Ten years. It’s hard to believe it has been that long since the lights flickered in a packed theater and we saw a stormtrooper having a panic attack on Jakku. When J.J. Abrams dropped The Force Awakens in 2015, the pressure was suffocating. People wanted the magic of 1977 back. They wanted to feel that spark. And honestly? The Star Wars Episode VII characters delivered a jolt of energy that the franchise desperately needed, even if the fandom is still duking it out over their legacies today.
Some folks call them "echoes" of the Original Trilogy. Others see them as the most human protagonists we’ve ever had in a galaxy far, far away.
Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren weren't just cardboard cutouts. They were messy. They were scared. They were, in many ways, fans themselves—living in the literal shadow of crashed Star Destroyers and legends they didn't quite believe were real.
Rey and the Myth of the Nobody
For a long time, the biggest debate surrounding Star Wars Episode VII characters centered on Rey's last name. We spent years theorizing. Was she an Obi-Wan descendant? A Skywalker? A clone?
Daisy Ridley brought this frantic, scrappy survivalist energy to the role. Unlike Luke, who wanted to leave home, Rey was desperate to stay. She was waiting for a family that wasn't coming back. That’s a heavy pivot for a hero’s journey. In Episode VII, she’s basically a scavenger with abandonment issues who happens to be a prodigy with a staff.
Critics often point to her "Mary Sue" status—the idea that she's too good at everything too fast. But if you look closely at the scene where she fights Kylo Ren in the snow, she isn't winning because she’s a master. She’s winning because Kylo is bleeding out from a bowcaster bolt to the gut and is mentally shattered after killing his father. She’s terrified. Her swings are wild. It’s desperate.
The Finn Problem: From Defector to... What?
John Boyega’s FN-2187 is arguably the most wasted potential in the entire sequel trilogy, but in Episode VII, he was the heart of the movie.
Think about it. A stormtrooper who realizes he’s a slave. That’s a massive narrative shift. Finn represents the "ordinary" person caught in a war machine. His chemistry with Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron was instant. "That’s a pilot’s name." It was simple. It worked.
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The tragedy of the character is how the later films shifted him toward comic relief, but in The Force Awakens, he was a man running from his past until he finally found something worth standing for. He wasn't a Jedi. He was just a guy with a jacket and a lot of heart.
Kylo Ren: The Anti-Vader
Most villains try to be intimidating by being calm. Kylo Ren is intimidating because he is a temperamental toddler with a laser sword.
Adam Driver played Ben Solo with this raw, vibrating insecurity. He’s not Vader. He wants to be Vader, which is infinitely more interesting. He wears a mask he doesn't need. He prays to a charred helmet. He’s a "Ben" who felt betrayed by the legends we grew up worshipping.
When he kills Han Solo on that catwalk, it isn't a moment of triumph. It’s a moment of total collapse. You can see it in his eyes; the "light" didn't go away, it just got replaced by a void. This subversion of the "cool" villain is why he remains the most praised of the Star Wars Episode VII characters.
The Legacy Cast: Passing the Torch (Literally)
We have to talk about Han. Harrison Ford actually looked like he wanted to be there, which was a miracle in itself.
Seeing Han and Chewie walk onto the Millennium Falcon and say, "Chewie, we’re home," wasn't just fanservice. It set the stakes. The Star Wars Episode VII characters needed a bridge to the past to make the future feel earned. Han Solo's transition from a cynical smuggler to a believer—"It’s true. All of it"—is the emotional anchor of the film.
Then there’s Leia. She’s no longer a princess; she’s a General. Carrie Fisher brought a weariness to the role that felt lived-in. She wasn't just fighting the First Order; she was fighting the grief of a broken family. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
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The New Droid in Town
BB-8 could have been a disaster. A rolling ball? It sounded like a toy commercial.
But the puppetry and the "thumbs up" lighter scene gave it a personality that rivaled R2-D2. It served as the MacGuffin, sure, but it also gave Rey a companion that forced her out of her shell. It’s these small character beats that made the movie break box office records.
What We Get Wrong About the First Order
People often complain that the First Order is just the Empire 2.0. In a way, they're right. But the characters within it—General Hux, Captain Phasma—were designed to be fanatics.
Domhnall Gleeson’s Hux isn't a calculated strategist like Grand Moff Tarkin. He’s a screaming zealot. He represents the danger of the "second generation" of evil—the people who didn't live through the war but grew up idolizing the losing side. This radicalization is a major theme that often gets overlooked when people talk about Star Wars Episode VII characters.
Why Character Motivation Matters More Than Plot
If you break down the plot of The Force Awakens, it’s basically A New Hope with a bigger budget. Map to a hidden Jedi? Check. Desert planet? Check. Death Star variant? Check.
But the characters are what saved it from being a total remake.
- Rey is motivated by belonging, not adventure.
- Finn is motivated by fear, then friendship.
- Kylo is motivated by a warped sense of legacy.
- Poe is motivated by pure, unadulterated heroism.
These are distinct from the 1977 archetypes. Luke was bored and looking for a fight. Rey was content to stay in the sand if it meant her parents might show up. That fundamental shift in "why" they do what they do is why the movie still resonates with a younger generation of fans.
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Actionable Insights for Fans and Writers
If you’re revisiting these films or looking to understand why certain characters "pop" in modern cinema, keep these takeaways in mind:
1. Vulnerability is a Strength
The reason Kylo Ren works better than most Marvel villains is his instability. Writers should note that a villain who doubts themselves is often more terrifying than one who is certain.
2. Visual Storytelling Trumps Dialogue
The first ten minutes of Rey’s introduction involve almost zero talking. We see her slide down a sand dune, clean scrap, and eat a pathetic portion of "polly-starch." We know everything about her life without a single line of exposition.
3. Chemistry Can't Be Faked
The lightning-in-a-bottle success of the Star Wars Episode VII characters was largely due to the "chemistry reads." Whether it’s Rey and Finn’s frantic escape from Niima Outpost or Poe and Finn’s TIE fighter breakout, the actors' genuine rapport carried a script that sometimes leaned too heavily on nostalgia.
4. Respect the Limitations
Phasma was a cool suit with very little screen time. Sometimes, a character’s job is just to look iconic and sell the "vibe" of a world. Not everyone needs a 20-page backstory in the first movie.
To really get the most out of the Sequel era, stop looking at it as a replacement for the originals. Look at it as a study of how people deal with the weight of history. The characters of Episode VII are all, in their own way, struggling to live up to the shadows of the giants who came before them. That’s a very human feeling, even in a galaxy with Wookiees and lightsabers.
Check out the official Star Wars databank for the deep-cut lore on characters like Maz Kanata or the members of the Guavian Death Gang if you want to see how much world-building was actually tucked into the margins of the film.