The Last Words Of Every Fallen Star Wars Hero From The Sequel Trilogy
Despite being kid-friendly and lighthearted, the Star Wars sequels can sometimes be a rather dark place. For example — spoiler alert — Ben Solo murders his own father and nearly takes his mother's life, as well, but he brings himself back from the brink of that decision at the last second. Hux, a leader in the First Order, annihilates five planets full of people all at the same time with Starkiller Base. And Luke Skywalker, despite being a hero in time past, becomes bitter and hostile about the battle for good and evil. Instead of helping the Resistance, he hides in exile.
Among those darker, more tragic moments, we've also got the deaths of heroes and the final words they utter. Sometimes, these lines are rich with meaning and emotion, calling for the end of the war or pleading with a relative to change their ways. Other times, these final words are more generic since the person is either surprised by their death or just so focused on their mission they don't really consider that they're stating their final sentence. Either way, grab a tissue because these are the last words of every fallen Star Wars hero from the sequel trilogy.
(Spoilers for the Star Wars sequels below.)
The Star Wars sequel trilogy kicked off with the death of Lor San Tekka
After Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise, it launched a new trilogy with J. J. Abrams behind the first film. For obvious reasons, The Force Awakens was highly anticipated, and of course, one of the most important moments would be the opening scene, as this would reintroduce the Star Wars saga to fans and set the tone for the whole trilogy. Well, it just so happens that our first hero falls in the opening scene. His name is Lor San Tekka, and although we only meet him briefly, his death and final words are powerful in retrospect.
Tekka is an older human who follows the Jedi religion, despite not being Force-sensitive himself. During the tyranny of the Galactic Empire and subsequent tyranny of the First Order, Tekka had to secretly learn about and practice the Jedi belief system. In his spiritual pursuits, he crossed paths with one Luke Skywalker, which unfortunately made him a target of Kylo Ren, Luke's nephew and the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. Tekka has a map that can lead the holder to Skywalker's location, and Ren wants it, as he's got unfinished business with his uncle.
Fortunately, Tekka passes the map on to Poe Dameron before the helmet-wearing maniac shows up. But the bad news is Tekka dies for it. His last words are to Kylo Ren, saying, "You may try, but you cannot deny the truth that is your family." Tekka tries to reason with the villain, reminding him that Ren can't reject his family roots, but that's the wrong button to push because right after that, Ren executes Tekka.
Han Solo's last words are heartbreaking
When The Force Awakens was announced, there was a ton of speculation about the cast of the original trilogy and whether or not they would make it out of the sequels alive. Fans didn't want to accept it, but it made sense that the original heroic trio — Luke, Han, and Leia — would pass away. After all, both the characters and the actors were getting old, and it was time to introduce some fresh faces. Plus, Disney wanted to craft its own take on the Star Wars movies, with its own style, actors, and creators, so it was inevitable.
Still, even though we suspected it was coming, that didn't make things any easier, and no Star Wars fan can forget the death of Han Solo. Seriously, this scene is absolutely heart-wrenching. While infiltrating Starkiller Base, Han sees his son, Ben, and tries to talk him into rejoining the good side. They slowly approach each other on a bridge, and the suspense is unbearable. They share a meaningful conversation, and Ben respectfully takes his helmet off while struggling between choosing the Light or Dark Side. Despite being a rough smuggler and soldier his whole life, Han does a great job being fatherly here, but ultimately, he fails to persuade Ben.
And that's when Ben asks if Han can help him, to which Han says, "Yes, anything." But what Ben needs "help” with is fully embracing the Dark Side by killing his father, so Ben turns on his lightsaber, and that's the end of Han Solo.
Ello Asty didn't die in vain
To refresh your memory, Ello Asty is the weird-looking Resistance fighter introduced in The Force Awakens. He's also a very talented pilot, although he takes unnecessary risks on occasion. Don't feel bad if you don't quite remember this particular alien because he's in the background most of the time, and he only has a few speaking parts.
The climax of The Force Awakens is when the Resistance fighters begin their assault on Starkiller Base. Han Solo sneaks onto the planet and succeeds in setting off explosives that allows Poe Dameron and his fighters to attack the thermal oscillator. You don't need to know too much about the thermal oscillator other than if the Resistance blows it up, all of Starkiller Base will be destroyed. Asty is one of the pilots led by Poe on their highly risky mission, and while the fighters are flying through a trench, the First Order uses multiple turrets to try and gun them down. The Resistance fighters do some fancy maneuvering and try to warn one another, but ultimately, Asty reports, "I'm hit!" And soon after, he explodes into flames. His death wasn't in vain, though. The group accomplishes their mission, although with some difficulty, of destroying Starkiller Base.
Admiral Ackbar gives one final order in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The death of Admiral Gial Ackbar was overshadowed by other bigger plot elements in The Last Jedi, so you might have trouble recalling this moment. Previously, Ackbar led the assault on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi, proving to be a talented tactician. That's where Ackbar delivered his famous line, "It's a trap!"
Later, in The Last Jedi, Ackbar is on the ship Raddus, along with Leia, when the First Order attacks it. This is that heartfelt scene when Kylo Ren can't bring himself to shoot the ship down because his mother is aboard, and the camera cuts back and forth between Ren and Leia. However, in the end, other fighters shoot the bridge. For obvious reasons, the camera is much more focused on Leia in those moments, but General Ackbar perishes in the blast. During the attack, Ackbar instructs his crew, "All craft, full engines! Concentrate rear shields." And that's the final command he gives. Soon after that, Ackbar is blown to smithereens.
Holdo shouted a command before sacrificing herself
Early in The Last Jedi, the leader of the Resistance, Leia Organa, suffers an injury and can't perform her duties. To fill her position, a purple-haired leader named Amilyn Holdo steps in. She's a graceful and wise admiral, although she can be a rather frustrating character, as well. Regardless, the First Order is right on the Resistance's tail, about to wipe out them once and for all. Seemingly, Holdo has no plan and will simply allow the First Order to win, causing the reckless Poe Dameron to stage a mutiny. But as it turns out, the admiral does indeed have a trick up her sleeve ... one with explosive consequences.
Just when it seems all hope has run out, that's when Vice Admiral Holdo enacts her famed maneuver and dies an epic death. Holdo flies her people as far as she can take them, and then she stays back with her ship as everyone else makes a run for it in the escape pods. As the First Order fires on the fleeing ships, blasting them to bits, a pilot calls Holdo and asks if they should turn around and come back. "No, you're too far out!" she screams. "Full speed to planetfall. Full speed!" And that's when, like a total badass, Holdo turns her own ship around, aims it at the First Order dreadnought, and enter hyperdrive. Although the decision ends her own life, she cuts the enemy ship in half, devastating the enemy. You'll be missed, Holdo.
Luke Skywalker says goodbye
When The Last Jedi hit theaters, fans wondered whether or not this would be the end of Luke Skywalker. After all, Luke was getting to a ripe old age, and Disney had already demonstrated it wasn't afraid to kill off beloved heroes, having done so with Han Solo in the previous film. We held onto hope that Luke might survive, but alas, it was time for our protagonist to finally say goodbye.
When the film opens, we find a bitter and defeated Luke Skywalker living in self-imposed exile on Ahch-To, refusing to help the Resistance fight the First Order. But eventually, old Luke does leave his exile to help our heroes ... well, he sort of leaves his exile. On the other side of the galaxy, the First Order has cornered what's left of the Resistance on the salt planet of Crait. The good guys desperately need a distraction while they escape, and Luke generously provides one by showing up to the fight as a Force projection. That means he's not really physically there, but it seems like it.
Kylo Ren halts the assault when he sees Luke and decides it's time for a lightsaber duel. Luke cleverly dodges all of Ren's attacks, giving the Resistance as much time as possible to get away. Eventually, Ren realizes Luke isn't actually there, and that's when the old Jedi says, "See you around, kid." Then we cut back to Ahch-To and see the meditative Skywalker watching the dual suns set before he finally becomes one with the Force.
Boolio was upbeat to the end
Man, why did the writers have to kill off Boolio? What did he ever do? If you don't remember, Boolio appears briefly in The Rise of Skywalker. He's a small, greenish alien with horns, and even though he isn't a fighter for the Resistance, he still supports the cause in any way he can.
One day, while Boolio is at his mining job, he gets his hands on a valuable piece of intelligence from a traitor within the First Order. Being the stand-up guy that he is, Boolio contacts the Resistance and passes on the information. The last thing he says on-screen, right after providing the info to the Resistance, is, "Win the war." The optimism is greatly appreciated, but unfortunately, Boolio is killed soon after.
The First Order discovers what Boolio did and decides to make an example of him, so they cut off his head. Yikes. Still, Boolio's deed helped a good cause, and it also demonstrates that you don't have to physically fight in a war to support the good guys. Just helping out where you can may make a big difference. The death of Boolio also shows that the reign of the First Order doesn't just affect the Resistance fighters — it also impacts everyday people who are just trying to get by.
Leia Organa's last line is all about her son
Leia Organa has been a Star Wars staple since A New Hope, essentially living her whole life fighting the tyranny of evil governments, the first being the Galactic Empire, then second being the First Order. As we all know, Leia's son, Ben Solo, tragically betrays his family and the Jedi, murdering several people and serving evil masters such as Snoke and Darth Sidious. But Leia, in her good nature, believes Ben can turn back to the Light Side, even though Ben murdered his own father.
During The Rise of Skywalker, Leia is about to die of old age, so she lies down. Meanwhile, in another part of the galaxy, Ben Solo is still committed to the Dark Side and is dueling Rey. Right in the middle of their battle, Leia contacts Ben through the Force. She simply says, "Ben," but it's all that he needed to hear. He stops in the middle of the duel, saddened and still about the devastating news that his mother is about to die. Rey takes the opportunity to pierce Ben with a lightsaber, but shortly after, Rey heals Ben with the Force because she senses that Leia has drifted into the afterlife. Even with her dying breath, Leia's only desire was for her son to change his ways.
Temmin 'Snap' Wexley bites the dust right before help shows up
Like most Star Wars films, The Rise of Skywalker ends with an enormous fight. This time, it's the Battle of Exegol, and it's the Resistance vs. Palpatine and his forces. As always, there must be casualties for the good guys, and it's here we lose our beloved Snap. Temmin "Snap" Wexley is a minor character, but nevertheless, the man remains memorable. As a fellow pilot and close friend to Poe Dameron, Snap is somewhat like the sequel version of Wedge Antilles from the original trilogy. Since he's a beloved minor character, he's absolutely perfect for killing off, which is exactly what the writers do.
During the Battle of Exegol, the Resistance fighters are overwhelmed by several Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters. Poe sees some enemies on Snap's tail and warns him, but there's not much Snap can do about it. He simply replies, "Yeah, I see 'em!" But Snap's ship gets shot down. It's super unfortunate timing for Snap, because soon after that, backup arrives to save the remaining Resistance fighters.
Ben Solo's last line in the Star Wars sequel trilogy is majorly disappointing
One of the major questions for Star Wars fans was what fate would befall Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren. Would he die? Would he return to the Light Side of the Force? Well, it so happens that Ben does become a good guy, and he does indeed die. But his last line, well, leaves us wanting a little more.
After a few years of being super evil, Ben has an emotional talk with the memory of his father, prompting him to forsake the Dark Side of the Force and forever embrace good. Ben immediately demonstrates this by joining the Resistance's fight against Palpatine on Exegol. And Ben does his fair share of work, defeating the Knights of Ren and joining Rey to confront Palpatine himself. On his way to the duel, Ben has to make a really far jump, and he ends up body-slamming the ground during his landing. He simply says, "Ow." It made us viewers snicker, but little did we know it would be Ben's very last word.
For reasons that probably only J.J. Abrams knows, Ben is incredibly silent during the rest of the film as he fights a bunch of baddies, saves Rey, and even kisses her. After Ben expends his last bit of energy to revive Rey, he passes away. For his last-minute switch to the good side, we count Ben a hero on this list, but man, that last line is a bit of a bummer.