7 People Who Helped Define the ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy

In 1977, a space opera movie tinged with samurai culture, cowboy attitudes and alien rivalries seemed like a mishmash doomed to fail, or at least to trickle into the annals of cinema as a cult classic.

But on its release in theaters far, far and wide, “Star Wars” became an unexpected global phenomenon.

It has since inspired decades of movies and television series and countless imaginary lightsaber battles in backyards around the world. The franchise became a merchandising juggernaut, and to this day remains as active as ever in sci-fi discourse.

James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, died last week. He was one of many members of the “Star Wars” universe who have died, having made an indelible impact on the series.

Here are the stories of some of the members of the film’s cast and crew who brought alien planets to life, perfected the beep-boop of android languages and imbued the characters with their gravitas and timeless appeal.

James Earl Jones (1931 – 2024)

Before he found his powerful voice, he stuttered.

Even if you did not recognize James Earl Jones’s face as he shifted into different roles throughout the decades, you would surely have recognized his thunderous voice. His belonged to the embittered but resilient writer in “Field of Dreams”; the tragic commander Othello on Broadway; and, to the delight and spine-tingling terror of “Star Wars” fans, the masked arch-villain Darth Vader.