The Star Wars franchise is full of characters who are strong in the Force, both with Jedi warriors and Sith Lords.
However, the Force warriors are only part of the franchise, and some of the actual heroes are those without Force powers, people who have to make it through the war with only their skills, wit, and moxie.
These more than human heroes have been around since the original trilogy, with the rogue smuggler Han Solo and his partner Chewbacca, along with the powerful Princess Leia, who was Force sensitive but barely used these powers.
The prequels relied heavily on Jedi warriors outside of supporting characters.
However, the modern-day sequel trilogy added back in the regular Rebel fighters, bringing back an important aspect of the original trilogy for a new generation.
Here is a look at the greatest non-Jedi heroes in Star Wars movies, and their most heroic acts.
Han Solo
Luke Skywalker was the chief hero of the original trilogy, but he was also the least interesting character. There is a reason many fans of a certain age always gravitated toward Han Solo instead.
Luke was the wide-eyed farm boy with big dreams who learned he was Force sensitive and became a Jedi warrior. However, Han Solo didn’t need magic powers or a prophecy to become one of the galaxy’s greatest heroes.
Han has plenty of hero moments, from helping rescue Princess Leia to returning to watch Luke’s back during the Death Star’s destruction.
In the end, he even sacrificed his own life trying to save his son Kylo Ren from the Dark Side, albeit with tragic results.
Lando Calrissian
Lando Calrissian first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, an old friend of Han Solo.
When he appeared, he was in Cloud City and betrayed Han to Darth Vader. It turned out that Vader showed up and threatened destruction to Cloud City if Lando didn’t comply.
However, Lando became the bigger man, and after his betrayal, he joined the Rebel forces and helped rescue Han and stuck with the Rebellion to the end of the war.
Lando returned in the sequels to help Rey and Leia in their battle against the rising Imperial Forces. He also appeared in the Solo prequel.
Chewbacca
Chewbacca showed up in the first Star Wars movie as Han Solo’s co-pilot, smuggler, and close confidant. The two helped Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in the war with the Empire, and Chewy mostly served as Han’s moral compass.
However, Chewbacca’s story goes back much further than that. He was a military leader, helped save Ahsoka Tano, and led the Wookie forces in the Battle of Kashyyyk.
It was Chewbacca who was with Yoda when Order 66 from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine caused the Clone Troopers to turn on the Jedi. Chewbacca helped Yoda escape to safety.
Jyn Erso
Jyn Erso was the lead in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the best of the two spin-off sequels in the Disney era.
This movie told the story of a group sent in to steal the Death Star plans, which led directly to the events of the first Star Wars movie. If not for Jyn and this group, Luke Skywalker never would have known the weak spot in the Death Star.
Jyn was also a tragic character, giving her life to get the plans to the Rebellion, dying as she sent the plans to the Rebel forces.
If not for Jyn, the war would have ended very differently.
Din Djarin
DIn Djarin, who most people refer to today as The Mandalorian, has become the latest non-Jedi hero in the Star Wars universe.
The bounty hunter from the New Republic Era became a hero when he found and took in a young Jedi named Grogu, commonly known as Baby Yoda.
It was when he was hired to retrieve a target, which turned out to be Grogu, that he slowly began to morph from a bounty hunter into a hero.
Din Djarin then put the life of Grogu over his own and took the battle to Moff Gideon, becoming a genuine hero by the end.
Finn
Finn appeared in the new prequel movies, and he had it tough from the start.
Finn was trained since his birth to be a loyal and obedient soldier for the First Order and was a Stormtrooper when The Force Awakens began.
However, Finn never felt right there, refusing to kill despite direct orders. He eventually abandoned his post and helped Poe Dameron escape after his capture.
The most heroic thing that Finn did was when he left the First Order and saved Poe. He stole a TIE Fighter and escaped, putting him in the position to help Poe, Rey, and the Resistance.
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron showed up for the first time in The Force Awakens and was a mixture of Han Solo and Wedge Antilles. An X-Wing pilot with an attitude and a willingness to ignore orders, Poe was a huge part of the sequel series.
Like Han Solo, Poe wasn’t always going to live, but he ended up so popular that he stuck around.
Poe Dameron’s most heroic moment was easily when he destroyed the Starkiller Base.
After Han, Chewie, and Finn infiltrated Starkiller Base and let down the shields, Leia sent in Poe, and he did what Luke Skywalker did in the first movie and destroyed the Starkiller Base.
Cassian Andor
Cassian Andor made his debut in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
His most heroic moment was just like Jyn Erso, when the two ended up on a suicide mission to get the Death Star plans to the Rebellion. This allowed Luke Skywalker to blow up the Death Star.
However, there is much more to Cassian Andor than that, and the Disney+ series based on his life is coming.
As Cassian said, he has been in the war since he was six years old, when his father died during a protest against the Republic military advances.
Andor spent two decades fighting to survive, and when he gave up his life for the greater good, it was an ultimate sacrifice.
Saw Gerrera
When Saw Gerrera appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, he was a man in the middle, not working for the Rebellion or the First Order.
However, Saw was a character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, appearing for the first time in Season 5 as a guerrilla fighter.
Saw recently appeared in Star Wars: The Bad Batch as he was trying to save people after Order 66. This led to his growth into a strong fighter against the Empire, but willing to go to violent lengths the Rebel Alliance supported.
His most heroic moment came in Clone Wars when he and his sister Steela led the Onderon resistance to victory, his sister dying but them succeeding in the mission.
Princess Leia
Princess Leia is Force sensitive, but she never bothered with that, preferring to use her leadership abilities to lead the Rebel Alliance. Even without her Jedi powers, Leia is one of the most powerful Star Wars characters in history.
Leia did so many heroic things. She stood up to Darth Vader and refused to back down, eventually leading Luke Skywalker down the road to become a hero and destroy the Death Star.
In The Empire Strikes Back, she continued to operate as a leader and, in Return of the Jedi, she took the fight into her own hands when she killed Jabba the Hutt to help save Han Solo.
Moving onto the sequels, she led her forces in the face of her own son, Kylo Ren, and ensured that the Rebel Alliance continued to topple the Empire, as everyone looked to her for guidance.