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s side quest to meet the scammer felt unnecessary, and even when Haja returned in later episodes, he felt shoehorned in there.

4 Best: Clone Force 99

First Appeared: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is not a Disney show; however, the show’s final season was released in 2020 by Disney. The first arc of The Clone Wars season 7 featured the introduction of Clone Force 99, also known as the Bad Batch. These defective clones all had special abilities that made them a formidable opponent. When Clone Force 99 got their spin-off in The Bad Batch, it allowed for an amazing character study of these clones. The relationships between Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, Crosshair, and Omega are the show’s catalyst, which is only made better by their action-packed adventures.

3 Best: Jyn Erso

First Appeared: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

While Rogue One may be remembered for introducing audiences to an amazing character in Cassian Andor, the film’s other lead, Jyn Erso, is just as amazing of a character, who deserves just as much recognition. Jyn went through hardship after hardship following the death of her mother and her father being forced to work for the Empire. Her dedication to saving her father’s memory by helping the Rebels destroy the Death Star is admirable. Her ultimate sacrifice, along with the rest of Rogue One, is still one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire franchise.

2 Worst: The Mods

First Appeared: The Book of Boba Fett (2021)

The Book of Boba Fett, unfortunately, had a lot of problems. While the character of Boba Fett will forever be beloved by Star Wars viewers, his standalone outing was completely overshadowed by the appearance of Din Djarin and Grogu. One of the oddest parts of the show was the biker gang, who called themselves The Mods. The idea of a biker gang on Tatooine is cool, but the execution of The Mods fell flat, and they often felt more like angsty teenagers than a menacing gang. With better design and more time spent developing these characters, they could’ve been greater.

1 Best: Baylan Skoll

First Appeared: Ahsoka (2023)

One of the best performances in recent memories comes from the late Ray Stevenson playing Baylan Skoll. Baylan was such a compelling character in that he still had some of the morality of the Jedi he used to be, but was out for himself. Not only that, but Baylan’s lightsaber duels with Ahsoka Tano were some of the best of Ahsoka. It’s heartbreaking that Ray Stevenson never got to see the reception his character got from viewers, and it’ll be interesting to see what Dave Filoni does with the character now that it seems Baylan will be recast for Ahsoka season 2.

There are so many characters who have been introduced since Disney took over Lucasfilm in 2012, and while not all of them have been hits, nothing can ever be perfect. It’s unfortunate that many of these characters, who are some of the worst, would’ve been made better with more time and attention being put into their development. There will always be characters who are audiences’ least favorites, but if there are ever opportunities to correct course and make these characters better, Star Wars should do it.