Without the original trilogy in the Star Wars Skywalker Saga, there truly is no story. However, in order for that story to continue, the main characters have to actually stay alive long enough to continue that story. At first, George Lucas had no idea just how massive Star Wars was going to become.
What began as a single sci-fi movie inspired by Flash Gordon became a worldwide phenomenon and a massive franchise sprawling across a seemingly infinite number of fictional worlds. In order to even get to that point, the iconic main characters of the original trilogy had to survive — and it wasn’t easy. A few times, these main characters cheated death and nearly passed on their quest for victory.
10 Luke Somehow Got Off Of Tatooine In One Piece
When Luke and Leia were split up and adopted separately as infants, Luke was brought to live with and be raised by his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on Tatooine. While there, Obi-Wan keeps a watchful eye over Luke — from a distance.
When R2-D2 and C-3PO end up in the same location and try to make their way to Obi-Wan, Luke ends up with them — and so his home gets targeted. Luke soon loses the only family he has ever known. Not only that, but it’s clear that he, himself, would have been killed had he been home when the Stormtroopers arrived to do the deed.
9 Leia Is One Of Alderaan’s Sole Survivors
Leia is more than just a Princess, and this was made clear from the second she arrived on the screen. She was also a skilled politician and, most importantly, a captured rebel, who was in the threatening hands of Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader. When Tarkin is interrogating Leia for information, and she refuses to help him, he threatens to destroy her home planet.
Even after she gives him information, he still destroys Alderaan. This ruthless, merciless display of genocidal violence is not only terrifying, but it also shows that Leia’s life is truly and deeply in danger. She could have quickly died right then and there; the fact that she survived seems to be a miracle after the entire planet of Alderaan was destroyed.
8 Darth Vader Easily Could Have Killed Either Of His Children Before Learning Who They Were
Darth Vader was the right-hand man of Emperor Palpatine for nearly two decades before Luke and Leia started causing problems for him as a team. Unbeknownst to Vader, however, these two Rebels he continuously has to deal with were actually his own two biological twin children.
Vader fights against Leia and Luke at multiple points and fights to kill them both — especially Leia — before he even finds out who they are. Because of Leia’s actions, she is a target for Vader; without Obi-Wan’s sacrifice, Luke would have died at Vader’s hands early on. He may be their father, but he was still a threat to them for a long, long time.
7 Han And Luke Were Risking Their Lives To Destroy The Death Star
Han Solo, while being one of the most skilled pilots Luke and Leia know, is still not an experienced Rebel fighter. Luke Skywalker, while he is Darth Vader’s son and an inherently powerful Force user, has not been trained to be a fighter. However, the two of them are two of the last remaining Rebels left to destroy the Death Star.
In fact, without them, it could easily be said that the Death Star never would have been destroyed at all. They almost died in the process, as they were far too inexperienced to be taking on the task as they did, but the fact that they succeeded just means they cheated death for one more day.
6 Without Han, Luke Would Have Died On Hoth
While Luke Skywalker survived the events of A New Hope, things quickly turned dire for him at the beginning of his next movie, The Empire Strikes Back. Luke was on the ice planet of Hoth, out in the snow on his own, when he was captured by a hungry and violent wampa. While Luke was able to escape, the snow and cold proved to be too much, and he nearly died of hypothermia before Han found him.
Of course, Han knew something was wrong with Luke, and set out on his own, armed with nothing more than a hunch, in order to save him. Without Han finding Luke and stuffing him inside a tauntaun to keep him warm enough to survive, Luke definitely would have died on Hoth that day.
5 Darth Vader Nearly Killed Han And Luke Back To Back
Darth Vader may not have gotten the chance to actually kill Han or Luke in the first movie, but that’s not to say that he doesn’t get many more chances to do so. In fact, he nearly kills both of them back-to-back later on. Vader has no idea if the carbonite imprisonment will actually work, and so he first tests the process on Han Solo, who could have died — but, miraculously, survive the encasement.
After Han was trapped, Vader and Luke fought. They actually fought until Vader cut off Luke’s hand, and Luke felt he had no choice but to jump to his own death. If he hadn’t been able to catch himself and call out to Leia through the Force, Luke would have died — and, with him, any hope of finding Han, meaning they both would have died because of this.
4 Jabba The Hutt Tried To Kill The Main Trio — But They Narrowly Escaped
Han Solo may have ended up in the hands (if they could be called hands) of Jabba the Hutt, but his best friends made sure he didn’t stay there. Leia soon showed up in an attempt to rescue Han, but she, too, ended up captured by Jabba. Luke cares for nobody in the galaxy like he loves Leia and Han, and so he went to save them.
In the process, Luke had to kill a Rancor and avoid getting eaten by the Sarlacc, but he was able to do it. The only one who apparently died that day was Boba Fett, though it’s since been revealed that he lived. Luke, Leia, and Han narrowly avoided yet another disgusting death together that day.
3 Darth Vader Had One Last Chance To Kill Luke Before The End
While Darth Vader learned before Luke did that he was the protagonist’s father, this did not mean he was unable or unwilling to hurt Luke. In fact, Vader told Luke that he was his son while cutting off his hand. When Luke and Vader meet again, Vader could have killed Luke.
In fact, he even had an opportunity where Luke was all on his own with Vader and Palpatine, and still, Vader was unwilling to ultimately help Palpatine kill his son. Vader let Luke survive, even though he did not agree with Luke’s pleas until the very end of his life.
2 Without Vader’s Sacrifice, Palpatine Probably Would Have Killed Luke
All hope truly seemed lost for Luke Skywalker when he was confronted with both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, with no means of escape and no backup left to him. Luke had to fight all on his own — or so he thought. When Palpatine told Luke to kill his father, and Luke refused, this seemed to awaken something in Vader.
He didn’t want to let Luke die, not when he had evidence that there was good in them both because of Luke’s actions. It was Vader who stopped Palpatine and saved Luke’s life, though he had to make the ultimate sacrifice in the process. While Vader died a redeemed man in his son’s arms, Luke got to cheat death once again, living to fight for goodness one more day — while his father made the galaxy a better place simply by leaving it.
1 Lando And Wedge Made Sure The Last Steps Were Taken To Save Everyone’s Lives
At the end of the day, the last heroes who save the day aren’t Luke, Leia, and Han. The new, rebuilt Death Star still needed to be destroyed at the end of the Skywalker Saga’s original trilogy, and that responsibility fell to a couple of fan-favorite side characters.
Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles were the Rebels responsible for ultimately destroying the Death Star. Though they nearly lost their lives in the process, they saved countless others, and ensured the entire Rebel force would continue to cheat death for just a little while longer.
About The Author