Lightsabers and Black Excellence: Celebrating the Iconic Black Characters of 'Star Wars'

Lizzo, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong'o and more shine in the 'Star Wars' universe.

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In honor of Star Wars Day (May 4), we are looking back at the franchise that leaped light-years into the future in terms of diversity from Lizzo to John Boyega to Billy Dee Williams. Here's a look a the Black characters in the Star Wars universe.

Photo By L-R (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for dcp), (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Billy Dee Williams – The Empire Strikes Back; Return of the Jedi - Fresh off of the success of Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany, Billy Dee Williams was already a seasoned acting vet when he was tapped to join the Star Wars franchise. As the charming bad guy-turned-sort-of-good guy Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, he made sci-fi history becoming one of the best to ever grace the series.(Photo: Desiree Navarro/Getty Images)

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Fresh off of the success of Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany, Billy Dee Williams was already a seasoned acting vet when he was tapped to join the Star Wars franchise. As the charming bad guy-turned-sort-of-good guy Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, he made sci-fi history becoming one of the best to ever grace the series. (Photo: Desiree Navarro/Getty Images)

James Earl Jones – Star Wars; The Empire Strikes Back; Return of the Jedi; Revenge of the Sith - It goes without saying that James Earl Jones's voice is arguably as famous as the entire Star Wars franchise, but what many don't know is that this very voice went uncredited for at least three of the films. It all eventually came full circle, though, with Jones being given his due credit for bringing the most recognized super villain to life: Darth Vader.(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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It goes without saying that James Earl Jones's voice is arguably as famous as the entire Star Wars franchise, but what many don't know is that this very voice went uncredited for at least three of the films. It all eventually came full circle, though, with Jones being given his due credit for bringing the most recognized super villain -- Darth Vader.(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

John Boyega  - At 22, this British actor is set to have a lot of people talking as he has been cast to be the first ever Black Stormtrooper in the latest Star Wars Film: Episode VII. Of course, once fans of the franchise caught a glimpse of the rising star in the movie's trailer, they sounded off on social media questioning whether a Black Stormtrooper made sense. Boyega, however, had four direct words for the critics: "Get used to it."(Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

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John Boyega was cast as the first ever Black Stormtrooper in Star Wars: Episode VII. Of course, once fans of the franchise caught a glimpse of the actor in the movie's trailer, they sounded off on social media questioning whether a Black Stormtrooper made sense. Boyega, however, had four direct words for the critics: "Get used to it." (Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

Ahmed Best – The Phantom Menace; Attack of the Clones - Remember Gungan? — The floppy-eared creature from the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated TV series. That was him! Best has managed to keep a low profile since then and has, instead, turned his attention in the opposite direction: behind the scenes. He now serves as a producer with several short projects under his name.(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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Ahmed Best – The Phantom Menace— Remember the floppy-eared creature from the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated TV series. That was him! Best has managed to keep a low profile since then and has, instead, turned his attention in the opposite direction: behind the scenes. He now serves as a producer with several short projects under his name.(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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Tony Cox – Return of the Jedi - Of the thousands of Ewoks that inhabited Endor, at least one was Black. In Return of the Jedi, that happened to be Cox. While his role in the film was blink-or-you'll-miss-it small, he went on to have an illustrious career in films including Beetlejuice, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and Bad Santa.(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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Tony Cox – Return of the Jedi - Of the thousands of Ewoks that inhabited Endor, at least one was Black. In Return of the Jedi, that happened to be Cox. While his role in the film was blink-or-you'll-miss-it small, he went on to have an illustrious career in films including Beetlejuice, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and Bad Santa.(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Lupita Nyong'o - After months of rumors, the Oscar winner was confirmed to join the cast of Episode VII last June. Of course, no details were provided about who she will play, but that hasn't stopped the Internet from going wild with speculation. We'll just have to wait to see!(Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

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Fresh after winning her Oscar for 12 Years A Slave, Lupita Nyong'o signed up to be the voice of Maz Kanata in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She returned in Maz Kanata in 2017 for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and one more time in 2019 for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Don't be surprised if you hear Nyong'o in the next installment. (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Samuel L. Jackson – The Phantom Menace; Attack of the Clones; Revenge of the Sith - You can't be surprised at this one — Samuel L. Jackson is the king of the Hollywood franchise, so it makes sense that he's a part of this one. The actor starred as Mace Windu in the three most recent Star Wars films. He has also starred as Nick Fury in the Avengers films, Valentine in Kingsman: The Secret Service and Pat Novak in RoboCop.  (Photo: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)

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It goes without saying that James Earl Jones's voice is arguably as famous as the entire Star Wars franchise, but what many don't know is that this very voice went uncredited for at least three of the films. It all eventually came full circle, though, with Jones being given his due credit for bringing the most recognized super villain -- Darth Vader.(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Moses Ingram

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In 2022, Moses Ingram made her Star Wars debut as Inquisitor Reva in the Disney+ original series Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Star Wars enthusiasts were resistant to Ingram taking on this role as she was flooded with racist responses. Star Wars responded to the hateful messages with a statement that read, "We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva's story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist."

Photo by @_mosesingram via Instagram

Lizzo

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Last month, fans of the popular Star Wars spin-off series, The Mandalorian got to see Lizzo as Captain Bombardier, who rules the planet of Plazir-15. Her character keeps the peace and order on her planet while also maintaining her royal position -- a perfect fit for Lizzo!

Photo by @lizzobeeating via Instagram