Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Exploring The Skywalker Family Tree

The Anakin-Padme Generation

Having spent his childhood in slavery on Tatooine until the age of nine, Anakin Skywalker is found to be a particularly gifted individual. He is an excellent pilot and builds a complex protocol droid – named C3PO – before being identified by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn as a potentially powerful wielder of the Force. The separation from his mother that results from this discovery creates deep-seated anxieties within Anakin, which are exacerbated by her tragic death, years later.

The passing of his mother is the first and only time Anakin comes into contact with his step-family – headed by Cliegg Lars. Cliegg lost a leg trying to save Anakin’s mother, but the young Skywalker feels little in the way of positive emotion toward his step-father. He also meets his step-brother Owen Lars, and his girlfriend, Beru, who all work on the family farm. Owen and Beru later marry, and become farmers in their own right.

Padme Amidala is elected Queen of Naboo at the age of 14 and embarks on a diplomatic career that would see her become a Senator – unpicking the threads of a Sith conspiracy that eventually gives rise to the Empire. Having crossed paths with the child Anakin, Padme meets him once again as an adult, in his capacity as a Jedi Padawan.

The two fall in love, secretly marry, and conceive – but in the process, Anakin has been simultaneously seduced by the power of the Dark Side, promised by Senator Palpatine. Anakin commits a heinous crime and becomes Darth Vader, and Padme dies giving birth to twins – Luke and Leia – who are separated and hidden at secret locations to protect them from their father.