"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." With the tone of ancient oral traditions, Star Wars is a modern mythos like no other, a movie franchise full of incredible moments. But which ones deserve recognition as some of the greatest in the series?
Since the release of Star Wars in 1977 (later titled A New Hope), the world has felt the awesome powers of the Force. It began as a classic story of adventure, where daydreaming farm boy Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) learns of his Jedi heritage to become the hero of the galaxy. It is now an epic saga that spans generations, its different eras emblematic of the culture it surfaces along with an expansive universe that only seems to get bigger.
While Star Wars today is a multifaceted franchise with streaming TV shows, comic books, novels, video games, and theme park rides to its name, Star Wars began life as a movie. To commemorate the ongoing film series, we count down the 35 greatest moments in Star Wars movie history. For clarity, we're sticking to just the theatrically-released movies in the Skywalker Saga. We're not counting the many, many spin-off TV shows, as that would be a list that's bigger than the Death Star itself.
35. The Binary Sunset (A New Hope)
Have you ever heard the call to adventure? In a classic moment that embodies the essence of George Lucas' saga, young Mark Hamill - as frustrated, restless youth Luke Skywalker - walks out on his aunt and uncle to gaze at the sky of Tatooine's setting suns. Punctuated by John Williams' iconic score, which includes his enduring motif for The Force, this 30-second scene at the beginning of A New Hope (and indeed, at the start of Star Wars as a whole) has impressed itself in the imaginations of fans for generations as the ultimate image of feeling stuck in one place while yearning to be among the stars.
34. The Birth of Darth Vader (Revenge of the Sith)
It was inevitable, but that doesn't mean it isn't tragic. At the end of the prequel series comes the complete transformation of fallen Jedi, Anakin Skywalker (played by a bacon-crisp Hayden Christensen) into the terrifying Sith Lord, Darth Vader. While fans and audiences knew going in to the prequel movies that it was all about Anakin's descent into darkness, it's still a sight to behold to witness the beginning of the greatest evil that the galaxy - and pop culture at large - has ever seen.
33. "I Am All the Jedi" (The Rise of Skywalker)
Yeah, it's corny. And few fans will ever openly admit if they enjoy The Rise of Skywalker. But in a vacuum, Rey's confrontation with Palpatine (who is her grandfather, for some reason), featuring audio cameos of many heroes from Star Wars' past, is a pretty cool climax for the sequel trilogy. It may not be good enough to end 40-odd years of the Skywalker Saga, granted, but director J.J. Abrams knows how to frame the heck out of this scene. Plus: Who doesn't love a good fireworks show? In 1983, fans accepted Darth Vader lifting up Palpatine and chucking him like a WWE wrestler. No reason that "more electricity" can't be a good offense.
32. Yoda vs. Dooku (Attack of the Clones)
When audiences first met Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, his appearance as a frail, diminutive green elf was intentionally to subvert audience expectations of "Master Yoda" being a physically strong Jedi warrior. It wasn't until the prequel trilogy, with 2002's Attack of the Clones, that fans finally got to witness the master in action. In a thrilling match-up between Yoda and Christopher Lee's Count Dooku, Yoda flips and spins to stand tall (figuratively speaking) against the fearsome Sith Lord. Sure, it's goofy, and it's a little hilarious thinking about Christopher Lee looking down at nothing, swinging his lightsaber at nothing. (Remember: Yoda is entirely a CG character in this movie.) But Yoda's skills prove how size doesn't matter.
31. Kylo Ren's Massacre/Finn's Awakening (The Force Awakens)
The first 10 minutes of The Force Awakens is something else. The highly anticipated Star Wars sequel film from 2015 starts out with a bang, masterfully introducing not just Adam Driver as Kylo Ren - whose power to freeze a blaster bolt in mid-air is extraordinary, and speaks to his awesome strength in the Force - but also Finn (or FN-2187), a lowly Stormtrooper who undergoes a moral "awakening" seeing the First Order's bloody massacre of a Jakku village. The scene is followed up by another great introduction in orphaned scavenger Rey, but Kylo Ren and Finn's first scenes set the tone for what's to come.
30. Chirrut Îmwe's Blind Faith (Rogue One)
The galaxy is full of amazing characters, but few of them are as cool as Chirrut Îmwe. Played by Hong Kong action movie titan Donnie Yen, Chirrut Îmwe is not a Jedi but still a believer in the Force who makes quick work out of trigger-happy Stormtroopers. Carrying himself with an air of steely coolness à la Zatoichi, Chirrut's first scene is a ray of light in the bleak Rogue One. Later in the movie, Chirrut's faith guides him to play a pivotal role in the epic Battle of Scarif, another stand-out moment in a stand-out scene from Star Wars history.
29. The Arrest of Chancellor Palpatine (Revenge of the Sith)
To be fair, a lot of this scene's dopeness has to do with Samuel L. Jackson. In Revenge of the Sith, the Jedi finally have evidence that pins Palpatine as a Sith Lord, with Jackson's Mace Windu leading the arrest. But Palpatine doesn't go down without a fight, with a fateful battle taking place in Palpatine's luxe office that ends in Mace Windu's death. While their lightsaber battle isn't the most exciting in Star Wars history, it's still a consequential one. Palpatine maintains his innocence and his grip on power, allowing his unstoppable rise to criminalize the Jedi and oversee the Galactic Empire. And only Ian McDiarmid can make a meal out of his best line: "I am the Senate."
28. Rey’s Force Vision (The Force Awakens)
Rey knows there's more to her own story than she knows. When she touches Luke Skywalker's fabled lightsaber in The Force Awakens, it kicks off a trippy sequence where Rey sees haunting images of the past - both her own, and the Force's, as well as her imminent future. The Force quite literally calls to her too, with voice cameos of the late Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor (both as Obi-Wan Kenobi) informing her that she's just taken her "first steps." Even if the visions didn't amount to anything in the end, it gets points for being generally well-crafted and clever.
27. The Revenge of Anakin (Attack of the Clones)
Anakin Skywalker's first step towards the Dark Side is a matter that hits close to him. Now a Jedi apprentice under Obi-Wan, Anakin returns home to Tatooine with his love Padme. Hoping to reunite with his mother, he learns she's been kidnapped and enslaved by Tusken raiders. Anakin arrives just in time to see her die, igniting a bloodthirsty wrath in Anakin that no Jedi should ever possess. Far away back in Coruscant, Yoda senses Anakin's pain, and is aware that something has changed for the worse.
26. Vader’s Hallway Massacre (Rogue One)
The end of Rogue One naturally leads into the beginning of A New Hope. But through director Gareth Edwards - and Tony Gilroy, who oversaw the movie's extensive reshoots according to a 2018 article by The Hollywood Reporter - the end of Rogue One doesn't ease up on the throttle. Instead, it goes full speed into bridging eras by giving fans a look at just how bloodthirsty Darth Vader was to retrieve the stolen Death Star plans. Unleashing the full might of the Force, Vader mows down rebels like they're bugs to squash, recementing Vader's image as cinema's greatest villain. The scene is propulsive and pulsating, a forward-moving climactic sequence that ends with a digitally de-aged Carrie Fisher, as Princess Leia, uttering just one word: "Hope."
25. The Train Job (Solo)
All good Westerns need a train heist - and so it is, even in Star Wars. The 2018 Star Wars anthology movie which details the origins of Han Solo (with Alden Ehrenreich in the role) has a stand-out action sequence that takes the classic "train heist" trope of action-oriented Westerns and gives it a Star Wars spin. With a unique structure to the trains and winding tracks that give off the vibe of a proof-of-concept Disneyland ride, Solo proves it's a more worthwhile experience than its apparent prequel-itis lets on.
24. "Chewie, We're Home" (The Force Awakens)
The first 40 minutes of The Force Awakens is wall-to-wall with brand new faces that the Star Wars franchise introduces for the first time. But when Chewbacca and Han Solo (a naturally aged Harrison Ford) walk onto the Millennium Falcon after who knows how long, that's when the Force really wakes back up. When Han smiles and tells Chewie "we're home," timed to a well-deployed John Williams motif, fans are in full agreement. The Millennium Falcon is back in proper hands, and the spirit of Star Wars is truly restored. For now, at least.
23. The Broom Boy (The Last Jedi)
Some fans deride The Last Jedi for being offensive to canon. But the final, closing scene of Rian Johnson's movie is a testament to the inspiring powers of storytelling - a virtue that George Lucas knew well. After the Resistance has regrouped to see another day, Rian Johnson returns to the dirt-faced stable children working in the depths of Canto Bight. Among them is a little boy, with no name and no identity, who exhibits familiarity with the Force and gazes up at the star-dotted night sky. The broom in his hand is suddenly no longer a broom. Like all of us who've played with sticks and held them like swords, this moment in The Last Jedi alludes to what really matters with stories like Star Wars. It isn't how it respects canon or whatever nonsense. It's how they make you feel, and what they instill in you to believe.
22. The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis, The Wise (Revenge of the Sith)
It's maybe one of the creepiest scenes in all of Star Wars, and illustrates how seductive the Dark Side can really be. In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine further lures vulnerable Anakin to the ways of the Sith by telling him about the legend of Darth Plagueis, a Sith Lord who sought to achieve immortality. Palpatine informs him that Plagueis did indeed find a way to "cheat death," which Anakin is keen to learn to keep his beloved Padme from dying in childbirth. Thing is: Anakin won't learn it from a Jedi. Anakin had already taken his first step to darkness, but learning about Darth Plagueis from Palpatine is arguably the true beginning of Anakin's fateful transformation.
21. Han Solo’s Death (The Force Awakens)
Nothing hits hard like the death of a loved one. For Star Wars fans, seeing Kylo Ren willingly kill his own father Han Solo defines the sequel trilogy, for better or worse. While fans mourn the loss of a hero like Han Solo, for Kylo Ren, it further cements his adherence to his radical Sith beliefs and to cap off his festering personal resentment towards his family. While die-hard Star Wars faithful are still mad about Han's death, the only person to blame is Harrison Ford himself, who wanted Han to die even as far back as Empire Strikes Back and only came back to The Force Awakens so Han could get a proper demise. You might not like it, but you gotta respect it. It's maybe the coolest way to get out of a job.
20. "Help Me, Obi-Wan Kenobi" (A New Hope)
"You're my only hope!" And that, my dear reader, is how you kick off a life-changing adventure. Princess Leia's distress call to Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is famously contained in R2-D2's hard drives and projected as a holographic recording, springs Luke Skywalker into action and joining the Rebellion. (It might have also been the start of a romance, as George Lucas didn't write Luke and Leia as siblings until much later. Observe how Luke thinks Leia is "beautiful.") Luke wanted an adventure, and he got it - never mind that it would cost him his only remaining family he knew, and would lead to a lifetime of pain and regret. But those are small prices to pay to save the galaxy.
19. The Battle of Scarif (Rogue One)
Before Rogue One, fans only knew that the Rebellion paid dearly to obtain the Death Star plans. The 2016 movie Rogue One finally brings fans into the frontlines of that fateful battle, with an impressively staged climax that cleverly plays with scale (as seen in the slow approach of the towering AT-ATs). Evoking the intensity of war pictures like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Black Hawk Down, and more, Star Wars finally lives up to its very name with a thrilling portrait of bravery and sacrifice in the name of a better future that many here will never see.
18. Lando Sells Out (The Empire Strikes Back)
Lando has more swagger than anyone else in Cloud City, but even he can't turn away the Empire. Shortly after the crew of the Millennium Falcon get a warm welcome from Lando, their host unfortunately sells them all out to Darth Vader, who appears patiently waiting for them at the head of a lavish dinner table. (Hilariously. Han Solo instinctively reaches for his blaster.) While Lando would soon redeem himself, the act of selling out our heroes proves the galaxy is full of lofty trust and shady, self-serving figures. Luckily, Billy Dee Williams has enough charisma in his pinky to make fans still love him afterward.
17. The Holdo Maneuver (The Last Jedi)
For the first time in Star Wars movie history, space is utterly silent. While many fans dislike the famous "Holdo Maneuver" in The Last Jedi because it breaks canon or whatever, others love it because it's just so awesome. Impressively directed by Rian Johnson and playing in the late second act as the Resistance start to lose their ground against the First Order, Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo bravely sacrifices herself by ramming with the Resistance cruiser using a hyperspace jump. Never mind how it defies established logic. Few moments in Star Wars are as visually stunning, as rhythmic, and as breathtaking as this scene's quiet explosion.
16. Anakin’s Redemption (Return of the Jedi)
Even Darth Vader isn't so far from redemption. In the climax of Return of the Jedi, and indeed the climax of all of Star Wars for years, Darth Vader realizes the errors of his ways and saves his son, Luke Skywalker by destroying Emperor Palpatine and fulfilling the Jedi prophecy. The moment segues into the only time Luke ever sees his father not as Vader, but Anakin, a burned-out zombie who gets an eerily peaceful death. Although a tyrant with blood on his hands, you could argue Vader should have suffered more. But given his final act to save the galaxy, his death is a good reward.
15. Picnic on Naboo/"Across the Stars" (Attack of the Clones)
If there's one thing the original trilogy was missing, it was a love story for its main protagonist as Han Solo soaked up all the affections from Leia. (A reminder that George Lucas didn't write Luke and Leia as siblings until writing Return of the Jedi!) With the prequel movies, Lucas finally got to write a tragic love story through Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, played by Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman respectively. In Attack of the Clones, a young adult Anakin is tasked with bodyguarding Leia, and their time together draws them close despite the Jedi Order's prohibition against such things. The "Picnic on Naboo" may be cheesy and rendered into a popular meme, and the CGI was rough even in 2002. But thanks to John Williams' track "Across the Stars," Anakin and Padme's romance brims with fate. It's an affair that will end in tragedy, but love is just that powerful.
14. Snoke's Throne Room Battle/"Join Me" (The Last Jedi)
Rey and Kylo Ren are drawn together, somehow. Their shared connections to the Force make them kindred spirits, however much they tense up when they're in the same room. Their covert connections to each other explode like fireworks towards the end of The Last Jedi, when Kylo Ren betrays Supreme Leader Snoke and he teams up with Rey to take down the heavily armored Praetorian Guards. Delectably framed with stylish and tasteful slow-motion, not to mention top-notch choreography, Rey and Kylo Ren's one-time union cements The Last Jedi as one of the best Star Wars movies (yes really). For denouement, the scene ends with Kylo and Rey, still panting and sweating, coming to their senses and realizing they are not meant for each other, along with the important "revelation" that Rey came from anonymous paupers. (Never mind how The Rise of Skywalker quickly bent over backwards to change this.) The subtext here is about the closest Star Wars has ever gone to being sensual.
13. Podracing! (The Phantom Menace)
George Lucas' love for hot rods and modifying cars in California garages in his youth was first shown in his '73 classic American Graffiti. But with Star Wars, Lucas took those affections into the now-iconic podracing sequence of The Phantom Menace. Occurring midway through the movie and taking up a full 10 minutes of screentime, Lucas delivers an unforgettable experience where young Anakin (played by child actor Jake Lloyd) weaves and dodges sudden death at blistering speeds like it's intergalactic NASCAR. This is podracing, indeed.
12. "Why Are You Here?"/"Do. Or Do Not. There Is No Try." (The Empire Strikes Back)
Expecting someone else, were you? In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker travels to the swamp planet of Dagobah to meet Master Yoda as Obi-Wan instructed him. While Luke intends to find "a great warrior," what he finds instead is a diminutive, sarcastic green alien in ragged robes. But while Yoda looks like an unemployed Santa's elf, that's by design. His misleading appearance is illuminating to Luke (and to all of us) that looks are deceiving, and that infinite wisdom can come from unlikely sources. Luke later learns this the hard way when Yoda demonstrates his Force abilities, along with some Jedi advice: "Do. Or do not. There is no try."
11. Chase Through Endor (Return of the Jedi)
With revolutionary visual effects and a genuine sense of danger with each passing second, the lengthy chase through the forests of Endor, seen in 1983's Return of the Jedi, is the picture definition of an iconic action scene. A solid four straight minutes of breakneck speed, this scene sees Luke and Leia hijack speeders and take down Stormtroopers while dodging trees, trunks, and other hazards at what feels like 200 miles an hour. The genius of the scene, however, is in its sound. Listen closely. Observe the absence of any John Williams' music. That "music" here is the action itself - the droning whirs of the speeders, the percussive booms of explosions, and Luke's sighs of relief that his reflexes are as sharp as his lightsaber.
10. The Execution of Order 66 (Revenge of the Sith)
And so, we see the end of the Jedi. In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine activates Order 66 - the fateful signal where the vast Clone Trooper army turns on their Jedi allies to kill them all. You can see the gravity of the situation written on Yoda's face. As the Jedi are killed one by one throughout the galaxy, the tides turn to allow tyranny to effortlessly take hold. While later Star Wars media later told of survivors who narrowly escaped this fate - Jedi such as Cal Kestis, or the "Bad Batch" of Clone Troopers whose genetic mutations allowed them to defy Order 66 - as far as Revenge of the Sith is concerned, the Jedi are extinct, and the Star Wars universe is never the same again.
9. "We Are What They Grow Beyond" (The Last Jedi)
What is the burden of all masters? If you ask Yoda, it's the inevitability of falling short. (And he would know.) Rian Johnson's Star Wars sequel, The Last Jedi, is a divisive one among fans, to say the least. But Johnson's story willingly (and bravely) interrogates the mythology of Star Wars as being built on insufficient, almost infantile notions over legacy, stewardship, and an inability to "grow." It also posits that weakness and failure are as valuable to pass on as strengths. "The greatest teacher, failure is," Yoda tells Luke. As the allegedly sacred Jedi texts burn, Yoda and Luke meditate before the warming glow of its fires - a symbol of Star Wars freeing itself from the past while keeping only what is most important. If only most fans got the message.
8. The Emperor’s Throne Room (Return of the Jedi)
At last, Luke Skywalker enters the belly of the beast. The climax of 1983’s Return of the Jedi begins with Darth Vader escorting his own son Luke into the presence of Emperor Palpatine. Relishing over his victory at hand, Palpatine engages in a battle of wits against young Luke. While Luke maintains faith in his friends even if he himself must die, Palpatine still gloats in the apparent inevitability of his dominance. When Luke and Vader clash again, the smirk in Palpatine’s face says it all.
7. Versus Darth Maul/"Duel of the Fates" (The Phantom Menace)
Admittedly, John Williams’ score is doing the most here. But Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s 2v1 match against the frightening Darth Maul is what places Star Wars at the dawn of the 21st century, a bold new era in which the crusty old fencing of past Star Wars battles just ain’t good enough for an era ruled by Jackie Chan, The Matrix, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. With legit martial arts master Ray Park in the role of Maul, this stunning lightsaber battle - culminating in the death of Qui-Gon - is undeniably an all-timer in all of Star Wars history.
6. "I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing" (A New Hope)
Who can forget when Darth Vader uses the Force to choke someone for the first time? From Admiral Motti having the guts to insult Vader as a "sorcerer" to the Sith Lord dropping the stone cold line "I find your lack of faith disturbing" while literally showing off the power of the Force - this is a workplace meeting straight from hell, with the Devil himself in attendance. Although Vader had already shown himself to be a formidable antagonist at the top of the movie, this pivotal scene reasserts his fearsome stature.
5. Anakin's Speech/Battle on Mustafar (Revenge of the Sith)
Fans on TikTok love to recreate the moment, but don't let the memes fool you: The end of Revenge of the Sith is a fateful battle between student and master, between fate and will, between good and evil. The fall of the Galactic Republic coincides with Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker clashing above the fires of Mustafar, the volcanic intensity mirroring their inner feelings. But that happens after another big moment: Anakin's grand speech that what he's done was for the good of all. For his new empire. Obviously, Obi-Wan has issues with Anakin calling all of the galaxy his.
4. The Death Star Trench Run (A New Hope)
It's the ultimate act of faith in the Force: In the climax of A New Hope, Luke Skywalker steps up to save the galaxy by flying in the Death Star's trenches to decimate the planet-sized warship. The real meat of the action, however, is when Obi-Wan, calling from beyond, instructs Luke to use the Force instead of relying on his targeting computers. Today, studios would likely advise George Lucas to write in a useless scene to have Luke realize he shouldn't rely on computers when the Force can guide him. Or have his X-Wing get damaged and necessitate Luke use the Force as a last resort. Luckily, Lucas made Star Wars when he did, and this climactic victory stays perfect as is.
3. Versus Kylo Ren (The Force Awakens)
Anakin's lightsaber sure has changed a lot of hands. At the end of The Force Awakens, both Finn and Rey wield Anakin's original lightsaber against Kylo Ren in the snowy wilds of Starkiller Base. While Kylo Ren is a legit trained swordsman who studied under Luke, Finn and Rey hold their own despite Kylo Ren's superior combat skills and fearsome crossguard variant saber. Both times when our heroes ignite their lightsaber, it's exhilarating for different reasons. For Finn, it's a former Stormtrooper's stand against his forced programming. For Rey, it's a lonely girl's certainty towards her place among the stars. When Rey uses the Force to take the lightsaber away from Kylo Ren? That moment is something else.
2. "I Love You." "I Know." (The Empire Strikes Back)
Generations of Star Wars fans have waited to quote this one in real life. In the heartbreaking ending of The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader freezes Han Solo in carbonite - a major blow to both the rebellion and our heroes. But just before Vader turns Solo into stone, Han and Leia declare their love for one another. Kind of. When Leia tells Han "I love you," Han gives her the unexpected yet most Han Solo response he could muster: "I know." Even in defeat, Han Solo never loses his swag.
1. Versus Darth Vader/"I Am Your Father" (The Empire Strikes Back)
It has everything: An epic duel, a stunning revelation, and a story twist like no other. At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker - still tending to the wounds of his freshly sliced right hand - learns from Darth Vader himself that he's his father. While anyone would reasonably demand, like, a paternity test, the Force helps Luke realize that Vader speaks true. The end of The Empire Strikes Back is immovable; a seminal moment in pop culture mythology where the impossibly great sequel to an all-time classic ends with a reveal that changes everything.
