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Over 200 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of 16 Obscure Fan-Favorite 'Star Wars' Characters That Deserve Their Time To Shine
Voting Rules
Vote up the most obscure characters you learned about.
Like any popular franchise, Star Wars is filled to the brim with outstanding characters who resonate with fans and keep them coming back for more. Unlike other franchises, Star Wars tends to throw a background character into a scene and not leave it at that. Most of the people seen on screen, whether they have lines or any action, have some sort of backstory. There's that, and of course, a toy or action figure related to them, and Star Wars has a plethora of fleshed-out background characters with unusual names, which gave rise to the "Glup Shitto” meme.
Some of those characters have long been beloved by fans, which is one of the reasons they have such rich backstories. Still, even if someone somewhere wrote 10,000 words on the biography of a character who was on screen for five seconds, that doesn't exactly leave fans truly sated. Sometimes, a character just needs their time to shine. Quinlan Vos is an example of this — he was on-screen for >10 seconds in The Phantom Menace, and he became a major player in The Clone Wars.
This list highlights some of the most beloved underrated (and often seemingly unknown) Star Wars characters from the background the fans would love to see in a future film or television series. Some of these characters had more screen time than others, while others were the victims of deleted scenes. Whatever the reason, these obscure fan-favorite Star Wars characters deserve their time to shine! Take a look down below, and don't forget to vote up your favorite background character from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!
Photo: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones / 20th Century Fox
Jedi Master Kit Fisto was introduced alongside a plethora of Jedi in the final act of Attack of the Clones. He leaped into battle and took some fire from a very apologetic C-3PO, whose head was attached to a droid's body. C-3PO profusely apologized while he was doing it, and Kit Fisto managed to knock the droid back, smiling at the result. That's about as much screentime he got in the movie, though he coordinated and led an attack of Clone Troopers once they arrived.
Fans loved the character pretty much from the start, so he was featured in several episodes of The Clone Wars. He also made appearances in several comic books, and while those are canon, the character is one fan would prefer to see fleshed out further on the silver screen... except he met his untimely demise to a spinning-torpedo-Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith. Fun fact: when Kit Fisto was first designed, he was meant to be a Sith Lord, and he went through several changes before the art department settled on the final design.
One of the fans' favorite scenes from The Empire Strikes Back comes when Darth Vader gives his instructions to a group of bounty hunters. The group included Boba Fett and many others, including IG-88. The assassin droid immediately captivated people's attention, and he was featured throughout various Star Wars Legends stories for several years.
Unfortunately, IG-88's backstory and side adventures were left out of canon when Disney purchased the franchise. Interestingly, the character was meant to be a scene filler more than anything else, but he stood out, making him far too tantalizing to fans than anyone intended. The character was created using parts from the combustion chamber in a Rolls-Royce Derwent jet engine. Those same parts were used to create the bar equipment seen in the Mos Eisley Cantina in A New Hope.
Biggs Darklighter was one of the Rebel pilots flying in Red Squadron during the Battle of Yavin. He gets some screen time, but not much, though it's revealed that he and Luke Skywalker were good friends back on Tatooine. Biggs' story has been fleshed out considerably, and a deleted scene from A New Hope features him and Luke on their home planet, but beyond that, he's barely mentioned in the film's final cut.
Biggs took part in the attack on the Death Star, where he was killed. Before that could happen, Biggs went to the Imperial Academy and graduated, he left the Empire to join the Rebel Alliance, and he was largely instrumental in pushing his old pal Luke into doing the same. He may not have recruited Luke into the Rebel Alliance, but he lit the way for him, making Biggs Darklight a far more important character than his limited time on screen suggests.
Max Rebo is one of those characters every fan knows, even if they never learned his name. He and the Max Rebo Band enjoy playing for gangsters like Jabba the Hutt. He played in the Hutt's court in several scenes of Return of the Jedi and even accompanied the Hutt on his trip to the Great Pit of Carkoon. There, he planned to feed the Rebels to the Sarlac, but things didn't go according to plan.
The Rebels manage to escape and destroy the sail barge, seemingly killing everyone on board — including Rebo. As far as fans were concerned, a great background character was killed off far too early. That's what people believed for 38 years before Rebo suddenly appeared in an episode of The Book of Boba Fett. He was back to his old tricks, playing the red ball jet organ for thugs and gangsters.
Nien Nunb was an essential character in Return of the Jedi, as he acted as Lando Calrissian's co-pilot during the Battle of Endor. He was instrumental in destroying the second Death Star, making him a critical member of the Rebel Alliance. The fans loved the new character despite his limited screen time and minimal dialogue. He became so popular that fans vociferously hoped he would be featured in the Sequel Trilogy.
Their hopes were answered … sort of. Nien Numb was the movies, but he wasn't given enough screentime to sate the fans. Hilariously, The Onion lampooned the fans' disappointment with an article in 2017 titled "New 'Star Wars' Film Once Again Disappoints Die-Hard Nien Nunb Fans." Because he was so popular, Nien Nunb has been featured in various comics, novels, and more. That gives him ample material to find a way to a feature, but the franchise continues to disappoint Nien Nunb fans.
Photo: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back / 20th Century Fox
When first seen on screen in The Empire Strikes Back, Lobot functions as Lando Calrissian's right-hand man. He never says anything (and can't), but he and Lando have a way of communicating that gets the job done. Lobot follows Lando's instructions and helps him as the Empire takes over Cloud City, but he's not given a name in the movie, leaving many to learn it with his action figure's release.
Lobot's unique design intrigued fans, and he's picked up quite an extensive backstory over the years that have carried over into canon. Much of his story relates to his relationship with Lando, and it's a fascinating tale that would make for an exceptional movie. His adventures following the Battle of Endor are ideally suited for adaption into a Disney+ series, should the company ever decide to dig deep into this obscure character.
