Every story is only as good as its villains, and that’s as true for Star Wars as anything else. As iconic as Star Wars‘ heroes may be, the villains are the real show stealers. The dark side has an undeniable draw, making Sith Lords and crime lords alike absolutely unforgettable.
But how do the Star Wars movies compare in terms of their villains? It’s an interesting question, because many of these movies have the same foe; Palpatine and Darth Vader are recurring villains. But even those characters are handled differently over the course of the Skywalker saga, meaning it’s still possible to rank them.
11
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Palpatine
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brought the saga to a close, but it wasn’t really a triumphant one; it brought Ian McDiarmid’s Palpatine back for a last hurrah, but the Emperor was greatly diminished. There was none of Palpatine’s Machiavellian genius, with Darth Sidious reduced to a last desperate fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers.
Palpatine once claimed everything happened as he had foreseen. But the resurrected Palpatine moves from one scheme to another at breakneck speed, benefiting from chance rather than genius. He’s more powerful than ever, but he lacks his traditional cunning and genius, explaining his low ranking here.
10
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dryden Vos
Paul Bettany received a lot of praise for his performance as crime lord Dryden Vos in Solo: A Star Wars Story. He somehow brought a compelling blend of charm and menace to the role, dominating every single scene he appeared in. There was just one problem; the (dramatically resH๏τ) Solo completely underused him.
Dryden Vos didn’t make it out of Solo alive, killed by his own apprentice, Qi’ra. Star Wars has always hopped around the timeline with impunity, which means we can’t ᴀssume this is the last we’ve seen of him. Sadly, Solo‘s poor box office performance means Lucasfilm has been slow to follow up on the plot elements; but only time will tell whether that changes.
9
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Kylo Ren
It’s easy for modern viewers to forget how shocking Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren was in The Force Awakens. The character’s idenтιтy was a mystery, and many even speculated that he was a fallen Luke Skywalker. When the truth was revealed – in a shocking scene where Kylo Ren kills his own father – it left audiences shocked.
Driver presents a fantastic, conflicted villain who’s tortured by the pull of the light side. He comes low down on this list, though, simply because he isn’t quite as effective as he should be; the final duel, in which he loses against a rookie Rey, counts against him. It’s all been explained later, but Kylo Ren deserved a better start.
8
Attack of the Clones
Count Dooku
It feels almost like a crime putting Christopher Lee so low on this list. A fallen Jedi who now rules the planet Serenno, Count Dooku is leader of the Separatists, as well as Darth Sidious’ secret apprentice. Lee puts in a commanding performance, and there’s one incredible scene where he attempts to turn Obi-Wan to his side.
The problem, though, is that this is where George Lucas’ prequel trilogy gets most confused in terms of its villains. Dooku’s motives in the aforementioned scene with Obi-Wan are uncertain even now; he explicitly tells Obi-Wan about his master, making many suspect Dooku was preparing to turn against his master.
The fact we don’t know, even 23 years later, is a mark against the movie’s portrayal of Dooku.
7
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke
Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi is certainly controversial in the fandom, and it’s lower in this list simply because of its complete disinterest in one villain; Andy Serkis’ Supreme Leader Snoke. The decision to kill Snoke off is one of many plots that has divided the fandom, leaving The Last Jedi with a strained reputation.
What is undeniable, though, is that Kylo Ren is absolutely fantastic here. The Last Jedi riffs on The Empire Strikes Back, with Kylo Ren attempting to seduce Rey to the dark side – and it’s literal, because there’s something so intimate about the chemistry between Driver and Daisy Ridley.
6
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Darth Maul
Played by Ray Park, Darth Maul featured prominently in marketing for The Phantom Menace. Lucasfilm knew the monstrous visage would be a hit, with the Sith Apprentice playing a major role in the trailers. Surprisingly, though, Darth Maul only had a little over six minutes’ screentime before he was killed off, wasting an iconic character.
George Lucas knew he made a mistake killing Darth Maul. He brought Maul back in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and now Maul has more screentime than Darth Vader himself. But in terms of The Phantom Menace alone, this incredible character will always feel underdeveloped and underused.
5
Rogue One
Orson Krennic and Darth Vader
Ben Mendelsohn’s Krennic is a very different kind of Imperial villain. Most Star Wars bad guys wield spectacular Force powers, but Krennic is simply a ruthless Imperial bureaucrat willing to do anything to grow in power and influence. It’s a fantastic portrayal, one completed almost a decade later when Krennic returned in Andor season 2.
Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous teamed up to bring Darth Vader back for a scene-stealing cameo. He may have only had a minor role, but Darth Vader has a hallway scene that stands out among the most incredible in Star Wars history; Rogue One reminds us why the Dark Lord of the Sith should be feared.
4
Star Wars
Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader
The first Star Wars movie is easily one of the best in the saga, and in large part that’s because of the phenomenal villains. Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin is ruthless and imposing, particularly in scenes he shares with Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia. But, of course, David Prowse and James Earl Jones are the real draws as Darth Vader.
This Darth Vader lacks the complexity and nuance that the character would develop as the saga continued. Lucas was yet to decide on Vader’s true idenтιтy (Vader didn’t become a Skywalker until the second draft of The Empire Strikes Back), but he is an absolute force to be reckoned with. It’s no surprise Star Wars became such a hit.
3
Revenge of the Sith
Palpatine, Count Dooku, General Grievous, and Anakin Skywalker
Revenge of the Sith is the movie where the villains win. Appropriately enough, it’s absolutely stuffed with memorable villains; Count Dooku meets his fate, Matthew Wood makes his debut as General Grievous, Palpatine is unmasked, and Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker falls to the dark side.
The movie features the best performances of the prequel era, and it boasts absolutely stunning fight choreography. The raw power of Palpatine is demonstrated when he takes on Yoda, while the Battle of the Heroes is rightly considered one of the best lightsaber duels in Star Wars history.
2
Return of the Jedi
Darth Vader and Palpatine
Return of the Jedi tends to appear lower on many rankings (Ewoks are an acquired taste). But it deserves second place here simply because its villains are absolutely tremendous. Palpatine appears on-screen for the first time, wielding Force powers like nothing viewers had imagined before, revealed as the dark spider at the center of the Imperial web.
But the crown goes to Darth Vader, of course. Return of the Jedi is the climax of Darth Vader’s story, and it turns the entire Skywalker saga into a story of redemption. It takes a particularly smart script to rewrite a villain’s entire story, turning it on its head.
