There are so many things that are of vital importance when it comes to ‘building out a world’ that you hope an audience will enjoy.
One could, of course, argue that the ‘world’ of Star Wars is already built, but my response would be… “only parts of it are.”
The Star Wars galaxy is a big place, and I think, as an audience, we want to see as much of it as we can. We don’t always want to be on Tatooine or Coruscant – but, as well as visiting fantastic new worlds, we also want to feel like that galaxy far, far away, is a real place, and that it grows and changes like our own world does.
That takes a bit of effort.
A number of years ago now, back in the early 2010s, I was a producer on an independent science fiction series, where the world-building component took over a year and a half to get right… and it was set primarily on Earth. That series was no where near as complex as a Star Wars production!
When building something new, whether in an existing property or a new one, one of the most important parts of the development process is the creation of the show’s characters. Everything should come from the characters, in good drama, and often they will “tell” you about the world you’re playing in. As of April 2023, when all I’d done were basic character notes for the story, the ‘world’ of Star Wars post the ninth film, changed no less than twenty or so times as one character impacted another, or as I rewatched different Star Wars series from The Clone Wars to season 2 of The Mandalorian, and each episode of season 3 as it dropped.
The characters are the audience’s introduction to the ‘world,’ and their guides through it.
To that end, we’ll start the world-building exercise for Star Wars: Rebirth with a brief introduction to the main players, and a little bit about where the galaxy ‘is at,’ 30+ years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and we’ll keep building from there while I, at least, wait with baited breath for the release of Star Wars: Ahsoka.
Leneia Organa-Skywalker (Len-A-ah Or-garn-ah Sky-walker)
Gender: Female
Age: Early-thirties
Species: Human
Allegiance: The Jedi Order, Galactic Alliance, and the Elder House of Organa (and Council of the Elder Houses)
Homeworld: Onoam-Alderaan
Note: Leneia is an amalgamation of Ben Solo’s first name, and Luke and Leia’s names. Rey chose that combination because of the importance of those people to her as teachers and individuals she genuinely loved.
Leneia is the daughter of Rey Skywalker (nee Palpatine) and Ben Solo, via a Force transfer with Ben at the time of his death (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker).
Leneia struggles with her legacy – being the great grand-daughter of Emperor Palpatine, the great grand-daughter of Darth Vader, and the daughter of Kylo Ren, the former leader of the First Order.
Though she is also the the great grand-daughter of Padme Amidala, the grand-daughter of Leia Organa and Han Solo, and the great-niece of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, she is ever wary of the Dark Side and, deep inside, carries an all-consuming fear that she will succumb to evil.
Leneia takes after her mother, though she also has the introspective nature of her father, Ben. Those who knew her grandmother, Leia Organa, say that she is most like her.
Additional Note: During the time of the New Republic, New Alderaan, a world in the Outer Rim Territories, was rocked by cataclysmic tectonic events that eventually required the evacuation of all its inhabitants.
The people of Naboo and it’s moon, Onoam, offered Onoam as a new home.
The moon was officially renamed Onoam-Alderaan, and given self-government by Naboo in recognition of the strong ties between Naboo and the former Alderaan (prior to its destruction by the Empire), and their similarities as progressive worlds that have always championed freedom, and stood against tyranny.
Not long after Leneia’s birth, Alderaanian survivors approached Rey and asked her to give Leneia an additional surname – Organa – so as to keep the Royal line and Elder House of Organa alive.
Rey agreed, though she did once joke to her husband, Finn, that it was an unnecessarily long name! Finn, in response, stated that it was fitting, however, for a Princess.
Leneia is, in fact, Queen of Onoam-Alderaan, though she leaves the governing of the world to the Onoam-Alderaan Royal Council, which is headed by First Minister Isla Orkara.
Finn, having taken his wife’s new surname (Skywalker) as he had none, is Leneia’s step-father.
Joryn Mothma (Jor-in Moth-ma)
Gender: Male
Age: Late-twenties or early thirties
Species: Human
Allegiance: The Jedi Order and Galactic Alliance
Homeworld: Chandrila
Joryn struggles with anger. The grandson of Mon Mothma, former Chancellor of the New Republic, and son of Lieda Mothma, he was thrust into the public eye at a young age and struggled with his celebrity. Loved by some, hated by others, he was on display everywhere he went. He hates the limelight, as a result, and prefers to be “the strong, silent type” hanging out in the shadows.
Strong in the Force, his abilities did not manifest until the age of 18, making him feel like he constantly has to prove himself.
Joryn found his way to Rey and Finn Skywalker’s Jedi Academy in the hopes they could teach him to harness his anger and transform it, and give him a purpose unique to his family’s.
Joryn is in love with Leneia Skywalker.
Callus Hunter (Kal-us Hunter)
Gender: Male
Age: Appears to be mid to late-fourties (in human years)
Species: Zabrak
Allegiance: ShadowKin Clans
Homeworld: Iridonia
Callus is the “big bad” for the series. A Force-sensitive Zabrak, he is determined to give his people a place in the galaxy, and to crush those he believes have taken advantage of them and held them down.
Callus seeks to unite the various clans of the Zabrak species, including the almost extinct Nightsisters and Nightbrothers, into a force as formidable as the Mandalorians.
Callus, like many of his species, is fanatically independent. He carries a deep-seated hatred for the Jedi, harbours resentment toward the Sith, and despises the Empire and First Order – as well as the former Republic and the new Galactic Alliance. He believes all of these various Orders and governments are to blame for all the ills of the galaxy – and the near extinction of his people.
Mother Karnyj (Mother Car-nij)/Carnage)
Gender: Female
Age: Mid to late-fifties (in human years)
Species: Zabrak
Allegiance: Nightsisters, and then ShadowKin
Homeworld: Dathomir
Karnyj, a Force-sensitive, is also the “big bad” for the series. Though initially resistant to the entreaties of Callus Hunter, she agrees to become ShadowKin, and to work with him to unite their people against the rest of the galaxy.
Piri Dakar (Peer-ee Dah-kar)
Gender: Female
Age: Mid-thirties
Species: Duros (blue skin, gold eyes)
Allegiance: The Jedi Order and Galactic Alliance
Homeworld: Duro
Piri’s family were killed soon after her birth by First Order survivors, and though she tries not to be prejudiced against anyone associated with the Empire or First Order, she struggles.
She is the star pupil of the Jedi Academy, and Leneia’s best friend.
Sedecca Voss (Sed-ek-ah Voss)
Gender: Female
Age: Late teens
Species: Chiss
Allegiance: The Jedi Order and Galactic Alliance
Sedecca is a Padawan at Rey and Finn’s Jedi Academy. She is in love with Kyran Skywalker, but believes he doesn’t know she exists.
Kyran Skywalker (Keer-an Sky-walker)
Gender: Male
Age: Late teens
Species: Human
Allegiance: The Jedi Order and Galactic Alliance
Homeworld: Yavin IV
Kyran is the son of Rey and Finn Skywalker and the younger brother of Leneia.
He is a Padawan at Rey and Finn’s Jedi Academy, about to undertake the final tests to become a Jedi Knight.
Kyran has his fathers sense of humour and his mother’s determination and focus. Likeable, a little mischievous, and a bit of a rogue, he is very popular with the other Padawan’s – though does drive his older sister to distraction with his risk taking behaviours and insane practical jokes. He is fiercely protective of Leneia, and a loyal friend.
Jet Sylka (Jet Silk-ah)
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown (An actor in their 40s or 50s)
Species: Devaronian
Allegiance: None
A retired Bounty Hunter and independent pilot, Jet meets Leneia and her team after a major incident rocks the foundations of the new Galactic Alliance.
Rose Tico (Rose Tee-ko)
Gender: Female
Age: Mid-thirties
Species: Human
Allegiance: The Galactic Alliance
President of the Galactica Alliance (the position of Chancellor was terminated, and the idea of a new New Republic was abandoned), Rose is determined to make sure the Galactic Alliance never repeats the mistakes of the New Republic, or previous governments.
Studying politics and leadership under Leia Organa, in the lead up to the battle against the cloned Emperor, she is also the Custodian of Leia’s memoir, which is a frank critique of the New Republic, and a discourse on building a just society.
Rose, with her allies and friends, has worked hard to establish a new galactic government that would be representative of the disparate peoples of the galaxy, and has succeeded. She is a very popular leader, and a shining light of hope throughout the galaxy.
Oryssa (Or-iss-ah)
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Species: Ga’in (Sentient Flora)
Allegiance: The Galactic Alliance
Oryssa is the Chief of Staff to the President of the Alliance, and the chief architect of the restoration of Coruscant.
Seraya Saan (Sir-ay-ah Sarn)
Gender: Non-Binary
Age: Mid-teens
Species: Human
Allegiance: The Galactic Alliance
Seraya is the current Queen of Naboo, and a close friend of the Skywalker family.
Seraya is wise beyond her years, and intends to become the Senator for Naboo when her term as Queen ends.
Vin Ekrist (Vin Ek-rist)
Gender: Male
Age: Late-fourties to early-fifties
Species: Human
Allegiance: The Striker Outlaws
Vin is an anarchist, and the head of the Stryker Outlaw crime gang (akin to today’s outlaw biker gangs). Despite being a sadist and an excessively violent man, he has a Code that he lives by, which means that he protects those he loves above all else.
Vin wants to see an end to the Jedi and Sith. He has a seething hatred for them. In Vin’s opinion, they are the root of everything that is wrong in the galaxy, and he blames them for the death of his wife and children, who were collateral damage in the battle against the Clone Emperor.
Vin and his cabal are developing a biological weapon that targets Force-sensitives.
Keedha (Key-da)
Gender: Male
Age: 788
Species: Hutt
Allegiance: The Hutt Clan Crime Syndicate
Keedha is the head of the Hutt Clan Crime Syndicate, and an ally of Vin Ekrist and the Stryker Outlaws. Keedha is supporting the development of the biological weapon against Force-sensitives.
Keedha is sick of the meddling of governments, Jedi, and Sith in his family business, and sees them all as an impediment to his grand plans – which are to unite the crime syndicates of the galaxy and enact a new regime, led, of course, by the Hutts.
Ariella Sentis (a-ree-ella Sen-tis)
Gender: Female
Age: Mid-fifties
Species: Human
Allegiance: The Imperial Union
Ariella is the Sovereign of the Imperial Union and its Grand Admiral (Commander and Chief). When addressed by those who are not in the military, she is referred to as Imperial Sovereign, or simply Imperator Sentis. When addressed by those in the Imperial military, she is called Grand Admiral. When announced to guests visiting the new Imperial Homeworld, she is announced as “Imperator Sentis, Grand Admiral of the Mighty Imperial Armed Forces.”
The Sentis family is one of the last remaining Great Houses (also known as the Elder Houses) of the galaxy.
Ariella leads the remnants of the old Empire and the First Order after the death of the cloned Emperor Palpatine. She helped broker a peace between the then fledgling Imperial Union and the then fledgling Galactic Alliance, carving out a slice of the galaxy for those who wanted to live outside of the Alliance’s influence, and preferred the rule of a more ordered and authoritarian collective.
Ariella can, at times, seem like a villain, but she is a noble human being who is both severe and just. With age and time, she grew appalled with the abuses of the Empire and First Order, and pledged to lead in a different way.
She has a deep distrust, bordering on outright hated, of the Jedi and Sith, seeing them as destabilising forces in the galaxy.
Ersta Baryn (Er-star Baron)
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Species: Weequay
Allegiance: The Galactic Alliance
An Alliance Intelligence Agent, Ersta discovers the plot to kill Force-sensitives, and also stumbles across disturbing rumours about a new force rising in the galaxy – the NightKin.
A Quick Look at the First Scene:
35 years after the fall of the First Order
Dathomir
The home of Mother Karnyj
A Little More World-Building Detail…
The series is set 30-35 years after the fall of the First Order.
Prior to that, and immediately after the defeat of the First Order, the Resistance forces and their allies headed for Coruscant to take back the planet, which had been ravaged by civil wars and the abuses of multiple crime syndicates after the destruction of the second Death Star. The Resistance intends to declare Coruscant the capital of the known galaxy once again.
Still a majestic, shining city world, the wars and lack of care had seen 30% of the planet reduced to rubble.
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