The Star Wars universe has captivated audiences since 1977, telling the Skywalker saga on the silver screen — but beyond the movies lies a sprawling galaxy of stories. Known as the Expanded Universe (EU) — or more commonly now the Star Wars EU — these tales stretch across novels, comics, games, and animation, introducing heroes, villains, and whole civilizations that moviegoers have never seen.
Some of these Star Wars EU characters are so compelling that fans have spent decades begging Lucasfilm to bring them into live-action. We’ve already seen Disney test the waters — Grand Admiral Thrawn is now canon through Ahsoka, and Boba Fett’s Mandalorian roots have been reimagined. But there’s still a deep bench of EU icons whose big-screen potential is undeniable.
Here are five Expanded Universe icons who could light up a cinema near you.
Darth Bane – The Architect of the Sith’s Survival
Nearly a thousand years before the Skywalker saga, the Sith were on the brink of extinction thanks to their own infighting. From the ashes of the Brotherhood of Darkness rose Darth Bane — the lone survivor who redefined the Sith’s destiny by creating the “Rule of Two.”
This doctrine — one master, one apprentice — kept the Sith hidden from the Jedi, letting them operate from the shadows for centuries. In Star Wars EU lore, Bane is both terrifyingly powerful and ruthlessly intelligent, a tactician who understands that patience and secrecy are deadlier than brute force.
Fans have long argued Bane deserves a full feature film — think Gladiator meets Game of Thrones, with a Force-charged civil war and a morally complex antihero at its center. In fact, fan polls on sites like The Star Wars Report consistently rank him among the top five Legends characters people most want to see on Disney+.
Prince Xizor – The Underworld Emperor
Introduced in 1996’s Shadows of the Empire — a multimedia project with a novel, comics, and video game — Prince Xizor remains one of the galaxy’s most intriguing non-Force villains. A Falleen crime lord and head of the Black Sun syndicate, Xizor rivals the Emperor himself in wealth and influence.
He’s a master manipulator — literally, thanks to his species’ pheromonal abilities — and nearly seduces Leia to his side during his power plays against Darth Vader. His cold war with Vader in the novel is dripping with political intrigue, the kind of tension ripe for a big-screen cat-and-mouse game.
Casting speculation for this Star Wars EU powerhouse has often leaned toward someone like Pedro Pascal or Oded Fehr for his mix of charisma and menace.
Mara Jade – From Assassin to Skywalker
First appearing in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy in 1991, Mara Jade entered the Star Wars EU as the Emperor’s Hand — a covert assassin trained personally by Palpatine. Her final order before his death? Kill Luke Skywalker.
What follows is one of Star Wars’ richest redemption arcs. Torn between loyalty to her late master and her growing respect (and eventual love) for Luke, Mara becomes an invaluable ally to the New Republic, ultimately marrying Luke and having a child.
Her popularity is off the charts — she’s topped Star Wars Insider character polls and remains a cosplay favorite at conventions. Disney hasn’t touched her yet, but casting rumors often circle actresses like Emily Blunt or Jessica Chastain.
Grand Admiral Thrawn – The Mastermind Without the Force
Thrawn broke the mold as the only non-human to reach the rank of Grand Admiral in the Empire. A Chiss from the Unknown Regions, he’s a military genius who nearly dismantles the New Republic in Zahn’s original Star Wars EU novels — all without wielding the Force.
In Legends, Thrawn surrounds himself with ysalamiri, creatures that repel the Force, leveling the playing field against Jedi opponents. His cool, analytical demeanor and appreciation for art as a window into an enemy’s mind make him a truly unique antagonist.
Fans finally got a taste of him in Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka, but a full Thrawn-led theatrical event could cement him as one of cinema’s great villains.
Mandalore the Ultimate – The Warrior Who Changed a Culture
Long before The Mandalorian hit Disney+, the Star Wars EU gave us Mandalore the Ultimate — the warlord who turned “Mandalorian” from a species into a warrior creed. After the Great Sith War, he rallied the Neo-Crusaders into a galaxy-spanning campaign that nearly toppled the Old Republic.
His forces were so formidable that Jedi Knights Revan and Malak embraced the Dark Side just to defeat him. The Mandalorian Wars that followed would set the stage for countless conflicts in Star Wars history.
A film series here could be a gritty, large-scale war epic — part Braveheart, part Dune — diving deep into the origins of one of Star Wars’ most enduring cultures.
Final Thoughts: From Legends to the Big Screen
The beauty of the Star Wars EU is its breadth — stories that challenge the notion that Star Wars is just lightsabers and Skywalkers. Darth Bane’s political cunning, Mara Jade’s emotional complexity, Xizor’s criminal empire, Thrawn’s tactical brilliance, and Mandalore’s cultural legacy each offer a different flavor of storytelling.
Some of these characters have already tiptoed into modern canon, others remain in the waiting room — but all could thrive on the big screen if handled with respect.
Which Star Wars EU character would you want to see in a future Star Wars film? Let us know — after all, fan voices have brought characters back from obscurity before.