In the Star Wars universe, no other family looms quite as large as the Skywalker clan. Throughout the course of the franchise, much of the Skywalker family backstory has been filled in thanks to a variety of different sources and media. Their storied history has come to include selfless acts of heroism as well as wicked episodes of villainy.
The Star Wars lore is massive, filling veritable encyclopedias worth of information. Movies, TV shows, video games, comic books, and novels have all contributed to this massive collection of content. Whether currently canon or non-canon, there are surely bits of detail fans missed along the way concerning the Skywalker family.
10 Luke Once Fell To The Dark Side
The old Star Wars Expanded Universe, now known as Legends, has no shortage of rich storytelling. In the Dark Empire series of comic books, the fledgling New Republic must deal with the threat of a reborn Emperor Palpatine and his fleet of World Devastators. Many facets of this story serve as the inspiration for the main plot of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
In Dark Empire, Luke pretends to become Palpatine's new apprentice so that he may destroy the Sith Lord from within. However, the allure of the dark side is quite powerful, and Luke slowly succumbs to its evil despite his good intentions. Only with Leia's timely intervention is Luke able to overcome his inner demons and defeat the Emperor once and for all.
9 Owen Lars Was Supposed To Be Ben Kenobi's Brother
Any written story inevitably undergoes a series of changes throughout its creation. Fans of the series undoubtedly know that Luke Skywalker is raised by his uncle, Owen Lars, and his wife Beru. Their deaths in A New Hope served as the impetus for Luke's decision to leave his home planet.
However, the original script to Return of the Jedi added an unusual caveat to the Skywalker family tree. It was initially proposed that Owen Lars and Ben Kenobi were actually brothers, both men having previously agreed to watch over Luke. Nevertheless, the idea was discarded. The prequels eventually established an alternative explanation for Owen's and Ben's role in Luke's upbringing.
8 Darth Plagueis's Experiment Led To Anakin's Birth
In The Phantom Menace, Shmi Skywalker claims that Anakin was conceived without a father. This, along with Anakin's natural strength in the Force, leads to Qui-Gon Jinn's assumption that the boy is the prophesized Chosen One. The mysteries of Anakin's unusual birth wouldn't be expounded upon until the release of James Luceno's novel Darth Plagueis.
One of the main plot points of the novel revolves around Darth Plagueis's attempts to create life from the Force itself. His experiments inadvertently lead to the creation of Anakin, a man who is ultimately destined to destroy the Sith.
7 Leia Initially Bore Three Children
In both the current and Legends continuities, Leia marries Han Solo. In the sequel trilogy, Han and Leia have a son named Ben. Ben, however, falls under the sway of Supreme Leader Snoke and rechristens himself as Kylo Ren. Han is memorably killed in The Force Awakens while attempting to bring his son back to the light.
Han and Leia's children differ dramatically in the Legends continuity. In that timeline, Leia bears three children: Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin. Many of the Legends novels detail the trio's upbringing from small children to young adults. Their trials and tribulations navigating the dangers of the galaxy often mirror those of their parent's generation.
6 Jacen Solo Partially Inspired Kylo Ren
Although an original work, much of the sequel trilogy is partially based on various works from the old Expanded Universe. What some fans may not realize is that Kylo Ren, formerly Ben Solo, is partly based on Jacen Solo, the son of Han and Leia, from the Legends continuity. The similarities in both of their stories are easy to discern.
Jacen Solo also falls to the dark side, despite his longtime tutelage under Luke Skywalker. Jacen transforms into the Sith Lord Darth Caedus when he falls under the sway of the Dark Lady Lumiya. This leads to a rather heartbreaking final encounter between Jacen and his twin sister Jaina, the latter of whom is forced to kill him.
5 Anakin's Scar
No detail is ever too small for a hardcore Star Wars fan. In between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Anakin develops a scar over his right eye, implying the Jedi has seen some intense action during the time skip. This type of minutiae, of course, wasn't given a detailed explanation in the movies.
Supplementary materials, however, tend to fill in the gaps. Originally, Anakin acquired the scar after a violent duel with Asajj Ventress, a notorious Sith acolyte. Unfortunately, the new canon put in place by Disney has muddied the waters. It's once again unclear how Anakin obtained this small, yet noticeable blemish.
4 Leia Was Trained As A Jedi By Luke
One area where the two continuities are in agreement is Leia's Force sensitivity. Fans are given a glimpse of her latent powers in The Empire Strikes Back, when she can sense that Luke is in danger. The sequel trilogy goes on to explain that Luke even trained Leia as a Jedi for a time.
The same is also true in the Legends continuity, where Leia eventually becomes a full-fledged Jedi Knight. In addition, her children in both timelines become Jedi in their own right, guided by her brother as well as her own teachings.
3 Darth Vader Became A Buried Family Secret
The new canon is experiencing its own budding collection of supplementary material. Video games, novels, and comic books are steadily filling in the blanks left by the most recent movies. One burning question, in particular, has to do with why Ben Solo fell to the dark side in the first place.
In the current canon, Ben remains unaware of his relation to Darth Vader for most of his life. Han, Leia, and Luke tried to keep this devastating truth from Ben for his own protection. When Ben discovers the truth, his trust in his parents and uncle is irrevocably shaken, planting the seeds for his eventual fall to the dark side.
2 Luke & His Descendants
The story of Star Wars is a generational one, centered around the Skywalker family. Luke's familial bloodline ends rather controversially in The Last Jedi, where he dies alone in self-imposed exile. Even the Solo branch of the family ceases to exist by the sequel trilogy's end.
It's interesting to note that Luke's fate, as well as that of the Solo family, is much different in Legends. In that timeline, Luke falls in love with a former Imperial assassin named Mara Jade. The two of them marry and have a son who they name Ben Skywalker. Luke's descendants continue to live on throughout the succeeding decades.
1 Luke & Leia Once Fought Darth Vader Together
In the films, Luke duels with Darth Vader on two separate occasions. In Return of the Jedi, the son triumphs over the father and ultimately redeems him in the process. It's a dramatic battle that serves to close one of the chapters of the Skywalker saga.
Readers may be surprised to know that Luke, with Leia's assistance, once fought Vader on a third occasion. In Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a novel that takes place after A New Hope, Luke and his sister actually duel the Sith Lord. Although it's a losing battle, Luke manages to sever one of Vader's mechanical arms before escaping.