For over 40 years since the debut of the originalStar Wars , the enfranchisement ’s depiction of its villains has shifted and evolve with each trilogy . Audiences were captivated by the struggles of the Rebel Alliance , with the story of Luke Skywalker and his closest friend at the heart of it all . At the same time , the loom shadow of the Galactic Empire was just as interesting , with shadowy villains such as the benevolent Darth Vaderand the authoritarian Emperorrising to challenge the heroes at every routine .

16 years after the epic conclusion to George Lucas ' Original Trilogy , the conductor take back to the Star Wars universe withThe Phantom Menace , the first of his divisive prequel trilogy . Gone were the freedom fighter struggles against a sprawling governmental force , replaced by a politically - driven battle between theGalactic Republic ’s clone armyand the Confederacy of Independent Systems ' droid soldier . Behind both factions were a far - reaching political conspiracy , run just as the fate of the galaxy begin to turn towards an unavoidable conclusion . Then , in 2015 , audiences found themselves once again squeeze into the midriff of a hopeless conflict withStar war : The Force Awakens , as a Modern Resistance fought urgently against the crushing armed services might of the First Order .

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George Lucas with A New Hope imagery v3

The main Skywalker saga has become a monumental nine - plastic film epic at this point , each chapter filled with a new conflict and new villains . And while those villains may portion out some similarities among themselves , every trilogy brings a host of differences and new perspective ; some black and white , some nuanced , and some a bit more confusing than others .

Original Trilogy Uses Nazi Parallels

Lucas ' Original Trilogy , which follows theunderdog Rebel Allianceas they fight to free the galaxy from the smoothing iron grip of the Galactic Empire , does n’t shy away from its real - world influences . The despotic hot air and flair of governance employed by the Empire is a verbatim mirror of the fascistic ideology promoted by Adolf Hitler at the height of Nazi Germany ’s power . There are also aesthetic influences borrowed from the Nazis , such as the uniform of the Imperial Officers being made to resemble those worn by the German Army in World War 2 . The most obvious parallel is in the shared name used to cite both Galactic Empire grunts as well as the paramilitary substructure - soldiers of the Nazi Party : Stormtroopers .

These similarities were used to counterpoint thetraditional good versus evil conflictat the heart of Star Wars . Lucas was hard influenced by the study of Joseph Campbell regarding the Hero ’s Journey archetype , as well as a host of other mythological and theological germ . The result is a large than life clash in space that feel like a battle between ancient mythic military group , something that contributes to the overall " legendary " flavour that Star Wars has .

The Prequel Trilogy Gives Clones Humanity

The Prequel Trilogy , which sought to explain the origins of the Galactic Empire and Anakin Skywalker ’s fall from grace , operated in an area of comparative nuance equate to the difference of the OT . Lucas afford audience a vision of a Jedi Order that had become gentle and self - righteous , a far cry from the protector of peace and jurist that Ben Kenobi ( Alec Guinness ) had cite inA New Hope . On top of this , Attack of the Clonesintroduced the infamous Clone Army , an integral foot force genetically replicated from the DNA ofJango Fett ( Temuera Morrison).Attack of the Clonesdoesn’t dive into the moral implications of such an army , butStar war : The Clone Warsdoes a antic chore of humanise each someone clone and explore their personality and discrete relationships with each other . Of naturally , this sets up the inevitable " Order 66 " construction to be even more heartbreaking , because audiences now realise that the clones were always bred for this , despite their personal attachments .

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There ’s also a hide out Nazi analog underneath all of this political intrigue . Lucas titled the first of the prequel filmsThe Phantom Menacebecause of the comportment of Darth Sidious , pose behind the scenery as the retiring Senator Palpatine . His rise through the political circuit ( first as a champion of democracy , then inevitably as the Emperor of a Galactic Empire ) eerily resemble Adolf Hitler ’s rise to power in the 1920s and 30s . This append a sinister undercurrent to the Clone Army ’s genetic sensitivity - similar to the claim of Nazi SS troopers , the Clone Troopers were also " just follow ordering . " The determination to implant those ordering into the brain of each dead ringer literalizes that justification in an eerie way , and deepensStar Wars’overarching parallel to Nazi Germany .

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in Andor season 2

Sequel Trilogy Confuses Multiple Messages About Villains

Back in 2012 , Walt Disney purchased Lucasfilm andStar Warsfrom George Lucas for over $ 4 billion , and speedily mark about re-introduce the dimension into pop culture . This in the end landed in theaters with 2015’sStar warfare : The Force Awakens , which introduce audiences to a new story while still playing around with some of the universal optical and contextual speech which had become associated withStar Wars . This include the overt Nazi parallels ; although this clock time they were n’t coming from the Empire , but the First Order , an dictatorial military regime that worshipped the ideology of the Galactic Empire and figures likeDarth Vader and the Emperor . Director J.J. Abrams himself has commented on the similarities , advert Nazi go to Argentina and regrouping in the aftermath of World War 2 as a big influence on the history behind the First Order .

The result is aesthetic parallel such as General Hux ’s speech inThe Force Awakens , which feel like an speech that could be fork out right from the backtalk of Adolf Hitler himself . Even Kylo Ren , the Sith - adjacent enforcer of the First Order , worships at a literal altar to Darth Vader , a frame complicit in inhumanity of a astronomical scale . Where this distinction gets puzzling in the Sequel Trilogy is the style that Disney has marketed the films , and particularly the First Order .

Despite the obvious thematic Nazi extension , Disney continually markets the First Order in a way that tries to invoke to their " cool " broker - their visual aesthetic , the Stormtrooper blueprint , and Kylo Ren ’s ( Adam Driver ) mystique . There ’s evidence of this everywhere , from roving bands of First Order troop patrolling Disney World , to miniature and tie - in marketing push kids to side with the First Order in binary " pick a side " campaigns . While it is n’t necessarily done maliciously or with a sinister mindset , there is a troubling confusion of intent behind the distinct ocular language being used and the attempt to commercialise these thing in a path that children can digest .

Sidious, Tyranus, Maul, and Vader.

This self-contradictory duality also bear on the stories that these villains receive in the Sequel Trilogy . There ’s an emphasis on humanizing the villain to the point of fellow feeling , and while this is n’t expressly unseasonable , it does muddy the amniotic fluid of Star Wars ' mythologic " just vs evil " conflict .   While the lines are clean in the Original Trilogy ( the Rebel Alliance are the salutary guys and the Empire are the forged guy wire ) , the Sequel Trilogy purposely obnubilate that division with characters such as Kylo Ren , the conflicted son of Han and Leia , who was turned on a moody course after his perceived betrayal at the hands of Luke Skywalker . Even General Hux gets alate - plot attempt at fond redemptioninThe ascent of Skywalker . While this attack at moral nuance is n’t inherently bad , it clash with the simplistic binary dispute that has driven the franchise in the past tense .   While modern audience ask more nuance in morality of their villains , Star Warsis to get in its storytelling , it must select which way it want to follow in terms of their villain .

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General Hux looking tense in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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