I have loved the Star Wars movies for years. The original trilogy was awesome from start to finish, and even the prequels are not without at least some merit. All six films are also full of characters, many of which have become quite memorable and remain beloved to this day. However, there are also characters that are either so annoying, useless, or poorly thought out that they should have never seen the light of day. Therefore, they are the perfect characters for the following list. Please note that only movie characters, not those featured in television shows, novels, and the like (unless they were seen on the big screen first, of course), will be included. The list is as follows:
10. Jabba the Hutt: Jabba is a large, rather ugly beast, first seen in Return of the Jedi and who was the one who held the frozen Han Solo prisoner. Not only is Jabba perhaps the least attractive-looking character in any film, but he also is very disgusting, trying to lick Princess Leia in one scene. It does not help that in later films, when he became a CGI character, he looked even more unsightly. To his credit, he is quite malicious, sentencing Luke and Han to death and keeping Leia as his slave, but some people may not be able to look beyond his rather sickening appearance.
9. Watto: This blue, flying creature was the one who kept Anakin Skywalker and his mother as slaves in the prequels. There is absolutely nothing about him worth caring about; all he cares about is money. On top of that, he is somewhat annoying, though not nearly as much as another character further down this list. A one-note adversary, nothing more.
8. Darth Maul: This adversary from The Phantom Menace is not so much a bad character as he is underdeveloped. Little is revealed about him, but with his menacing looks and dual lightsaber, he seemed poised to become a major villain throughout the prequel trilogy. Unfortunately, that hope quickly vanished when he was killed off in the first film of the new trilogy. Thus, Darth Maul became the victim of a wasted opportunity, and that is a shame, since I would have wanted him to become as dark a villain as Darth Vader was.
7. Ewoks: These teddy bear-like creatures from the forest moon of Endor are small, but powerful, beings who proved to be useful to the resistance despite their peaceful nature. Unfortunately, it can be hard to look beyond their cute appearances, and this marked an early form of placing cute characters in a Star Wars film for marketing purposes. Indeed, the Ewoks would return for a pair of television films and an animated series. Not bad characters per se, but seemingly out-of-place in a more action-oriented series.
6. Uncle Owen: Luke’s uncle seems to be somewhat bitter, and cares more about having Luke stay to help him out and less about having his nephew pursue his dreams. His intentions are well and good, but he just seems to be somewhat too bitter for my tastes. Definitely not the kind of person I would want to raise my children. Sadly, he is killed before he gets much of a chance to change.
5.Biggs Darklighter: He was Luke’s best friend, and helped out in the battle against the Death Star in A New Hope. Another character with some potential, but failed to achieve that goal. It did not help that some of his scenes were ultimately cut (though the Special Edition restored his reunion with Luke before the final battle) and that he was killed off. He could have been a strong character in later films, though one may wish what would have become of those films if that were the case.
4. Sebulba: Think Dick Dastardly (from Wacky Races) as an alien and you pretty much have Sebulba, the notorious cheating pod racer. One key difference: Dick Dastardly was actually funny. Sebulba has almost nothing going for him, and he is another adversary who did not reach any potential in the films. He is just another one-note cad, and a waste of nice CGI animation.
3. Salicious Crumb: Jabba’s pet, seen prominently during the Hutt’s appearances in Return of the Jedi. This creature’s only purposes seem to be laughing maniacally and pulling off C-3PO’s eyes. Other than that, he just seems to be one of those comical villainous sidekicks. Such assistants can work if the characters are developed well enough, but Crumb is unable to join that elite club. A waste of fairly good puppetry.
2. Anakin Skywalker (teenager): It is no wonder Anakin was drawn to the dark side: throughout Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, he was arrogant, whiny, and selfish. As much as it made him become the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, it also made him annoying, to the extent that he was just barely tolerable. Perhaps if a better actor had portrayed Anakin, he would have become a more sympathetic character. Instead, he simply comes off as someone who seems to have a chronically bad mood.
1. Jar Jar Binks: Of all the Star Wars characters who never should have been created, Jar Jar Binks is far and away the winner (or is that loser?) of that dubious prize. He is annoying with his baby-like speech, unfunny antics, and having been made seemingly for marketing purposes. While his presence and wackiness were later toned down, he still remained an eyesore. C-3PO and R2-D2 were funny, as were Han Solo and Chewbacca, but Binks is simply a pain to endure. Let us hope that he will never mar another Star Wars production ever again.
The characters listed above range from those who had wasted potential to those who never should even have been allowed to be shown on-screen. For the former, more could have been done with them, such as fleshing out their origins and personality, and making them characters more suitable for a Best Star Wars Character list (which I will write at a later date). The latter set, on the other hand, is proof that some characters simply do not work, no matter how hard one would try to make them likable. In a perfect world, every Star Wars character would be excellent to some extent, but for now, we have to suffer those who have debuted for no good reason, and who will surely remain loathed for many more years.
