Skywalker family

"The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And my sister has it."

- Luke Skywalker

The Skywalker family was a human family that became prominent in galactic politics and history, with several generations serving as Jedi, military leaders, and public servants. The Skywalkers were originally slaves native to the planet Tatooine in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy. In 32 BBY, three decades before the Battle of Yavin, Anakin Skywalker was discovered to be exceptionally Force-sensitive to the extent that Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn believed he had found the Chosen One&mdash;the one who was prophesied to restore balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. After gaining his freedom, Anakin joined the Jedi Order as the apprentice of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. His mother, Shmi Skywalker, remained in slavery until her marriage to Cliegg Lars.

Although the Jedi Code forbade personal attachments, Anakin Skywalker became infatuated with Padmé Amidala, a former queen-turned-senator who represented the planet Naboo in the Galactic Senate. The two married in secret in 22 BBY, shortly after the start of the Clone Wars&mdash;a galaxy-wide civil war between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Rising to the rank of Jedi Knight, Anakin fought in multiple battles as a leader in the Grand Army of the Republic while his wife unsuccessfully lobbied to end the war through diplomacy. Amidala became pregnant during the waning months of the war, causing Anakin to grow fearful of losing her after experiencing premonitions of Amidala's death in childbirth. Ultimately, Anakin turned to the dark side of the Force and became apprenticed to Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, in the hope of preventing his wife's death. Adopting the name and persona of Darth Vader, the new Sith Lord turned against the Jedi Order and led the initial phase of their extermination while Sidious declared himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire.

Anakin's transformation into Vader did not prevent his wife's death, however. Having lost the will to live as a result of her husband's actions, Amidala died shortly after giving birth to twins, Luke Skywalker and Leia Amidala Skywalker, in 19 BBY. The children were separated and hidden from their father, with Luke being sent to live with his relatives on Tatooine and Leia joining the royal family of Alderaan as the adopted daughter of Senator Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa. Luke would endeavor to become a Jedi Knight like his father before him, unaware at the time that Anakin and Vader were the same person. His sister, now called Princess Leia Organa, followed in the example of her late mother and adoptive father by joining the ranks of the Imperial Senate while secretly supporting the Alliance to Restore the Republic. During the Galactic Civil War, Vader sought to turn his son to the dark side but was defeated by Luke in a lightsaber duel at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. Despite the Emperor's desire to replace Vader with a new apprentice, Luke remained committed to the Jedi way and the light side of the Force. Sidious attempted to kill Luke but was struck down by Vader, who sacrificed his life to save his son from the Emperor's wrath. Having fulfilled the prophecy of the Chosen One by destroying the Sith, Anakin Skywalker became one with the Force.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, Leia Organa married the smuggler Han Solo and gave birth to their son, Ben Solo, on the day the Empire surrendered to the New Republic in 5 ABY. With the end of the war and the Empire's reign, Organa set out to consolidate the Republic as a member of the restored Galactic Senate while her brother scoured the galaxy for knowledge in his efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order. One of Luke's first students was his nephew, Ben who possessed raw, untamed power in the Force. However, his potential also caught the attention of Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order who undermined Luke's plans by turning Ben to the dark side. Inspired by his grandfather's Sith legacy, Ben became Snoke's apprentice and adopted a new identity as Kylo Ren&mdash;Master of the Knights of Ren and champion of the First Order. In 34 ABY the First Order overthrew the Republic and went to war with the Resistance, a group of insurgents formed by Organa. By then, both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were dead, leaving Ren and his mother as the surviving members of the Skywalker family. Ren, who deposed and succeeded Snoke as Supreme Leader, vowed to destroy the Resistance as well as the combined legacy of the Jedi and Sith.

Fall of the Republic
"The Force is unusually strong with him. That much is clear. Who was his father?" "There was no father. I carried him. I gave birth. I raised him. I can't explain what happened."

- Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker, referring to Anakin Skywalker

The origins of the Skywalker family date back to the era of the Galactic Republic, beginning in 72 BBY with the birth of Shmi Skywalker. Approximately forty-one years before the Battle of Yavin, Shmi gave birth to the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, whose exceptional strength in the Force attracted the attention of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Jinn, who theorized that Anakin&mdash;a boy with no natural father&mdash;had been conceived by the midi-chlorians, brought the former slave to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant where he could be trained as a Jedi. Anakin's mother remained behind on their home planet of Tatooine and became the wife of Cliegg Lars, a moisture farmer who married Shmi after freeing her from slavery.

Anakin went on to become one of the greatest Jedi during his time in the Jedi Order. However, Obi-Wan Kenobi felt that his Padawan had grown prideful as a result of his Force abilities. In addition, the Jedi High Council was concerned about Anakin's fear of loss and tendency to form strong emotional attachments despite the Jedi Code. During the final years of the Republic, premonitions of his mother's suffering caused Anakin to return to Tatooine only to find that Shmi had been tortured and killed by a group of Tusken Raiders. Angered by her death, he proceeded to slaughter the entire camp, including the women and children. At the same time, his attachment to Senator Padmé Amidala evolved into a romantic relationship, culminating in their secret marriage which occurred shortly after the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY.

Like other Jedi Knights, Anakin fought against the Separatists as a Jedi General of the Grand Army of the Republic. He became a hero and his powers grew exponentially, but his fear of loss would ultimately lead him to the dark side of the Force. Upon learning that his wife had become pregnant, Anakin foresaw Amidala's death in childbirth and became desperate to prevent his premonitions from becoming reality. As his anxiety and confusion grew, the leader of the Republic, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine revealed his true identity to Anakin as Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith who conspired to rule the galaxy as Emperor. Believing that the dark side held the key to saving Amidala, Anakin succumbed to temptation and became Sidious' Sith apprentice, consequently resulting in the fall of the Jedi Order and the Republic's transformation into the Galactic Empire. However, his actions broke his wife's heart, leading her to lose the will to live after giving birth to their children, the twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Amidala Skywalker. Anakin was left heartbroken by Amidala's death and&mdash;having been grievously injured in battle against his former Jedi Master&mdash;embraced his new identity as the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Age of the Empire
"You're insane.''" "No. I'm a Skywalker''."

- A lightsaber thief and Luke Skywalker

Following Amidala's death, her children were separated and sent into hiding in order to protect them from the Sith. Leia was adopted by Senator Bail Organa and his wife, Queen Breha Organa and was henceforth known as "Leia Organa," Princess of Alderaan. Her brother, Luke was given to his relatives, Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun Lars, who raised him as a moisture farmer on Tatooine. While Luke yearned to leave the farm in search of a more exciting life, Leia succeeded her adoptive father as the senator of Alderaan. Though a member of the Imperial Senate, she secretly worked to undermine the Empire by supporting the Alliance to Restore the Republic &mdash;a rebellious organization dedicated to the restoration of democracy and the overthrow of the Emperor's regime. The two siblings were reunited during the events leading up to the Battle of Yavin, although neither were aware of their familial relationship at the time. With the help of new friends, the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, Luke saved Leia and the Alliance by destroying the Empire's Death Star battle station.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth, Luke journeyed to Dagobah in the hope of becoming a fully-trained Jedi under the guidance of Grand Master Yoda, one of the few surviving members of the Jedi Order. His training was interrupted, however, after he sensed that his friends were in danger and tried to rescue them despite his master's protest. As a result, Luke was forced to confront Darth Vader, who revealed his true identity as Luke's father. The revelation shocked Luke, but he refused to turn to the dark side and managed to escape from Vader. They would encounter each other once more at Endor; by then Luke came to accept the fact that he was Vader's son, but also believed that his father could be turned back to the light side of the Force. Like Vader, the Emperor was also intent on turning Luke to the dark side and encouraged him to strike down his father after defeating the Sith Lord in a lightsaber duel. Luke refused and proclaimed that he had become a Jedi, like his father before him. Vader initially looked on as the Emperor tortured his son with Force lightning, but ultimately destroyed Sidious to save Luke at the cost of his own life. With the Sith destroyed, the prophecy of the Chosen One was fulfilled and a redeemed Anakin Skywalker became one with the Force. At the same time, the Alliance was victorious at the Battle of Endor, resulting in the destruction of the second Death Star in 4 ABY.

Legacy
"When I found you, I saw what all masters live to see: raw, untamed power. And beyond that, something truly special&mdash;The potential of your bloodline. A new Vader."

- Snoke, to Kylo Ren

After the Battle of Endor, Leia Organa married Han Solo and gave birth to their son, Ben Solo, on the day the Empire capitulated to the New Republic in 5 ABY, ending the Galactic Civil War. As a scion of the Skywalker bloodline, Ben was inherently strong with the Force&mdash;possessing raw, untamed power that attracted the attention of his uncle Luke as well as Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order. Ben's similarities to his grandfather caused Organa to send her son to Luke, hoping that her brother could keep him in the light by training Ben as a Jedi. As such, Luke became the Jedi Master to a new generation of Jedi which included his nephew along with a dozen apprentices. Meanwhile, his sister went on to play a role in the politics of the New Republic, although her career was effectively ended when her secret status as the daughter of Darth Vader became public knowledge.

Ben Solo's time as a Jedi came to an end on the night he awoke to see his master standing above him with his lightsaber drawn. By then, Luke had sensed the growing darkness within his nephew and was tempted by pure instinct to kill Solo before he could be fully turned. Although Luke refrained from carrying out the deed, Solo believed that his uncle meant to murder him in his sleep. As a result, he destroyed the Jedi training temple, killed half of the students and took the rest with him, leaving Luke for dead. Although Luke survived the incident, the loss of his nephew and students had a profound impact on him. Having located the first Jedi Temple, Luke chose to spend his remaining years on Ahch-To as a hermit living in a state of self-imposed exile. His fallen apprentice ultimately became Snoke's disciple in the ways of the dark side. Attempting to sever all ties with his past, the former Ben Solo became known as "Kylo Ren"&mdash;a warlord of the First Order and Master of the Knights of Ren.

In the final days of the cold war, Ren oversaw the First Order's hunt for Luke Skywalker by acquiring pieces of a map to Ahch-To. At the same time, his struggle against the pull of the light side caused him to kill his father in an effort to end the conflict within him. This act of patricide only weakened him and contributed to his defeat in a duel with Rey, a Force-sensitive scavenger with no prior experience in lightsaber combat. As war broke out between the First Order and the Resistance, Ren and Rey's relationship was affected by the Force-bond that had been formed between them, granting Rey new insights into Ren's inner pain and conflict. When Rey came to Ren attempting to facilitate his return to the light, the dark warrior assassinated his master and fought alongside the Jedi learner against Snoke's Elite Praetorian Guard. He offered Rey the chance to rule the galaxy at his side, but she rejected his proposal and left Ren to take control of the First Order alone as the new Supreme Leader. During the Battle of Crait, he was deceived by his former master who projected his presence to Crait in order to distract Ren while Organa and the Resistance escaped with Rey's help. As a result of the effort, however, Luke Skywalker perished and became one with the Force, leaving Ren and his mother as the last surviving members of the Skywalker bloodline.

Behind the scenes
The Skywalker family has appeared in every episode of the Star Wars saga to date,       beginning with the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope&mdash;the first film in the original trilogy which featured Luke Skywalker and his twin sister, Princess Leia Organa. In terms of the series' internal chronology, the Skywalkers first appeared in the prequel trilogy, specifically in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. In this film, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn discovered the Chosen One in the form of Anakin Skywalker, the eventual Jedi Knight who fathered Luke and Leia with Senator Padmé Amidala before ultimately turning to the dark side of the Force as the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

The sequel trilogy is a continuation of the Skywalker Saga, with Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa returning in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens and its sequel, the 2017 film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi. Kylo Ren represents the next generation of the Skywalker family through his status as Organa's son and, therefore, the grandson of Anakin Skywalker.