Han Solo Isn't The Only One: 10 Pirates & Smugglers Who Made Star Wars History

In the Star Wars galaxy, Han Solo is far from the only smuggler to have made galactic history. There are plenty of pirates and more self-serving rogues in the Star Wars galaxy. However, a select few have managed to make some major waves in the timeline, having made some huge impacts (inadvertently or otherwise).




Without question, Han Solo is one of Star Wars’ most famous smugglers, having become one of the galaxy’s most legendary heroes of the Rebellion. Solo made galactic history in various ways, including the destruction of both Death Stars and the First Order’s Starkiller Base, the husband to Princess Leia, and also the father to Ben Solo (the future Kylo Ren). That said, here are 10 other smugglers, pirates, and rogues who have also made a significant impact on Star Wars history.


10 Hondo Ohnaka

The Clone Wars Jedi Frenemy


First debuting in The Clone Wars animated series, pirate captain Hondo Ohnaka made more than one appearance during the war between the Republic and the Separatists, most notably taking Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Count Dooku hostage at the same time and intending to ransom them to whichever side could pay the most credits. However, Hondo did have a charming frenemy relationship with Skywalker and Kenobi, and his relationship with Jedi would only continue during the Dark Times as a friend of Ezra Bridger. While he loves profit, Hondo’s infrequent aid to the Jedi and the early Rebellion certainly made its mark on Star Wars history.

9 Marchion Ro

Ro’s Nihil Conquered Part Of The Galaxy

During the High Republic Era, Marchion Ro managed to organize the Nihil marauders into a true force to be reckoned with. Harnessing dangerous technologies like Path Engines and a Stormwall, the Nihil cut off an entire sector of space from the rest of the galaxy known as the Occlusion Zone. Likewise, Ro also had control over Force predators known as The Nameless, fearsome creatures capable of draining a Jedi’s energy while they remained paralyzed in hallucinogenic fear. Openly defying the Republic during an age of peace and prosperity, Marchion Ro and his dark influence were quite vast in the centuries before the Skywalker saga.


8 Doctor Aphra

A Rogue Archaeologist

Operating during the Galactic Civil War and beyond, Doctor Chelli Aphra was a rogue archaeologist seeking valuable artifacts and relics, primarily the name of fortune and glory. Aphra is essentially the anti-Indiana Jones in the Star Wars galaxy. While she originally found herself in the service of Darth Vader, Aphra ended up aiding the Rebellion and even helped delay the Empire from discovering Echo Base on Hoth. Likewise, Doctor Aphra also became an uneasy ally to Luke Skywalker, and the duo has had quite a few adventures amid the young Jedi’s search for history, leading to his founding of his Jedi academy between the original and sequel trilogies.


7 Crimson Jack

Star Wars Legends’ First Pirate & Han Solo’s Rival

The first pirate to have ever been introduced in the Star Wars canon, Crimson Jack was a key rival of Han Solo’s between A New Hope and Empire Strike Back, as seen in Marvel’s original Star Wars comics in 1977. After Jack kidnaps Princess Leia, the rivalry ends with Han Solo killing Crimson Jack who’d been in the service of Jabba the Hutt. As such, the pirate’s death saw Jabba re-upping his bounty on Solo’s head.

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Since 2012, these original comics from Marvel have become non-canon Legends. That said, a new version of Crimson Jack debuted in the Star Wars canon just ahead of the sequel trilogy as seen in Marvel’s Halcyon Legacy comics, trying to sell Resistance secrets to the First Order. That said, Crimson Jack’s ultimate fate and history outside of attacking The Halcyon remains unknown.


6 Tobias Beckett

Han Solo’s Mentor

A famed smuggler and gunslinger who notoriously killed the bounty hunter Aurra Sing, Tobias Beckett made his first appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Working for Crimson Dawn, Beckett pulled together a crew that inadvertently saw young Han Solo and Chewbacca joining their ranks. To that end, Beckett became an effective mentor to Han Solo, and even his intended betrayal of the young man led to Solo learning from him, having predicted and accounted for the surprise double-cross by the job’s end. Undoubtedly, Han Solo wouldn’t have made as much galactic history as he did without Beckett’s role forming him into an effective smuggler and scoundrel.


5 Talon Karrde

The Smuggler King & New Republic Ally

talon-karrde-large

In Legends, Talon Karrde was in a prime position to rise to power in the wake of Jabba the Hutt’s death in Return of the Jedi. An accomplished smuggler and information broker, Karrde and his Smuggler’s Alliance eventually become allies to Luke Skywalker, The Solos, and the New Republic in general during their conflict with Grand Admiral Thrawn. He also served as a mediator following the peace treaty between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant, and Luke Skywalker’s future wife Mara Jade originally served as his second-in-command. Despite his neutrality, Kaarde eventually became one of the Jedi Order’s strongest allies.

4 Xim The Despot

A Major Pirate Warlord From The Old Republic


In Legends, Xim the Despot was a pirate warlord who ruled over a vast empire during the Old Republic Era before his reign ultimately came to an end due to the rise of the Hutt clans. That said, elements of Xim and his story have persisted in the established Star Wars canon, and it’s been theorized that his legendary lost treasure might be a key plot point in the upcoming series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. According to Legends, Xim’s empire existed just before the founding of the Republic itself.

3 Dash Rendar

Shadows of the Empire


Debuting in 1996’s Shadows of the Empire multimedia event, Dash Rendar is a notorious smuggler in Legends who clashed with Black Sun’s Prince Xizor and piloted The Outrider, a YT-2400 light freighter. Essentially serving as a Han Solo replacement who was similarly motivated by money rather than loyalty to the Rebellion at the onset, Dash Rendar still gained his own popularity as a Star Wars rogue. While Dash was originally wiped from the canon and relegated to the non-canon Legends, Dash was surprisingly re-canonized in 2018 thanks to Solo: A Star War Story.

Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars The Phantom Menace, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars A New Hope, Daisy Ridley as Rey from Star Wars The Force Awakens

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The details of Dash Rendar’s story are still scarce in the established Star Wars canon. However, Jason Fry’s Solo: A Star Wars Story: Tales From Vandor did feature a quote from Dash that spoke to his history with Han and Chewbacca. That said, Legends saw Dash helping Lando and Leia track down Han after his capture in The Empire Strikes Back alongside the rest of his adventures as seen in Shadows of the Empire.


2 Maz Kanata

The Pirate Queen

Based on Takodana, Maz Kanata was a Force-sensitive pirate queen whose castle served as a refuge for all kinds of pirates and smugglers. Having been born a millennium before the sequel trilogy, Maz Kanata has seen and done quite a bit across the Star Wars timeline. During the Galactic Civil War, Kanata helped the Rebels prepare for their rescue mission to save Han from Jabba the Hutt, and it was Maz who suggested that Leia disguise herself as the bounty hunter Boushh.

During the events of the sequel trilogy, Maz reunites with Han and Chewbacca on Takodana who had brought with them Rey and Finn in The Force Awakens. While the details remain a mystery, Maz somehow got her hands on the lightsaber constructed by Anakin Skywalker and wielded by his son Luke before he lost the weapon during the father and son’s duel in The Empire Strikes Back. After Rey finds the weapon and receives a Force vision, Kanata tries giving it to the young Force-sensitive girl.


However, Maz ultimately gives the weapon to Finn after Rey refuses, though the lightsaber still ends up in Rey’s hands by the end of the first sequel trilogy movie. Likewise, Maz would continue aiding the Resistance as seen in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. While largely remaining in the background, Maz’s impact on galactic history is still quite significant.

1 Booster Terrik

Commander of the Errant Venture

Hailing from Corellia, Booster Terrik is a classic smuggler and gambler who originally debuted in Legends with the X-Wing novels from Michael Stackpole and Aaron Allston. To that end, Booster’s claim to fame was that he was the only civilian in the Star Wars galaxy to have ever owned a personal Imperial Star Destroyer, The Errant Venture. Having converted it into a mobile gambling den, Booster had his impressive ship painted red to differentiate it from other ISDs during the New Republic Era. He also remained a frequent ally to the pilots of Rogue Squadron.


Ultimately, Booster Terrik remains part of the non-canon Legends. However, The Errant Venture itself and its status as a massive mobile gambling den was surprisingly re-canonized, having been visited by Lando Calrissian in the 2022 novel Shadows of the Sith by Adam Christopher. As such, one could assume that a canon version of Booster exists as well, though it has yet to be confirmed.

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