The entire Star Wars franchise – including the movies, shows, video games, comics, etc. – all offer compelling drama, chuckle-worthy humor, unique science fiction, and above all else, thrilling action sequences. The series is a meld of different genres, but it’s often overlooked how well the franchise commits to offering suspense.
Not suspense like a traditional thriller or a mystery, not necessarily, but the franchise produces moments that slowly build themselves up in ways that get an audience’s hearts racing before anything even happens. It’s a difficult skill for any movie to pull off and Star Wars should be praised for doing so time and time again.
10 Han Solo Confronts His Son – VII: The Force Awakens
By the time Han Solo reunites with his son, Kylo Ren has already settled well into his role in the Dark Side, but not yet to the point of no return. Which makes it understandable why Han Solo thinks he can still get through to him to convince him to change his ways.
But after watching his obsession with becoming the next Darth Vader unravel over the course of the movie, this scene was unnerving to watch for viewers who could not shake the feeling that this was not going to end well for their favorite original trilogy character. Like waiting for a pin to finally drop.
9 Padmé Confronts Anakin – III: Revenge Of The Sith
Audiences got to see a similar scene some years earlier that produced the same effect in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. By the time that Anakin Skywalker met back up with his partner Padmé with the latter hoping to get through to her lover, he had already gone to the point of no return as a Sith Lord.
This was not the same Anakin that Padmé knew and loved. Even if she didn’t know that, audiences knew that going into the scene, meaning that it was evident that things were going to end dire for her. It was not a matter of if, but when.
8 The Pod Race – I: The Phantom Menace
The Phantom Menace usually gets a lot of flak for being too kid-friendly, even for a franchise made for kids, but the pod race that Anakin participates in still ranks among one of the few high points of the movie. It remains a constant thrill ride and a nail-biter at that.
There is not much that gets in the way in terms of story and there really is nothing about this scene that maintains relevancy later in the series. However, much like a rollercoaster, it serves its purpose in purely being a feast for the eyes and a spectacle of epic proportions that leaves viewers on the edge of their seats.
7 The Trash Compactor Scene – IV: A New Hope
This is one of the most memorable scenes from the original movie that started the whole franchise and it’s easy to see why it held such a massive effect on audiences back in 1977. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker’s rescue mission was already going awry, but seeing a room tighten on them in a claustrophobic setting made it clear their plan dissolved into pure chaos.
For anyone who believed that their newly beloved main characters were going to get killed off in the first 80-odd minutes of the movie, this was an extremely intense scene. Plus, it was nice to see the movie settle the dust with some comic relief from C3P0 and R2-D2.
6 Anakin And The Younglings – III: Revenge Of The Sith
The commencement of Order 66 in general is incredibly heart-racing as it marks the beginning of the end, the fall of the Jedi as has been alluded to since the beginning of the prequel trilogy. But the most heart-stopping moment comes in Anakin Skywalker approaching the Younglings.
It’s evident that this Anakin is much colder since joining the Dark Side as he marches onto the Jedi Temple. The unassuming Younglings look to their trusted master for guidance in this unprecedented invasion, only to be left with a lightsaber unveiling that left audiences with their imaginations running at the horror.
5 Darth Maul Slaughters The Innocent – Clone Wars
One of the few non-movie entries offers a similar moment to what Anakin did, but there is something about Darth Maul’s demeanor here that makes this hit a little bit harder. In the time since he was defeated and seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul has developed an unwavering thirst for vengeance.
He quickly realizes that there is only one way to catch the attention of the Jedi: “Slaughter the innocent.” The cold, merciless demeanor in which he says that rings a chill through one’s spine, especially as it cuts to a pair of unassuming, playful children unaware of their merciless fate. Viewers then get a small glimpse of Maul’s mauling in a telecast to Obi-Wan.
4 The Child Stops The Mudhorn – The Mandalorian
In the first episode of the second season of The Mandalorian, the title character faces arguably his biggest challenge yet while The Child – whose name is later discovered later in the season to be Grogu – attempts his biggest feat of Force-wielding yet. The Child’s Force powers had been seen in small spades up until this point, but those powers arrived in full force – pun intended – with this episode.
As The Mandalorian struggles to fight off a Mudhorn by himself, anticipation builds as the camera cuts between an intense Grogu and a Mandalorian seconds away from being charged by a Mudhorn suggest something big is about to happen.
3 Darth Maul Confronts Obi-Wan And Qui-Gon Jinn – I: The Phantom Menace
Darth Maul’s vendetta against Obi-Wan Kenobi all came when he confronted and challenged the Jedi to a duel in The Phantom Menace. It’s certainly one of the more memorable fight sequences of the prequel trilogy, but it’s just as memorable for the prelude to the fight than the actual fight.
The suspense built between these three before any of them even touch really magnifies how to build up a great villain in cinema. Up to this point, Maul has been built as a formidable threat and antagonist. When he finally does take on the protagonists, he feels like such a tough threat that despite being at a disadvantage in numbers, the audience is worried for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s safety instead.
2 The First Lightsaber Duel – IV: A New Hope
It’s easy to brush off this scene when there have been much better lightsaber duels in the franchise since this, but in 1977, audiences just barely got a taste for what lightsabers could do in a short training sequence earlier in the movie. The concept of an actual duel between two skilled swordsmen had hearts melting with anticipation.
This scene feels even more suspenseful now in the context of knowing the full history of the franchise. What audiences first saw as just a wise elder taking on the antagonist has now turned into an emotional reunion between a master and his former student.
1 Luke Skywalker Vs. Darth Vader Round I – V: Empire Strikes Back
Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were, respectively, the lead protagonist and the lead antagonist of the previous movie, A New Hope, yet they never met face to face until this moment. Between Vader’s nefarious deeds to Luke’s friends and Luke’s own training, the whole of Empire Strikes Back had been building up to just this face to face, let alone their ensuing fight.
Speaking of the fight, that certainly didn’t disappoint. It didn’t end with a death, but with a plea from a father to his son in a shocking twist ending that only amped up the suspense until the credits started rolling.
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