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 legendary human family that played a prominent role in galactic history, with several generations achieving fame&mdash;as generals, senators, and Jedi Knights&mdash;from the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, to the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance. The family's story began with Anakin Skywalker; born of no father, he was the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force. In addition, Anakin's connection to the Force was unprecedented, and as such, he had the potential to become the most powerful being in the galaxy. Ultimately, those who followed in his bloodline were gifted with the same raw power, from Anakin's children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, to Ben Solo, Anakin's only grandchild and the last Skywalker in the direct line.

Along with his mother, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin lived as a slave on Tatooine where he was discovered by the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. After winning his freedom, Anakin followed his new friends to Coruscant in hopes of joining the Jedi Order. Though caring and compassionate, Anakin's emotional attachments and fear of loss would lead him down a path filled with anger, hate and suffering, ultimately drawing him to the way of the Sith and the dark side of the Force. Following his apprenticeship under Kenobi, Anakin obtained the rank of knighthood as well as a commission in the Grand Army of the Republic, becoming a hero of the Clone Wars. Although the Jedi Code forbade attachment, Anakin fell in love with Padmé Amidala, the senator of Naboo, whom he married in secret. As the war progressed, relations between the Jedi High Council and Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine deteriorated into mutual distrust, with Anakin caught in the middle. His situation was compounded by Amidala's pregnancy and premonitions of her death in childbirth, causing Anakin's confusion and anxiety to grow exponentially. Through the machinations of Chancellor Palpatine, who was, in fact, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Anakin succumbed to the temptations of the dark side and betrayed the Jedi, convinced it was the only way to learn the secret of immortality. In the end, Amidala died of a broken heart, shortly after giving birth to the twins Luke and Leia, while Anakin was grievously injured and left for dead by his former Jedi Master. Following his reconstruction, the former Anakin Skywalker was consumed by the persona of Darth Vader, a being of pure hate. Sidious, having proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor, consolidated the galaxy under the rule of the Sith, with Vader serving as his apprentice and chief enforcer.

The children of Anakin and Amidala were separated and sent into hiding, with Luke raised by his father's relatives on Tatooine, while Leia was adopted into the royal family of Alderaan. They were reunited, albeit unaware of their familial connection, around the time of the Battle of Yavin, in which the first Death Star was destroyed by Luke. The Skywalker siblings, along with Han Solo and Chewbacca, as well as the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, formed a close bond, fighting to overthrow the Galactic Empire as members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Luke endeavored to learn the ways of the Jedi, intent on following his father's example. After confronting Vader on Bespin, however, Luke discovered that the Sith Lord was his father. Rather than turning Luke to the dark side, as Vader intended, the revelation brought hope to the young Jedi, who believed that his father could still be saved. He journeyed to the second Death Star, where, in the presence of Emperor Palpatine, the final battle between father and son took place. Luke prevailed but refused to commit patricide, even as the Emperor goaded him to embrace the dark side. Confounded by Luke's actions, Sidious proceeded to torture him with torrents of Force lightning, intending to kill his apprentice's son slowly and painfully until Vader rose and destroyed his dark master, his former self reawakened by his son's compassion. Mortally wounded, Vader succumbed to his injuries and died, ending the Sith lineage of Darth Bane, and thus fulfilling the prophecy of the Chosen One. Balance had been restored, Anakin Skywalker was one with the Force, and the Empire was overthrown by the New Republic.

In the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War, Luke endeavored to train a new generation of Jedi in the hope of restoring the Jedi Order to its former glory. His most promising disciple was his own nephew, Ben Solo. The son of Princess Leia and Han Solo, Ben inherited the raw strength of his grandfather, but his future as a Jedi was undermined by the manipulations of Supreme Leader Snoke. Seduced by the temptations of the dark side, like Anakin before him, Ben adopted the new identity of Kylo Ren&mdash;master of the Knights of Ren and champion of the First Order. Following his ascension as the new Supreme Leader, Ren was confronted by his uncle, Luke, who gave his life in order to save the Resistance. During the final days of the conflict, Ren was bidden by Sidious, who returned despite his death, to kill the Jedi Rey, who was in fact the late Emperor's secret granddaughter. Ren and Rey were bound together through a powerful Force-bond, and as such, they were a dyad in the Force. Although Ren envisioned himself as the new Emperor with Rey by his side, the death of his mother, combined with the memory of his father, drove him to renounce the dark side and reclaim his former identity as Ben Solo. In the end, Sidious was destroyed once more, preventing the rebirth of the Sith at the cost of Rey's life. Although Ben survived the battle, he sacrificed himself to bring Rey back from the dead, and with a kiss he died, his body vanishing into the Force along with his mother's remains. Rey traveled to the Skywalker homeworld of Tatooine and buried Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, as well as Leia Organa's lightsaber, at the site of Luke's childhood home. The Skywalker bloodline ended with Ben, but Rey adopted the family name as her own, repudiating her lineage as a Palpatine and becoming "Rey Skywalker."

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
"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.''" "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!" "No. I'' am your father."

- Darth Vader 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. As the Sith Lord's revelation pushed Luke into a state of shock and denial, Vader extended his hand to Luke with an offer&mdash;join him and destroy the Emperor together, leaving the galaxy theirs to rule as father and son. However, Luke refused Vader's entreaty and returned to the Rebellion.

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.

Era of the New Republic
"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, while his fallen apprentice became Snoke's disciple in the ways of the dark side. Determined to sever all ties to his past, the former Ben Solo created the persona of Kylo Ren, becoming 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.

Ren continued to rule the First Order as Supreme Leader while Organa led the Resistance as its leading General in the year that followed. Ren subjugated any worlds that spread the tale of his defeat by Luke Skywalker at Crait, and oversaw a massive manhunt searching for the surviving members of the Resistance and anyone aiding them. Ren eventually discovered Darth Sidious alive in some form on the hidden Sith world of Exegol in the Unknown Regions, who led the Sith Eternal in building the Sith Fleet and creating the Final Order in an effort to establish a new Empire. Sidious promised Ren the Final Order if he killed Rey, and learned that Rey was in fact his granddaughter, Rey Palpatine, which he informed Rey of. Organa used her last strength in the Force to reach out to her son while he and Rey fought on Kef Bir. Organa passed away, but her sacrifice, combined with the memory of Han Solo, caused Ren to shed his dark side identity and become Ben Solo once more. Ben went on to fight alongside Rey at the Battle of Exegol, defeating the Knights of Ren, but Sidious siphoned his and Rey's life force to rejuvenate himself before using the Force to throw him down a pit. Rey was restrengthened by the spirits of the past Jedi, among them Anakin, Luke, and Leia, allowing her to rise and sacrifice herself to destroy the Sith once and for all, killing Sidious. However, Ben rose out of the pit, and, cradling the dead Rey in his arms, sacrificed himself to revive her. The two kissed and embraced before Ben, the last Skywalker, fell over and died in Rey's arms. As Ben became one with the Force, so too did Leia, and the Skywalker bloodline finally came to an end.

Legacy
"I'm Rey. [...] Rey Skywalker."

- Rey Palpatine, taking the Skywalker name

Sometime after the Resistance's victory at battle at Exegol and subsequent celebration at their base on Ajan Kloss, Rey traveled to the Lars homestead on Tatooine with BB-8. There, she wrapped Luke's lightsaber next to Leia's lightsaber and buried the lightsabers beneath the Tatooine sands before igniting her own golden lightsaber blade. Rey was approached by a local, who asked her who she was. As the spirits of the Skywalker twins, Luke and Leia, watched over her, Rey responded that she was "Rey Skywalker."

Behind the scenes
The Skywalker family first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and has gone on to appear in every episode of the Star Wars saga to date.