When Disney purchased Lucasfilm and brought back Star Wars with The Force Awakens, it eliminated the popular extended universe.
This was a world where authors, comics, and animated series created alongside Lucasfilm to expand the Star Wars story past the spot the movies ended.
Disney made this move for one major reason. The studio wanted to keep its timeline under its control and didn’t want to live up to what novels, comics, and more brought to life.
By eliminating the Star Wars extended universe from canon, Disney allowed itself to make the Star Wars movies it wanted to make with only the original six movies to pay attention to.
However, Disney quickly realized how popular the Star Wars extended universe was, and they brought it back under the Legends banner.
With there still a place to see these beloved characters, here is a look at the 10 best characters introduced in the Star Wars extended universe.
Galen Marek
Galen Marek was a powerful warrior, even as a child.
As a Force-sensitive youth, the son of two Jedi Knights in Kento and Mallie Marek. He disarmed Darth Vader when the Sith warrior attacked the Wookie home planet of Kashyyyk.
This impressed Darth Vader, who took in Galen to become his apprentice. His goal was to find an apprentice to help him eventually overthrow the Emperor.
Galen was a secret apprentice and assassin for the Galactic Empire.
The Force Unleashed saw him turn on Darth Vader, and he joined the Rebellion, beating Darth Vader in a duel and almost killing the Emperor.
Darth Malak
Darth Malak was another Jedi Knight who fell to the Dark Side and joined the Sith.
Darth Malak was the main villain of Revan, betraying the Jedi Warrior and taking over the Sith Empire as its new leader.
This happened in Knights of the Old Republic video game. He spread death and murder all over the galaxy and is one of the most memorable villains to show up in the Star Wars extended universe.
Kyle Katarn
Kyle Katarn was an Imperial officer who defected to the rebellion and joined the Jedi order.
Unlike most Jedi’s, Katan taught himself and joined Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Order, becoming loyal to Luke and the rebellion.
Kyle was a master strategist and often played the devil’s advocate that helped the High Council make the right decisions.
Katarn was also one of the best lightsaber duelists and taught others. Katarn eventually sacrificed his life to Darth Caedus to help place a tracking device on the villain, knowing his life was not worth as much as his role in beating the Sith.
Jaina Solo
Jaina Solo was the daughter of Han Solo and Princess Leia and the twin sibling of Jacen Solo.
Disney took her out of canon and replaced her with Rey in the sequel trilogy.
In the Legends world, Jaina was a warrior on the front lines, trained by her aunt, Mara Jade Skywalker.
When her brother Jacen killed Mara Jade and became Darth Caedus, she finally ended up as the warrior who had to stop her brother.
Jacen Solo
Jacen Solo was the greatest villain in the Star Wars extended universe.
Jacen Solo was Princess Leia and Han Solo’s son and the twin brother of Jaina Solo. It was Jacen who turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Ceadus.
In the movies, Kylo Ren was the big screen version of Jacen Solo, and he never reached the same level as Jacen did in the extended universe.
Jacen tried to turn Luke Skywalker’s son Ben to the Dark Side and then killed Luke’s wife Mara Jade in a duel. Darth Caedus caused more destruction than even his grandfather, Darth Vader.
Luke Skywalker used his immense powers to cloud the future from Jacen’s mind. He believed Luke was coming for him, and that was how his sister Jaina could show up unexpectedly to kill her brother to save the galaxy.
Exar Kun
Exar Kun is another Sith Lord from the Star Wars extended universe who was extremely popular.
Exar Kun came from the Dark Horse comic book series Tales of the Jedi, which was during the Old Republic Era.
The primary focus here was the Great Sith War, which was 5,000 years before the first Star Wars movie.
Exar Kun was the Dark Lord of the Sith, a powerful warrior that took on the entire Jedi Order with a Sith amulet. It was Exar Kun’s battles that was the inspiration for Knights of the Old Republic.
Revan
Revan came from the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and his story is one of the best in the Star Wars extended universe.
Revan is a faceless Jedi Warrior who was a leader during the time of the Mandalorian Wars.
However, he fell and later returned as a Dark Lord of the Sith, waging war against the Galactic Republic.
What made him so popular was that he renounced the Sith and returned as a Jedi, helping the Jedi Warriors beat the Sith Empire and earning one of the best redemption stories in the Star Wars extended universe.
Revan is back in canon, mentioned in the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary.
Mara Jade Skywalker
Mara Jade Skywalker was a character that got one of the best character arcs in the Star Wars extended universe.
Mara Jade started under the employ of Grand Admiral Thrawn in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy. These were the books that made Star Wars novels one of the best reads in sci-fi tie-in fiction.
Thrawn commanded her to kill Luke Skywalker after the events of Return of the Jedi.
However, the two ended up working together and finally got married and had a child named Ben. Mara Jade eventually died at the hands of her nephew Jacen Solo.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn was the best villain to appear in the Star Wars extended universe for years.
Timothy Zahn introduced him in the Heir to the Empire trilogy, and he was the primary antagonist there. Zach created such a great villain that he stood alongside Darth Vader in fans’ minds for a long time.
Thrawn was a brilliant strategist, and he was almost unstoppable in the heat of battle. However, no matter how great he was, Disney erased Thrawn from canon, leaving him in the Legends line.
That has changed. Disney finally brought back Thrawn to the official canon and placed him in the animated Rebels series.
Ahsoka Tano
Ahsoka Tano was so popular that she has returned to canon, entered the new Star Wars Disney+ live-action world, and will get her own series.
Ahsoka was Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan in The Clone Wars, but she left the Jedi Order before its eradication.
Ahsoka continued her war with the Empire with the Rebellion for many years. She became a close ally to names like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, and more.
That was the Star Wars extended universe, known now as Legends.
Ahsoka Tano returned as part of the canon, showing she developed a network of rebel cells against the Empire. She showed up in The Mandalorian, will be in The Bad Batch, and will get her own series on Disney+ soon.
Bump Mara Jade Skywalker to first place, she’s a far better written character than Ahsoka. Put everything Ahsoka went through and multiply it by a hundred and you’ll have just an inkling of how much adversity Mara Jade Skywalker has overcome.
While you’re at it, bump off Starkiller and bring in Kreia. Not a character who overcame as much as Mara Jade (she is a villain) but arguably just as intriguing.