The Skywalker Family


 * "The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And my sister has it."
 * ―Luke Skywalker, to Leia Organa

The Skywalker family, also known as the Skywalker clan or the Skywalker dynasty, was a legendary human family that played a prominent role in galactic history, with several generations achieving fame as generals, senators, and Jedi from The Invasion of Naboo to The Battle of Exegol. The family's origins date back to Shmi Skywalker. As a young girl, Shmi and her parents were captured by pirates and forced into slavery. In 41 BBY she conceived a son, Anakin Skywalker, who was born without a father. Anakin was the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. Posessing the highest concentration of midi-chlorians in his blood, Anakin had the potential to become the most powerful Force-sensitive being in the galaxy. The Force was strong in Anakin's bloodline, passing down to his progeny, the twin siblings Luke Skywalker and Leia Skywalker, as well as Jinn Skywalker, Ben Solo and Jaina Solo, the last Skywalker family members in the direct line.

The Skywalkers were living on the desert planet Tatooine as slaves of the Toydarian junk dealer Watto when they encountered Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in 32 BBY. Intrigued by Anakin's origins and raw connection to the Force, Jinn sought to have him trained in the Jedi arts. After gaining his freedom, Anakin left his homeworld in the Outer Rim Territories to begin his new life at the Jedi Temple on the Core World Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic. As a Jedi Knight, he gained the reputation of a war hero while fighting in the Clone Wars. Although he became one of the strongest members of the Jedi Order, his fear of loss left him susceptible to the dark side of the Force. After his mother's death in 22 BBY, he vowed to not lose another loved one. In 19 BBY, Anakin foresaw that his secret wife, Senator Padmé Amidala, would die in childbirth. Determined to learn the power of immortality, Anakin pledged his life to the teachings of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. The newly christened Darth Vader spearheaded the Great Jedi Purge. While most Jedi were executed under Order 66, Vader was defeated by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi who left his former Padawan for dead on Mustafar. Sidious had his Sith apprentice reconstructed as a cyborg, but Amidala died of a broken heart caused by her husband's deeds. The New Order rose to power across the galaxy, and Vader embraced his role as a Sith Lord during his Sith Master's reign as Emperor of the Galactic Empire.

Unknown to Vader, his children survived their mother's death. They were hidden from their father and his master, with Luke sent to live with his relatives on Tatooine while Leia was adopted by the House of Organa, making her a princess of Alderaan. During the Galactic Civil War, the Skywalker twins emerged as members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Vader attempted to turn Luke to the dark side by revealing the secret of his parentage to him. Luke, however, believed that his father could be turned back to the light side of the Force. During the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Vader sacrificed his life in order to save his son from Sidious. His death as the last Dark Lord of the Sith ended the thousand year Sith tradition that began with Darth Bane. Having fulfilled his destiny to restore balance, the Chosen One returned to the Force as Anakin Skywalker.

As the last Jedi, Luke sought to restore the Jedi Order by training a new generation in the arts of the Force. Though he hoped to train his sister as his first student, Leia ended her Jedi training and returned to politics as a member of the New Republic Senate. She also married Han Solo and gave birth to a son called Ben Solo in 5 ABY, and a daughter named Jaina Solo in 9 ABY. During the New Republic Era, Ben was trained as a Jedi by his uncle, but like his grandfather, the dark side seduced him from the light. Adopting the persona of Kylo Ren, he assassinated his new master, Supreme Leader Snoke, subsequent to killing his father in 34 ABY. Though disillusioned with the Jedi, Luke passed on their teachings to a final student, the scavenger Rey, before sacrificing his life for the Resistance in 34 ABY. As Ren stood poised to rule the galaxy as Supreme Leader of the First Order, Leia died while calling her son back to the light. The persona of Kylo Ren was destroyed, and Ben Solo stood with Rey against her grandfather, the resurrected Darth Sidious, during the Battle of Exegol. The Emperor was destroyed again, but Solo also died in order to save Rey with whom he shared a unique Force-bond, making them a dyad in the Force. The Skywalker bloodline consequently died out in 35 ABY, but Rey adopted their family name as a way to honor their memory.

The Skywalker family achieved notoriety through their involvement in many historic events, including the fall of the Jedi Order, the return of the Sith, and the rise and fall of the Empire. The actions of Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Leia Skywalker Organa Solo, and Ben Solo defined their legacy as a family, and the name of Skywalker became a byword for greatness.