The Petranaki arena, also known as the Arena of Justice and commonly referred to as the Geonosian execution arena, was brought about by both a need for entertainment in the rigid Geonosian society, and an efficient way of disposing of otherwise resource-draining prisoners. It was named after Petranaki, a form of arena combat fighting that utilized several special weapons, including the Picador.

There are many reasons why George Lucas’ story of a young man, an evil Empire and a galaxy far, far away captured the imaginations of the generation who grew up on that original trilogy, and why it still reels in younger viewers weaned on prequels, sequels and other canonical spin-offs. Yes, its archetypal tale of good vs. Bad is mythic and timeless – but it’s the vast universe that saga set up, full of alien races and oddball technology, that has arguably kept people coming back to dig into the far corners of Star Wars‘ worlds.Watching the movies, you’d run across a character – sometimes a major player, other times a mere face in the background – and you’d think: Where did they come from? What’s their story? How did that weird-looking droid become a bounty hunter? What’s Boba Fett hiding behind that mask – and where can I get that rocket pack?!? And once the action-figure lines began dipping deep into the supporting players, you really started to get a sense of densely populated this universe was.

(Was “Hammerhead” a mean nickname, or the official tag for a whole species of flat-faced badasses?) A minor figure in that wretched hive of scum and villainy could show up in the sequels/prequels with more of their brethren in tow; even the ones shrouded in mystery turned into fan favorites.Naturally, some of these denizens in the endlessly mutating multiverse have lefter stronger impacts than others. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to rank the Top 50 Best Star Wars Characters to date – the greatest Jedis and Jabba sidekicks, Wookiee and Ewok MVPs, memorable Empire/Rebel Alliance military men/women and mercenaries-for-hire, loyal ‘bots and extraterrestrial louts, and, of course, the main heroes and villains. (We’ve stayed away from non-specific groups and species such as Stormtroopers or Tauntauns.)And we’ve updated the list to include Last Jedi and Solo characters – really, no definitive ranking would be complete without those films’ Resistance fighters, Cloud-Riders and interstellar scoundrels. Let the arguments over why Lobot ranked above Oola begin. And may the force be with you, always. Respect Oola, one of the very rare roles for a woman of color in the original trilogy. Rejecting Jabba’s disgusting advances, her expressions speak volumes even though she’s doomed to die.

It doesn’t help that she’s the pretty woman in the palace who isn’t the heroine of the series. (Leia gets to resist Jabba and live.) Books and comics in the “expanded universe” gave Oola a real story, but the Return of the Jedi Special Edition extended her torment with new shots featuring original actress Femi Taylor. He’s “just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe,” but Jango Fett is legion — literally. Through extensive cloning, the bounty hunter behind the blue Mandalorian armor is the basis not only for his better-known “son” Boba Fett, but for each and every trooper who gives Attack of the Clones its title. From his knock-down drag-out brawl with Obi-Wan to their high-speed asteroid-field chase to his decapitation by Mace Windu’s blade, he’s a key part of the film’s best action sequences. Kudos to Kiwi actor Temuera Morrison, who gives the character rough-hewn gangster gravitas.

For a guy sharp enough to work his way up to the position of admiral in the Imperial Fleet, you’d think Conan Antonio Motti would be bright enough to know that you don’t shit-talk Darth Vader to his metal face. His screen time is short, but he’s a pivotal character thanks to the way Darth totally posterizes him in A New Hope. Choking Motti from afar after he gets snippy questioning the power of the Force, Vader delivers a killer one-liner: “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” Cut scene we’d love to see: Motti then going to Human Resources to report an unsafe work environment. Growing up in the same Corellian hellhole as Solo‘s title character, Q’ira (played by Game of Thrones’ khaleesi, Emilia Clarke) is cut from the same cloth as her long-lost love interest. But there’s a big difference: She never really escaped the underworld, and has had to navigate life in the crime syndicate for years.

This harsh education has made her a hypercompetent fighter and negotiator, able to save the lives of Han and Lando, kick ass in a swordfight and successfully bluff her way into becoming the the underboss of Crimson Dawn godfather Darth Maul (!). Not bad for a kid from the mean streets. Poor Owen Lars. All he ever wanted was a quiet life on Tatooine, farming moisture. But just because his widowed father happened to marry the mother of Darth freakin’ Vader, he was plagued by Jedi Knights, Tusken Raiders, and Imperial Stormtroopers. First introduced in A New Hope as Luke’s strict, humorless guardian, Uncle Owen is actually as much of a tragic figure as anybody in the franchise. He tries his best to keep his step-nephew safe from the violence and turmoil shattering the galaxy.

He’s paid back in sass, disobedience, and an early grave. From a certain point of view, The Empire Strikes Back can be seen as a dark workplace comedy in which Imperial officer Firmus Piett tries to do just enough right so that he’s not killed by Darth Vader. (Just ask Admiral Ozzel and Captain Needa, who both get the Dark-Side choke of death during the movie.) Played by character actor Kenneth Colley, Piett was a fan favorite because he seemed to embody the helpless walking-on-eggshells mentality a lot of us have dealt with when we’re working for a real diva of a boss. Amid all the praise for Luke, Han and the rest of the Rebel Alliance, Wedge has never gotten his due, serving as a pilot in all three critical battles during the original trilogy — the two Death Stars and the AT-AT showdown on Hoth — and acquitting himself heroically every time. If the universe had an award comparable to the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year — i.e.

The best player off the bench — the man would have won it, doing all the hard work for the Rebellion but never enjoying the spotlight. Maybe that’s why the actor who played him, Denis Lawson, turned down a part in The Force Awakens: He’s tired of being a glorified extra. A long time ago – well, 2017 – the pop-culture galaxy was governed by two powerful forces: Star Wars fever and the.

Vice Admiral Holdo is the chosen one, bringing balance to these equal and opposite phenomena by placing the great Laura Dern right at the center of The Last Jedi. Thrust into the top spot in the Resistance fleet (Admiral Ackbar, R.I.P.), this lavender-haired leader oversaw the rebels’ successful slow-motion escape from Kylo Ren and company, fending off a challenge from hotheaded Poe Dameron in the process. Holdo also sacrificed her own life to buy her friends more time by ramming her ship into the First Order fleet at light speed, and helped create one of the biggest “holy shit” moments in the franchise’s history. “Bounty hunters. We don’t need that scum.” Oh, how wrong you are, Admiral Piett. What’s arguably the coolest shot of The Empire Strikes Back involves Darth Vader commissioning a group of fierce weirdos to find the Millennium Falcon — and the best non-Boba Fett bount hunter is IG-88, a chrome droid with a head like a menacing coffee percolator.

One of the more Buck Rogers-y creatures in all of the series, the lean and tall killer bot suggests a world where machines aren’t just baddies; they’re also looking out for themselves. Working for Jabba probably sucks, which explains EV-9D9’s utterly cruddy attitude in Return of the Jedi (that’s him in the center of the pic). Supervising the mechanical-help deployment in Jabba’s lair and sail barge, he’s surely always in need of fresh hires, considering that his boss has an irritating habit of disintegrating droids that displease him. Of the robots we encounter in the Star Wars universe, he’s probably the surliest, not caring one bit about Threepio’s friendly chitchat or putting up with Artoo’s feistiness. (The character was voiced by Return director Richard Marquand, who died four years after the film’s release.) TG. A key to Star Wars‘ success is its timelessness, but take one look at Caroline Blakiston’s Eighties sci-fi hair and gown as Mom Mothma in Return of the Jedi and you’d think she just took off her cushioned headphones playing Journey before walking on set.

The Rebel Alliance bigwig delivers one of the biggest guilt-trips in all of the series — “Many Bothans died to bring us this information” — which doubles as a rebuke to audience members who thought all this blaster fire was just fun-and-games. A younger version played by Genevieve O’Reilly was seen (but not heard) in Revenge of the Sith, wearing a metal headpiece that echoes Princess Leia’s hair buns.

That actually became a meme in and of itself.The memes are not just for entertainment. You had this comparison, an image of CNN — you know, the kind of corporate media — and it said, “Who do you think would win in a fight? So many memories to cherish. Liz Warren has cheerleaders everywhere from the major news outlets all the way to Saturday Night Live, so that memes are never gonna catch on for her, but they will for Donald Trump.This was a major joke in 2016. It can’t be the main storyline being pushed by the media. The establishment press, deep state, federal bureaucracy, international corporate interests?” Then it had a photo of Alex Jones, “or a shirtless vitamin salesman screaming on the radio,” and it turns out Alex Jones because Trump won and Jones was considered one of the deplorable people who was backing Donald Trump, and that’s hilarious.

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Netmarble Games is celebrating the one-year birthday of Star Wars: Force Arena with an in-game event that will run until January 25 on iOS and Android. Players can collect characters from the recent Star Wars: The Last Jedi film as well as an “anniversary coin” item. Netmarble has also revealed that 6.5 million players are active in Force Arena, most of whom reside in Europe and North America. As of publication, it ranks No. 42 on Google Play in overall games, and No. 98 in strategy games on the Apple App Store, according to market researcher App Annie.

Force Arena features iconic Star Wars characters such as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa. To compete in its real-time multiplayer combat, players select a faction leader and build a “deck” of characters — which cards represent — to support them on the battlefield. Players can decide if they want to play as the Light Side or Dark Side.

Netmarble’s anniversary event isn’t the first time it’s integrated more content into Force Arena; last February, it rolled out some quality-of-life updates that tweaked the reward system and added new units. Its take on the Star Wars universe has competition from titles like Electronic Arts’s Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, a mobile role-playing game that got its own The Last Jedi content in December ahead of the film’s debut. The Force is also with PC and consoles, where EA’s embattled Star Wars: Battlefront II launched in November.

Disney announced today at Casual Connect USA that it’s rethinking its mobile games strategy, including partnering with four big game publishers. It’s clear that Star Wars is a much-loved franchise with plenty of gaming potential, so it’s likely part of whatever plans Disney has moving forward. GamesBeat has reached out to Netmarble about whether or not the announcement will affect Force Arena in the future, and will update this article if we hear back.