Fatherhood in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Bail and Brea Organa, with their new baby Leia

For an epic tale like the Star Wars saga, which places plenty of importance on who

is who's father, there aren't a ton of great examples of day-to-day fatherhood to be seen. There are a few moments to be sure, but it's takes a little digging to see great moments in fatherhood in Star Wars.

Of course there’s quite a few examples of terrible fathers like Darth Vader. There's also completely absent parents like Rey’s, Han Solo's or Ezra Bridger’s. But on a positive note, here’s a few of our favourite examples of fatherhood in the saga…

Bail Organa and his daughter Leia are only seen on screen together when she is a baby, but clearly there is great love and mutual admiration between them. As a founding member of the Rebel Alliance, Organa obviously influenced Leia's world-view of politics, justice and rebellion. Bail even states in Rogue One that he trusts her with his life, and Leia soon after goes searching for Obi-Wan Kenobi because he served her father during the Clone Wars.

 
Galen Erso in Rogue One clearly loved his family and of course his beloved "Stardust", his daughter Jyn. Unfortunately to keep her safe from Director Krennic and the Empire he had to leave her to be raised mainly by Saw Gerrera. The two were never able to properly reconnect, but Jyn clearly inherited a spirit of rebellion from both of her parents.

Cleigg Lars seems like he was decent person and devoted husband, so presumably he was a pretty good dad, too. He freed Shmi Skywalker from slavery and then later lost his legs trying to save her from Tusken Raiders!

Cleigg’s son Owen Lars, though he probably only knew Shmi for a few years at most (and apparently only met Anakin Skywalker once), took on the task, with his wife Beru of course, to be guardians of Anakin's secret son Luke.

This may seen like an unlikely one, but arguably the most involved father shown in any Star Wars movie is Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones! While Boba Fett isn't technically Jango's son but rather actually a CLONE of Jango, Jango raises him as his son and seems to be teaching Boba many of the tricks of his bounty hunter trade along the way.

We never really got to see what kind of father Han Solo was when Ben (aka Kylo Ren) was a child but certainly at the end of The Force Awakens Han shows nothing but love for his son. Clearly by then Han has regrets about his life so maybe he wasn't the kind of father he wished he'd been, but it's easy to see the emotional attachment he shares with Ben. There are glimpses of what kind of a dad Han might've been when he interacts with Rey throughout the movie.

Near the ending of The Rise of Skywalker there is a hint that Lando Calrissian may be interested in learning more about who Jannah's parents are. The junior novelization and Visual Dictionary take this one step further by pointing out that Lando is indeed a father and had his daughter taken away to be part of the First Order. It is certainly possible that Jannah is the long-lost daughter he misses but that is not made completely clear.

Did you know that Jabba the Hutt is also a dad? That was a new revelation in the movie of The Clone Wars that preceeded the release of the TV series. Little Rotta the Hutt, nicknamed "Stinky" by Ahsoka Tano, was only an infant at the time and perhaps the rest of his story will be told at a later time. It's really hard to imagine crime lord Jabba as a father, but it's true!

Who is your favourite Star Wars dad? Who did we miss? Leave a comment below...