Some of the most iconic female characters in cinema have come fromStar Wars– Princess Leia, Padmé Amidala, Mon Mothma, and Rey – and the series wouldn’t be what it is today without them. With every new show, film, book, and game expanding the canon, we see better and better female characters represented in the stories.
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The Mandalorian and Andor have made some remarkable accomplishments with their powerful female characters in the cast, and Ubisoft’s Outlaws will have the next female character as a playable protagonist. Focusing more on the Star Wars games here, there have been plenty of phenomenal female characters to consider.
There will be some plot spoilers across Star Wars games and films below.
9Maris Brood
Maris Brood is a Zabrak boss inStar Wars: The Force Unleashedhailing from Iridonia with all the horns on her head. Starting as a Jedi in training under Shaak Ti, she was corrupted by the dark side after her master’s death at the hands of Galen Marek.
She wields dual red lightsabers and has a giant Bull Rancor pet that you must get through before proceeding to battle her. One of her unique combat abilities is that she can cloak herself with the Force.
You encounter her on Felucia as she comes for Senator Bail Organa, but you ultimately stop her and let her escape. And while Maris returns as a duelist in the sequel game, she’s not featured in the new story.
Her character development could’ve been much more, as she was one of the standout new female Jedi characters in Force Unleashed never to be seen again.
8Doma Dendra
Scrap merchants in Star Wars are often an iconic part of the series, with characters like Watto in The Phantom Menace and Unkar Platt in The Force Awakens.Star Wars Jedi: Survivorhas you explore the new planet of Koboh, and there you’ll meet a new addition to the universe with Doma Dendra inside her Antiquities shop, trading priorite for some of her goods.
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Doma is a Waluna, a new species created for this game. She has a blueish coating on her skin, a Twi’lek lekku falling over her shoulders, multiple legs, plenty of jewelry, and an adorable visor. There’s a bit of a Southern accent in her voice, and her conversations with Cal, although brief, really allows her personality to shine, and she’s voiced by actress Rebecca Wisocky or Evelyn Powell from Devious Maids.
7Trilla Sunduri (The Second Sister)
Trilla presents much better character development with a similar past to Maris Brood, her Jedi Master being Cere Junda. She was captured and tortured by the Sith after Cere revealed her location under the same torture, which led all her pain to turn her to the dark side, emerging as the Inquisitor known as the Second Sister and holding a deep grudge for Cere’s betrayal.
Cal and Trilla have many boss encounters throughoutJedi: Fallen Order, each time learning a bit more about her backstory and why she is the tragic villain that she became. Toward the end of the game, Cere and Trilla have a touching moment of understanding, and it culminates with the emotional scene of Trilla losing her life.
6Kay Vess
Kay Vess is a new female protagonist joining the universe in Ubisoft’s open-worldStar Wars Outlaws, and she’s already shaping up to be a pretty stellar character. She has a cute little animal companion named Nix who can help her with distracting or taking down enemies, very much like the bond between BD-1 and Cal. And she’s got some superb blaster skills and a bullet time ability.
Kay is a Scoundrel more involved with the underworld side of Star Wars lore than with the Jedi Order, and she has a droid named ND-5 at her side to travel to various territories and pull off heists.The gameplay revealed you’ll be able to make decisionsas Kay Vess and engage with other ships in dogfights captaining the Trailblazer.
5Iden Versio
2017’sStar Wars Battlefront 2switched things up from its predecessor and had a story mode, introducing the new female character Iden Versio as a playable protagonist. Her backstory is quite a familiar one in the Star Wars realm. She was the daughter of Imperial Admiral Garrick Versio and an experienced TIE fighter pilot commanding Inferno Squad, who defected to the Rebellion during the Battle of Endor and the destruction of the rebuilt Death Star.
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Her character feels like the precursor to Star Wars Outlaws' Kay Vess, especially the thrilling blaster combat. Also notable is that her character got a complete arc with a free DLC campaign expansion, showing her much later during the First Order with a daughter now in the fight as a pilot-in-training and getting the sendoff she deserves (albeit an emotional one).
Voicing Iden is actress Janina Gavankar, who was Tanta Sila inForspokenand Amita inFar Cry 4, and who starred in TV series like True Blood, Big Sky, and The Morning Show.
4Dedra Meero
Dedra Meero was an incredible addition to the Star Wars universe, thanks to the performance of Denise Gough, who you may knowalso voiced Yennefer in The Witcher 3. Her determination and the lengths she goes toward hunting Andor, her scary and intimidating demeanor when interrogating others, and how she handles herself when undermined by her colleagues are brilliant choices that make her one of the most compelling new villains.
She’s part of the Imperial Security Bureau and on Andor’s scent after he was a suspect in the killing of two security officers on the planet Morlana and the trouble with Luthen on Ferrix that followed with the stolen Imperial Starpath unit. She would stop at nothing to capture Andor, even taking the whole town captive during the funeral for Andor’s adoptive mother, Maarva.
3Merrin
Merrin is a character you meet toward the end of the game in Fallen Order on Darth Maul’s home planet of Dathomir, as she’s a former Nightsister, and she ends up joining the crew of the Mantis and returnsas a companion in Jedi: Survivor. While she’s at first a foe to Cal, conjuring up enemies and obstacles in his path and not helping him with Malicos, she becomes an ally and sparks a romance with Cal.
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While in Fallen Order you get a bit of the backstory of her hatred for Jedi and the loss of her fellow Nightsister whom she loved, Survivor showcases her abilities in full swing during combat. Merrin can teleport and allow Cal to fly with her magik and uses a bow staff to defeat enemies.
Another great thing about her is that she brings pansexual representation, something revealed in the Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars novel.
2Cere Junda
Cere Jundabrings excellent Black female representationto games and the entire Jedi Order in Star Wars and is one of the most compelling and well-developed characters from the Fallen Order series. And that’s also why her death following the battle with Darth Vader in Jedi: Survivor created one of the series’most heartbreaking and emotional moments.
You first meet her and Greeze after they rescue Cal on the Mantis from the Inquisitors on Bracca, sending you on a quest for her former master Eno Cordova’s Jedi Holocron in an attempt to rebuild the Order. The sequel sees Cere reunite with Eno Cordova and work with him in the Jedi Archives on Jedha, with an entirely new look that resembles her veteran voice actress Debra Wilson.
1Princess Leia Organa
When it comes to female characters in Star Wars, it doesn’t get more iconic than Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. Though she’s the sister of prominent Jedi Luke Skywalker, she chose a different path and became a pivotal part of leading the Resistance and securing the ultimate victory against the Empire, also due to her upbringing by Senator Bail Organa.
She’s been through a lot across the series, especially with the losses of Ben Kenobi, her father, Han Solo, and her son Ben Solo to the dark side as Kylo Ren. While her character starts off by needing a rescue, Princess Leia perfectly subverts the damsel in distress trope for the rest of the films and other appearances.
