The Star Wars movie saga stars a remarkable variety of heroes and villains, some of whom use sheer force or raw talent to win the day, while others rely more on their cunning or book smarts to survive. Characters of all types, from Jedi to Sith Lords to smugglers and military leaders, all need some serious brainpower to get ahead and reshape the galaxy.
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In the eleven Star Wars movies, the smartest characters set themselves apart in exciting ways, such as their clever street smarts, their aptitude for leadership, and sometimes, their skills with engineering and machine design. Sometimes, these characters' intelligence is implied through their actions or ranks, while other characters are openly praised for having the brightest minds in the galaxy.
10 DJ
The hacker known only as DJ played a minor supporting role in the sequel Star Wars trilogy, making his debut in Canto Bight as a jailed rogue who offered to help Finn and Rose get into Snoke's flagship. Finn didn't trust DJ, and he was proven right when DJ the hacker sold out his Resistance teammates to escape Snoke's ship.
DJ was untrustworthy and cynical, but he was also quite smart as a skilled hacker who could even sneak his way aboard the Supremacy, the galaxy's largest and most advanced starship of all. He also regularly stole money from Canto Bight's wealthy guests, which is a remarkable feat, whether he got caught doing it or not.
9 Lando Calrissian
Lando Calrissian made his introduction in the original Star Wars trilogy as Han Solo's old friend and fellow rogue. By that time, he also had a position of leadership in Cloud City, implying he had serious administrative skills as a civilian leader.
Lando also knew how to pilot the famed Millennium Falcon with great skill, and he was also an adept Sabacc player, including some crafty strategies for cheating. Despite his admittedly shady ways, the street-wise Lando is a hero and helped the Rebellion claim final victory against the Empire near Endor.
8 Qui-Gon Jinn
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was a practical, clever Jedi in 1999's The Phantom Menace, and he and Padmé co-led the brave counterattack to retake Naboo from the Trade Federation. Despite the immense danger and formidable odds, Qui-Gon persisted and thought up crafty plans on the fly to keep hope alive.
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Qui-Gon's leadership served him well on Tatooine too, where he smartly used Anakin's idea to enter the boy into the podrace and win enough money for a new hyperdrive. He also knew how to pressure Watto into paying up when the latter tried to renege on the deal.
7 Leia Organa Solo
Leia Organa Solo was once a princess on Alderaan, but she didn't idle around in a palace. As a teenager, Leia bravely took part in the Rebellion and cleverly sabotaged and defeated the Empire wherever she could. Leia also snuck the Death Star plans into R2-D2 to get them to Obi-Wan safely.
Later, Leia became the Resistance's general, using her immense leadership skills to coordinate the galaxy's defense against the invading First Order without the New Republic's aid. This made her a hugely popular and respected beacon of hope, so it was a serious blow when she died in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.
6 General Grievous
The deadly cyborg General Grievous appeared in 2005's Revenge of the Sith as the supreme military commander of the Confederacy's droid armies. General Grievous did well to last so long against the Republic's mighty clone army, and he even assaulted Coruscant itself, a key strategic target for any army.
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General Grievous also knew when to cut his losses and regroup elsewhere, which is how he avoided capture for so long. To defend himself, Grievous learned the ways of lightsaber combat from Count Dooku, and in the animated Clone Wars series, he was seen slaying countless Jedi as a hands-on general.
5 Padmé Amidala
Padmé Amidala was introduced as a young but brilliant and brave queen of Naboo. She craftily used a handmaiden to serve as her decoy and joined Qui-Gon's party without giving away who she really was. Padmé also helped lead the counterattack of Naboo with Qui-Gon and Captain Panaka to back her up.
Padmé is clearly a well-educated person to lead Naboo as such an effective and popular queen. She also served in the Galactic Senate for a time, which also requires serious book smarts and political savvy. If she hadn't died in Revenge of the Sith, Padmé might have helped Leia lead the Rebellion to free the galaxy from the Empire's tyranny.
4 General Maximilian Veers
General Maximilian Veers only briefly appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy, but lore-savvy fans know that Veers was the best military mind of his time. Many Imperial officers failed the Emperor and were punished harshly, but Maximilian Veers survived that crucible of fear and made something of himself.
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Maximilian Veers didn't rely on sheer numbers or fear to defeat the Rebellion or keep Imperial worlds under his thumb. He had a brilliant mind for strategy and could outwit any foe, so it's no wonder Darth Vader trusted General Veers to lead the critical assault on the Rebellion's Hoth base.
3 Galen Erso
In 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the gifted but troubled engineer Galen Erso was presented as a tragic hero who was desperate to undo his mistake for the good of the galaxy. He was dragged back to the Death Star project, but he got the last laugh with his intentional design flaw, something Orson Krennic and Wilhuff Tarkin both missed.
Galen Erso is clearly one of the galaxy's smartest people by playing such a key role in a deadly but technologically marvel like the Death Star. In fact, Orson Krennic was almost desperate to get Galen back on the project, suggesting that no one but him could have finished such an advanced assignment.
2 Count Dooku
Count Dooku is best known for being a powerful Sith Lord in the prequel trilogy, but he wasn't just an excuse for action scenes like Darth Maul was in The Phantom Menace. Extensive Star Wars lore makes it clear that Dooku had one of the galaxy's brightest minds of his era in many different ways.
Count Dooku was a highly gifted Jedi before he fell to the Dark Side and became Darth Tyranus, and Sidious trusted him with many vital missions until it was time to turn Anakin to the Dark Side as well. Dooku was also a count on his home world, a respected position of leadership that not just anyone could handle.
1 Darth Sidious
Sheev Palpatine was born into a noble family on Naboo, and he always had a kernel of evil in him. As a young man, he fled his idyllic home world and became Darth Plagueis' apprentice, and eventually slew his Muun master to become the new Sith Lord with apprentices of his own.
Sidious had enormous talent with the Force, but his mind was his best weapon of all. He spent decades carefully plotting the Jedi Order's downfall, and at the same time, Sidious built an empire with himself as the uncontested emperor. Doing that required serious political acumen and deception, which was almost too easy for a dark mastermind like him.
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