Does the Light Side and the Jedi Order not appeal to you?
Luckily May 5th isn’t just Cinco de Mayo, but it’s also #RevengeoftheFifth, when Sith lovers and Dark Side affiliates alike get to share their love of all things evil.
While the
Star Wars franchise has had a handful of memorable villains over the years, there actually have been just as many duds. While every Dark Side member the series has brought to life has looked kickass, a couple of them have petered out as a result of wasted potential or just plain bad writing. Here are the worst villains the
Star Wars universe has seen over the years.
Darth Maul
Arguably one of the most disappointing villains in the franchise, Darth Maul is by far the coolest looking dark Jedi ever, but George Lucas butchered Maul in The Phantom Menace. Advertised as the film’s main protagonist, he was simply executed and had only about five minutes of screen time in the film. It was a satisfying amount of screen time — don’t get me wrong. His lightsaber battle with Qui Gon Jinn was fun to watch, but it was all rather two-dimensional, and we just wish there was more of an emphasis on his backstory.
Jango Fett
A truly pointless antagonist, Jango Fett was written to be a tie-in between the prequels and the original films (he is Boba Fett’s father,) , but as a character he wasn’t fleshed out in the slightest. He had a handful of stylish fight scenes, but frankly he got his ass kicked quite easily in every single one. His death at the hands of Mace Windu was sudden and unsatisfying, and considering we never saw him as a father figure to Boba, Jango’s demise left a hollow feeling in our chest.
General Grievous
Nothing screams lost potential quite like General Grievous does. The four lightsaber-wielding robot could transform into a variety of different shapes and sizes, making him a fierce and scary dark Jedi. But he was never fleshed out and ended up being one-dimensional beyond belief, and what was with that weird cough?
Boba Fett
Similar to Darth Maul, Boba Fett is just so cool looking, and he also didn’t have nearly enough screen time in the original films. In fact, he barely spoke or did anything of consequence at all. With few lines and no fight scenes, Boba was an even more inconsequential character than his father, and his death was even sillier.
Captain Phasma
Captain Phasma was one of the most exciting antagonists to be teased in the new Star Wars films. With her slick chrome suit and majestic cape, the character was also set to be played by Game of Throne’s Gwendolyn Christie, an exciting development that had longtime Star Wars fans quaking in their boots. A Stormtrooper that can aim? Amazing. However, she ended up being just as pointless as the Stormtroopers that came before her. She had limited screen time in The Force Awakens, then she just kinda died in The Last Jedi. All in all, Captain Phasma was a missed opportunity.
Supreme Leader Snoke
Snoke had the potential to be something truly special. Teased in The Force Awakens as the big bad villain of the newest trilogy, JJ Abrams set up Supreme Leader Snoke to be a sinister presence throughout the new films. But then Rian Johnson decided, “Nah, screw that — Let’s just kill him halfway through episode VIII and just say he was a clone created by Emperor Palpatine.” It was all so pointless and unsatisfying.
