Star Wars has been a part of film and pop culture the world round for more than 45 years, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Through all the films, television series, novels, and comic books, the characters and stories have whisked fans away to a galaxy far, far away. These stories we have come to love span over various decades and settings. Meaning that some of our favorite characters need a fresh interpretation from time to time, and new actors find themselves in the shoes of some of the most memorable roles within the universe. Let’s examine ten specific times in Star Wars that characters were played by different actors.

Mon Mothma

     Disney Platform Distribution 

Caroline Blakiston is the first actor to take on Mon Mothma, and is first introduced as the fearless leader of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Having a small role in the finale of the original trilogy, Mon Mothma becomes much more prominent in the prequel era of Star Wars media as she makes appearances in both Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, where a younger version of the character is played by Genevieve O’Reilly. O’Reilly also lends her voice to the character in the television series Rebels and Andor. The trio of actors who portrayed Mothma would not be complete without the mention of Kath Soucie, who voices the character in the popular Clone Wars animated series.

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Darth Maul

     20th Century Fox

A total of three different actors have taken on the iconic looking Sith and gangster, Darth Maul, in popular Star Wars projects. First appearing in The Phantom Menace, Maul is played by two different actors. It is comedian Peter Serafinowicz who delivers the only lines spoken by Maul in the entire film, and actor/stuntman Ray Park, who plays the villain in the action and fight scenes. Perhaps the most notable and favorite among the actors to play Maul is Sam Witwer, who voices the character in several animated versions, most notably Clone Wars and Rebels. He also provides the speaking voice for the character in his brief appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story, helping Maul to be one of the best Star Wars characters ever created.

Uncle Owen & Aunt Beru

Owen and Beru Lars are responsible for the upbringing of perhaps the most popular character in Star Wars history, Luke Skywalker. The step-brother and step-sister-in-law of Darth Vader himself, Owen and Beru are first featured in their older age in A New Hope and are played by Shelagh Fraser and Phil Brown and return as the much younger couple in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and the Disney + series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This time played by Bonnie Piesse and Joel Edgerton.

Leia Organa

     Lucasfilm

It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Princess Leia other than the iconic Carrie Fisher. This inevitably led to the path eventually taken in the sequel trilogy after her tragic passing. While Leia has been voiced by a couple different actors in various animated projects, only one other actor can claim she has played the Princess in live action. In the Disney+ series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, we are introduced to a ten-year-old Princess, who is featured heavily throughout the series and played by Vivien Lyra Blair.

Sheev Palpatine

Sheev Palpatine, more villainously known as Emperor Palpatine, is the overarching villain and perhaps the most entertaining character of the entire Skywalker Saga. Played most notably by Ian McDiarmid throughout the prequels and Return of the Jedi. However, just as with the Sith, the rule of two applies to the Emperor, as his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back is played by actor Marjorie Eaton, despite the fact that the famous character actress had her voice dubbed and face masked.

Boba Fett

Boba Fett is one of the most recognizable characters throughout Star Wars and has played a part in the universe for quite a while. First appearing in The Empire Strikes Back, Fett has been played by a total of four actors. Although never seen unmasked, Jeremy Bulloch portrays the bounty hunter in Episodes V & VI. Younger versions of Fett are played by Daniel Logan in Episode II, and Finnegan Garay in The Book of Boba Fett. It is the newest actor to put on the armor that has become the new face of the character as Temuera Morrison takes on the role in the divisive Disney + series.

Lando Calrissian

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 

A character like Lando Calrissian requires an actor with an immense amount of charm and charisma, and the two men that have dawned the cape have both of those qualities by the truck load. The talents of Billy Dee Williams in the original trilogy and Donald Glover in Solo: A Star Wars Story, have helped make Lando a fan favorite throughout generations of Star Wars fans.

Han Solo

Harrison Ford has been, is, and will always be Han Solo. The swashbuckling smuggler is played masterfully by Ford throughout the original and sequel trilogies and is a hard act to follow. Alden Ehrenreich was tasked with trying to fill those shoes in Solo, showing that when it is not a necessity to recast an iconic character, maybe don’t.

Obi Wan Kenobi

Out of all the Star Wars characters played by different actors throughout the franchise, Obi-Wan Kenobi is played iconically by both Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor. It is Guinness who portrays the older and grizzled Kenobi in the original trilogy, a role that earned him an Oscar nomination, the only Star Wars acting nomination at the awards ever. McGregor, on the other hand, played the more youthful Jedi Knight in the prequel stories and the Disney + series of episodes.

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader have the longest list of actors to help bring their characters to life throughout the franchise, with a number clocking in at ten different actors. The four most notable names being Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen, who played a younger Anakin throughout the prequel years, while Sebastian Shaw and James Earl Jones separately provided the face and iconic voice of Darth Vader throughout the original trilogy. Six other men helped to provide the vocal effects and physical stature of Vader throughout the years. There was undoubtedly an immense amount of work and talent put into creating one of the most intimidating villains of all time.