Star Wars has always been political. That is an undeniable fact. Though the galaxy far, far away has become one of the biggest and most iconic sources of escapist entertainment in modern history, its roots are overtly political. Indeed, George Lucas designed the original trilogy as a metaphor for ’60s and ’70s anti-war sentiment, modeling the Galactic Empire after the United States and the underdog Rebel Alliance as a parallel to North Vietnamese guerrilla fighters resisting American forces.
Through it all, the franchise has remained inherently political to varying degrees. Indeed, each one of the franchise’s 13 theatrical feature films feature some kind of political commentary. However, some Star Wars movies are certainly far more political than others. A film being more or less political doesn’t necessarily relate to its level of quality, and these intergalactic blockbusters are no exception.
13
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ (2026)
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Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures</figure>
For the longest time, the television side of the galaxy far, far away was exclusively limited to animation. It wouldn’t be until 2019 that the world would be treated to the first live-action Star Wars show in history, Disney+’s The Mandalorian. After an incredible first season, a solid-enough second season, and an underwhelming final season, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni decided to go out with a bang, making the theatrical feature film The Mandalorian and Grogu in lieu of a fourth season.
Alas, the result ended up being one of the only Star Wars movies that are kind of bad. Whether that has anything to do with the film being the least political Star Wars film to date is up for debate. The fact is that The Mandalorian and Grogu is far more focused on being an episodic adventure than on fleshing out the politics of a post-Jabba Hutt Cartel or bounty-hunting for the fledgling New Republic.
12
‘Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker’ (2019)
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Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures</figure>
It’s always sad when a franchise as pop-culturally enormous as the Skywalker Saga ends on a sour note; but, alas, you’d be hard-pressed to find any Star Wars fan who actually enjoys The Rise of Skywalker. Did the fact that this is easily the least political of the sequel trilogy outings have anything to do with causing this to be one of those movie trilogies that ended poorly? Who’s to say?
Regardless, the fact of the matter is that Rise of Skywalker largely sidelines the complex political roots of the franchise, instead opting for a more quasi-mythical conclusion full of twists and turns that clearly didn’t work all that well for most fans. There’s somewhat of a celebration of grassroots resistance movements, but it feels quite inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
11
‘Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens’ (2015)
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Image via Lucasfilm</figure>
After a decade away from the big screen, Star Wars made its triumphant return with one of those few legacy sequels that are actually good: The Force Awakens, the first installment in Disney’s divisive sequel trilogy. Since the abundance of politics had been one of the elements that had made George Lucas’ prequel trilogy controversial, J. J. Abrams and his team deliberate stripped away those elements.
The result? A film that practically resets the chess board to introduce a blander, less politicized version of the classic dynamic of the original trilogy: a small group of scrappy rebels fighting a fascist-coded military force. In their efforts not to make The Force Awakens feel overly political, however, Abrams and the writers instead made it feel like a far simpler “good versus evil” kind of tale.
10
‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ (2018)
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Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures</figure>
Ideas to explore the origins of a young Han Solo date back as far as the early drafts of Revenge of the Sith, but it wouldn’t be until 2018 that those ideas would finally come together in the shape of a completed project: Solo: A Star Wars Story. It’s still the biggest box office bomb in the history of the franchise, which is a shame, because it may also be the most underappreciated Star Wars movie to date.
Since this is a story exploring the adventures of Han Solo before he joined the Rebellion, it shouldn’t be surprising in the slightest that Solo isn’t overtly political. But even though its plot and characters are its primary focus, the film does explore topics like resistance, resource exploitation, and how the criminal underworld interacts with politics, making it just political enough to truly feel like a Star Wars project.
9
‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008)
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Image via Warner Bros. Pictures</figure>
Before the pilot of the now-legendary animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars aired, George Lucas watched some of the completed footage of the early episodes on the big screen and got the idea for a theatrical feature film to lead into the show. So, those first few episodes were woven together to form the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, which is almost universally accepted as the absolute worst Star Wars film to date.
The movie is moderately political, dealing with themes of wartime strategy.
If one were to rank every Star Wars show, Clone Wars would surely be near the top, in no small measure thanks to how many rich new layers it added to the political dimensions of Lucas’ prequel film trilogy. The movie is moderately political, dealing with themes of wartime strategy, proxy warfare, and galactic alliances. However, none of those elements are fleshed out nearly enough to be at all compelling.
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‘Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi’ (2017)
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Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures</figure>
There is perhaps no Star Wars movie more divisive than Rian Johnson‘s The Last Jedi, but one thing can hardly be denied: It’s the boldest of all sequel trilogy installments, the only one that was willing to do things differently and test unique ideas. Did the experiment work? Not all fans would answer affirmatively, but the political elements present in the film are undeniable.
The Last Jedi contains both subtly and overtly political themes, from the way the entire Canto Bight segment comments on class and wealth inequality, to the strongly anti-authoritarian spirit that should characterize any and all Star Wars films. All in all, the sequel trilogy is undoubtedly the least strongly political segment of the Skywalker Saga, but Last Jedi was the one that came closest to the series’ political roots.
7
‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)
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Image via 20th Century Studios</figure>
Upon release in 1980, The Empire Strikes Back was actually significantly less successful than its predecessor, both commercially and with critics. Today, however, many would point to it not only as the undisputed peak of the Star Wars franchise, but also as one of the best epic sci-fi movies of the last 100 years and the biggest science fantasy masterpiece in the history of cinema.
As perfect as it is, though, Empire is perhaps surprisingly the least political entry in the original Star Wars trilogy. It remains deeply anti-authoritarian at its core, and the way its Bespin segment explores ideas of neutrality and economic compromise is impeccably executed. However, Empire is far more focused on its enrapturing plot and its classic themes of good-versus-evil.
6
‘Star Wars’ (1977)
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Image via 20th Century Studios</figure>
Now retroactively known as Episode IV — A New Hope, Star Wars was the one that started it all. Audiences had never seen anything even remotely like it before, and the film reigned supreme as the highest-grossing movie of all time for five years until the arrival of E.T. It gave birth to one of the most consistent movie trilogies in history, as well as to the biggest multimedia franchise in history.
Far more than just a sci-fi fairy tale or an intergalactic adaptation of Joseph Campbell‘s Hero’s Journey story archetype, Star Wars is the film that most directly functions as an allegory for the Vietnam War. Its themes pitting democracy against authoritarianism have aged wonderfully, making it so that anyone who says Star Wars isn’t political has clearly not even seen the movie that spawned the franchise.
5
‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983)
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Image via 20th Century Studios</figure>
Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg were considered to direct the final chapter in the original Star Wars trilogy, before the project finally landed in Richard Marquand‘s hands. Though it’s generally considered the weakest of the trilogy, Return of the Jedi is nonetheless usually praised as one of the best sci-fi movies of the ’80s.
It’s an old-school morality play at its core, but it also happens to be the most overtly political outing of the original trilogy. There’s its portrayal of the efforts to defeat a tyrannical dictator, its exploration of how the Hutt crime syndicate interacts with the Empire, and especially how clear of a metaphor the Battle of Endor is for the Viet Cong’s resistance against American military forces.
4
‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ (2016)
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesBefore the arrival of Andor, the show that has the strongest claim to the title of “most political piece of Star Wars media ever,” came the spin-off prequel that gave origin to it: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Who could have predicted that a film about the fighters who got the Death Star plans for the Rebellion, a story with an entirely predictable outcome, could have made for such a compelling movie?
Indeed, though we go into Rogue One knowing that the Rebels will eventually succeed, what makes this one of the most thrilling sci-fi movies about space warfare is how compelling these particular characters are. They’re at the center of a gritty, intensely political tale about asymmetrical warfare, state surveillance, and the inherently dirty nature of a guerrilla-style revolution against oppressive forces.
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