The Star Wars galaxy has offered us some memorable clashes. Whether on the ground or in the heart of space. Enough to make us want to rank the best battles seen in the saga's eleven films and ten series.
#6 Battle of Yavin
Context: Saved by Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa has managed to transmit the plans for the Death Star to the rebellion. Equipped with X-Wing fighters and Y-Wing bombers, the armada launches an assault on the orbital station with the aim of sneaking into its heart and placing a warhead there. But they had to act quickly, because the lasers were pointed at the moon of Yavin IV, where the entire Rebellion was gathered.
While today, the Battle of Yavinhas the weight of the past in terms of special effects, the feat achieved by George Lucas and the Industrial Light & Magic studio in 1977 is such that it obviously deserves its place in this ranking. Filming models using a computer-controlled camera and superimposing layers (stars, lasers, etc.) on them to give this impression of movement in space was a true revolution in the history of VFX. The result: an Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1978 and the ultimate recognition for ILM, which would go on to develop techniques used in the greatest films of the 80s and 90s. We recommend watching or rewatching the behind-the-scenes documentary at the studio.
#5 Liberation of Lothal
Background: One year before the Battle of Yavin, when the Rebel Alliance did not yet exist and the Empire was at its height. The Empire, led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, transformed the agricultural planet of Lothal into an industrial center in order to build large quantities of weapons factories, including the TIE Defender. The resistance and liberation of the planet is organized around Ezra Bridger, Kannan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Zeb, and Sabine Wren, whose objective is to liberate the oppressed population and slow down the Empire's military production.
We leave live-action to turn to animation and the series Rebels. On this side, Lucasfilm Animation proves that it has nothing to envy of the techniques used in live-action with its very high-quality animation. In terms of narration and atmosphere, the Liberation of Lothal is very well put together, with a first assault intended to destroy the factories, then a second, more intense one, with the introduction of the Purrgils, cosmic whales that we were able to discover in live-action shots in the series Ahsoka, or the diversion of Ezra Bridger. As a highlight of the show, he disappears with Thrawn into hyperspace, leaving fans in the dark until his reappearance in Season 1 dedicated to Anakin Skywalker's former apprentice.
#4 Battle of Coruscant
Context: Anakin and Obi-Wan must deliver Chancellor Palpatine from the clutches of General Grievous on the edge of Coruscant besieged by Separatist droids.
An introduction unlike any we've seen before in the entire saga. From the opening seconds of Revenge of the Sith, Anakin and Obi-Wan must fight their way through droid cruisers to reach General Grievous' ship, where Palpatine/Darth Sidious is being held. An ultra-spectacular production of sequence shots, the two fighters race through Republic and Separatist ships, which trade blows with laser fire and explosive missiles. It's pure chaos. The sound design and CGI get the job done despite a few eye-catching details in 2025. The sequence ends in a climax with a controlled crash of the enemy cruiser into the capital's spaceport.
#3 Battle of Hoth
Context: The rebel base was able to flee to the icy planet Hoth, located on the edge of a galaxy far, far away. But probes deployed by the Empire's Star Cruisers manage to detect Luke, Han Solo, Leia, and the rebels. Flushed out by AT-ATs and Stormtroopers, the rebellion must once again flee. Luke and his men then try to slow down the Imperial troops.
Three years after A New Hope, George Lucas delivers a ground battle this time, right at the beginning of the film. But the director and ILM prove that they don't need a space battle to stage a high-intensity, superbly filmed conflict. The context has a lot to do with it. As the base gradually falls into ruins and the Alliance must flee as quickly as possible, Luke tries by all means to slow down the film's excellent addition: the AT-ATs, a sort of mechanical quadruped capable of destroying everything in their path. The future Jedi must then reel in the armored transport using a tow cable. But obviously, everything doesn't go as planned. The mission is a fiasco, and the Empire's superiority becomes overwhelming, after the debacle of the Death Star. For the record, filming took place in Finland under extreme conditions, and the AT-ATs were animated in stop motion.
#2 Battle of Scarif
Context: The fate of the Rebellion was decided for the first time long before George Lucas's 1977 film. In 2016, Gareth Edwards brought to life the genesis of the Death Star plans and how they ended up in the hands of Leia and the Rebellion. It was at the Empire's military base on the idyllic beaches of Scarif that a commando unit led by Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso attempted to steal them. A suicide mission that offered us one of the most beautiful confrontations of the entire saga.
In addition to being one of the best Star Wars films, Rogue One offers us a climactic finale. All the ingredients are there to make the Battle of Scarif an explosive cocktail. Infiltration, ground battle, space battle, and a Darth Vader who makes a cameo, echoing the beginning of A New Hope. Far from the happy ending to which the saga has accustomed us, all the heroes fall one by one, and this is what makes the battle unique.
#1 Battle of Endor
Context: Rebelotte for the Rebellion. A second Death Star must be destroyed, this time installed in orbit of the moon of Endor. But to achieve this, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca must deactivate the security shield of the station located on the moon. Meanwhile, Luke encounters the Emperor for the first time, who tries to turn him to the dark side of the Force.
Although Return of the Jedi was released in 1983, the finale on and in orbit of Endor arguably offers the best battle of the entire franchise. Mainly because it takes place on three fronts, and each action has a direct consequence on the other. The fates of Luke, Han, Leia, and the fleet led by Lando Calrissian are therefore intrinsically linked. On one side, we have a beautiful space battle with a Millennium Falcon that must fight its way into the heart of the Death Star's reactor. On the other, the rebels and the Ewoks face off against Stormtroopers on their Jet Bikes and their bipedal AT-STs on the forest planet. Finally, on the space station, Luke, powerless, watches his family being mistreated, while he is taunted by the Emperor. Until he begins a new fight against his father. A lightsaber duel, a superb space battle, and a ground skirmish: fans couldn't have asked for anything better to close the Luke Skywalker trilogy.
Want to continue reading? Discover the five best fights from the live-action Star Wars series.
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