Star Wars: A History of the Starkiller Name, from Annikin to the First Order (2024)

Just about any creative work goes through a considerable amount of changes before it ever sees the light of day, with various concepts, characters or names either being reworked or cut out entirely by the time all is said and done. However, just because an idea you had doesn't make the final cut the first time doesn't mean you can't repurpose it later on. This phenomenon is seen throughout pop culture, and Star Wars is certainly no exception. For instance, series creator George Lucas originally named the Jedi the Jedi-Bendu. While this was shortened to by the time the first Star Wars film hit theaters in 1977, a neutral force-wielder named Bendu did pop up in the third season of Star Wars Rebels nearly four whole decades later. That said, possibly the most interesting example of the Star Wars franchise repurposing something like this is the name Starkiller.

What makes this name so intriguing is that depending on their age, just about every Star Wars fan probably has one particular character (or location) that immediately springs to mind when they hear the word "Starkiller." It doesn't matter if you came up in the Original Trilogy era, the Prequel era or the Sequel era. Chances are, you have a Starkiller.

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Old school Star Wars fans who are most familiar with the Original Trilogy are likely to immediately think of the character who is technically the franchise's first protagonist. In Lucas' original script for 1977's Star Wars -- titled The Star Wars -- the main hero was not Luke or Anakin Skywalker, but Annikin Starkiller. Hailing from the planet Aquilae, Annikin was the Jedi-Bendu Padawan who trained under Luke Skywalker and served as protector to the planet's princess, Leia.

Despite his first name, Annikin Starkiller is far more similar tothe final version of Luke than he is to Anakin. The Star Warsversion of Luke, meanwhile, is more reminiscent of one Ben Kenobi. Although he was essentially written out of the series before it even began, Annikin Starkiller would eventually see the light of day in an official capacity. The most notable example is The Star Wars, an eight-part 2013 comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics that adapts Lucas' original rough draft screenplay.

The next major appearance of the Starkiller name is admittedly more of an Easter egg than anything. The popular 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic featured a character by the name of Gorse Bendak. A veteran of the Mandalorian Wars, Gorse Bendak eventually made a name for himself in the planet Taris' deathmatch dueling scene under the alias Bendak Starkiller. Although, to get to the Starkiller most Prequel era Star Wars fans are sure to know and love, you have to turn the clock forward another five years.

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In 2008 -- just three short years after the conclusion of the Prequel Trilogy-- LucasArts released another popular Star Wars video game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The game's main protagonist is Galen Marek, better known by his codename, Starkiller. The game is set between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hopeand was released at a time whenthat was still a very novel concept.

In The Force Unleashed, players take control of Starkiller, a young Sith whom Darth Vader was training in secret with the goal of eventually overthrowing Emperor Palpatine. As part of his training, Starkiller was tasked with hunting down and killing the Jedi who managed to survive Order 66. In other words, he was basically the original Inquisitor. Before too long though, Vader and Starkiller's original plan of simply killing the Emperor goes out the window, prompting Vader to hatch an even bolder plan: send Starkiller to foster a rebellion -- yes, that Rebellion -- in order to destabilize the Empire and oust Palpatine that way.

The game offered players a choice. They could choose the path of the Light Side or the Dark Side, with each choice coming with its own ending. In the Light Side ending -- which was considered the canon one upon the game's release -- Starkiller meets his demise after he successfully defeats Palpatine, but spares the Sith Lord's life.

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In a somewhat controversial turn, Starkiller -- or rather, a clone of him -- returned as the protagonist of 2010's Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. After escaping a facility on Kamino, the clone attempts to locate Juno Eclipse, the original Starkiller's love interest. Along the way, he becomes a proper member of the Rebel Alliance and joins them in the fight against the Empire. This time around, the Light Side ending sees the capture of Darth Vader. But while Starkiller and Juno are transporting the Dark Lord tostand trial, the game ends on the cliffhanger of their ship being pursued by Boba Fett. Like in the first game, the Light Side ending was considered to be canon. Two years after The Force Unleashed II's release, however, Disney purchased Lucasfilm. The video game duology ended up among the Star Wars media removed from officialseries canon, and a third entry was never made, leaving the cliffhanger unresolved.

Finally, we come to the Starkiller Sequel Trilogy fans are familiar with. This one isn't a Jedi, a Sith or even a person, for that matter. It's a giant, planet-killing space station. The theatrical release of 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced the only canon member of the Starkiller family: Starkiller Base. The First Order's answer to the Galactic Empire's Death Stars, Starkiller was once a Kyber-rich planet named Ilum before being converted into a doomsday device capable of destroying multiple planets with one blast.

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By the time the credits rolled on the new trilogy's first entry, the new heroic trio of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron had managed to destroy Starkiller Base and eliminate it as a threat to the galaxy. Despite the film now having been out for several years, however, the base has managed to remain relevant. The recently released canon video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order allows players to visit the abandoned Jedi temple on Ilum as part of Cal Kestis' journey. The game revealsthe Empire had actually begun sowing the seeds for the planet's conversion into Starkiller Base only five years after the fall of the Galactic Republic in Revenge of the Sith.

Being creative is a complicated process -- one that often leaves a lot on the cutting room floor. As heartbreaking as it can be to see a character or idea you liked being scrapped and repurposed, however, it's the journey that matters. And the Starkiller name is one that not only has a lot of history behind it, but one all Star Wars fans can easily identify in one way or another. To that end, it's a pretty special piece of the franchise's legacy.

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