The Lars family was a human family that hailed from the desert world of Tatooine in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy. For the two generations the family maintained a moisture farm, the Lars Homestead, near the town of Anchorhead, from the last years of the Galactic Republic to the reign of the Galactic Empire. The Lars family was related to the legendary Skywalker family through the marriage of Cliegg Lars and Shmi Skywalker Lars, the mother of the Chosen One Anakin Skywalker. In the aftermath of the Clone Wars and Anakin's fall to the dark side as Darth Vader, his infant son Luke Skywalker was adopted by his stepbrother, Owen Lars and his wife Beru Whitesun Lars. The son of Cliegg and his previous wife, Aika Lars, Owen worked to turn his father's homestead into a productive farm. Although he attempted to raise his nephew in the family business, Luke yearned to explore the greater galaxy instead of becoming a moisture farmer like his uncle and aunt, both of whom were killed by Imperial stormtroopers during the Galactic Civil War. With his home destroyed, Luke departed from Tatooine with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, embarking on a journey to become a Jedi Knight like his father before him.

History[]

A family of farmers[]

Since the late era of the Galactic Republic, the Lars family consisted of human moisture farmers who lived on Tatooine,^[4] a sparsely populated desert planet^[7] located in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories. One of the earliest known members of the family was Lef Lars, who, with his wife Gredda Lars, had two sons, Cliegg Lars and Edern Lars.^[8] Despite the arid conditions of a desert world orbiting the twin suns Tatoo I and Tatoo II, as well as the danger posed by Tusken Raider tribes, the Lars family supported themselves by running a moisture farm on the outskirts of a settlement known as Anchorhead.^[9]

Edern was killed in a landspeeder accident at the age of fourteen.^[8] Cliegg grew up to become a modest and kind hearted man,^[10] although his experience with the indigenous tribes of Tatooine led him to view Tusken Raiders as inhumane, "vicious, mindless monsters."^[4] He was first married to Aika Lars, whom Cliegg met in the Core Worlds. They had a son, Owen Lars, who was still young when his mother died. Cliegg and Owen subsequently returned to the Lars Homestead on Tatooine.^[11]

By the time Owen was a young adult,^[12] his father remarried following a visit to the spaceport of Mos Espa, where he purchased Shmi Skywalker, a slave of the Toydarian junk dealer Watto, in order to free and marry her.^[10] Adopting her husband's surname,^[13] Shmi became the stepmother of Owen, who in turn gained a stepbrother, Shmi's natural son Anakin Skywalker.^[12] By then, however, Anakin had become a Padawan of the Jedi Order, leaving his homeworld to learn the Jedi arts on Coruscant.^[4] As a result, Owen did not meet his stepbrother until Anakin returned to Tatooine^[12] in 22 BBY.^[5] Through Shmi, the Lars family acquired her son's protocol droid, C-3PO, who served the family until he was returned to his maker.^[14]

A family tragedy[]

While living on the Lars Homestead, Shmi developed a routine of leaving the farm before dawn to collect mushrooms that grew on their moisture vaporators. This routine continued until her capture by a hunting party of Tusken Raiders, who abducted Shmi while she was returning to the farm. Cliegg assembled a rescue party of thirty farmers to save his wife; only four of them returned alive to the Lars Homestead, including a maimed Cliegg. With his leg severed during the failed rescue attempt, Cliegg was forced to remain on the farm in order to heal, and was unable to attempt another rescue effort. Though reluctant to give up hope, Cliegg began to despair over Shmi's fate a month after her capture, believing that there was little chance of her remaining alive in Tusken captivity.^[4]

Across the galaxy, Anakin experienced premonitions, in the form of nightmares, of his mother's suffering. Accompanied by Senator Padmé Amidala and the astromech droid R2-D2, Anakin returned to Mos Espa where he learned about his mother's emancipation and subsequent marriage from his former owner, Watto. Upon his arrival at the Lars Homestead, Anakin met his stepfather and stepbrother, Cliegg and Owen, respectively, as well as Owen's girlfriend, Beru Whitesun.^[4]

Using a repulsorlift vehicle that he borrowed from Owen,^[12] Anakin searched for the Tusken Raider camp where his mother was held prisoner.^[4] By the time he found her, Shmi was dying as a result of the torture that she endured as the Tuskens' captive.^[13] Enraged by his mother's death, Anakin proceeded to slaughter the entire camp by killing every Tusken he found,^[15] including the women and children.^[4]

Shmi's body was buried on the Lars Homestead. Cliegg, widowed for the second time^[4] since Aika's death,^[11] delivered the eulogy at the funeral of his late wife, whom he described as "the most loving partner" he ever had. In his grief, Anakin knelt at his mother's grave and expressed regret over failing to save her. He vowed to become the most powerful Jedi in galactic history,^[4] believing it was the only way to prevent the deaths of his loved ones. However, the experience of losing his mother marked a critical step in Anakin's journey toward the dark side of the Force.^[13]

Anakin left Tatooine after Shmi's funeral, taking C-3PO with him.^[4] Cliegg died as well, not long after Shmi's death,^[11] leaving Owen to inherit the family's moisture farm. Although Owen never saw his stepbrother again, his life was affected by the legacy that Anakin left behind in the wake of the Clone Wars.^[12] Owen ultimately married Beru, who was content to become a farmer in spite of the difficult life inherent to moisture farming on Tatooine.^[16]

The Skywalker nephew[]

Raising Luke Skywalker[]

The inhabitants of Tatooine were hardly affected by the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems,^[12] but following the Republic's reorganization into the Galactic Empire, Owen became the caretaker of Anakin's newborn son, Luke Skywalker. In the wake of the Great Jedi Purge carried out by Anakin, who became the Sith Lord Darth Vader, Grand Master Yoda decided that Luke should live with his relatives on Tatooine. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi who trained Anakin, delivered the infant Luke to the Lars Homestead where Owen and Beru accepted him as a member of their family^[18] in 19 BBY,^[5] during the early days of the Imperial Era.^[18]

Raising Luke was a substantial financial burden for a family of struggling farmers; Owen was reluctant to accept the responsibility of raising the son of his stepbrother, Anakin, whom he had met only once and remembered as a young and wrathful Jedi Knight. While Owen acknowledged Luke as being family, he did so only in the barest sense of the word as the Skywalkers and the Larses were not related through blood. Ultimately, however, Owen was convinced by his wife to adopt Anakin's son. Beru was infertile, but sought a family nonetheless.^[2]

Luke was raised as a stepson by his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.^[19] Beru loved Luke as her own child from the moment Obi-Wan delivered the infant to her. In spite of his initial misgivings,^[2] Owen grew to love his nephew^[12] and was fiercely protective of him.^[17] Fearful that Luke's parentage was a danger to him, Owen turned his nephew's origins into a closely guarded family secret, even from Luke.^[12] He never told Luke that his father was a Jedi Knight who served in the Clone Wars, believing the truth would cause his nephew to leave the farm and join Kenobi in order to become a Jedi.^[1] Instead, Owen led Luke to believe that Anakin was simply a navigator on a spice freighter.^[12] He also told Luke that his father had died,^[1] something which Owen believed to be true,^[17] as did Kenobi until his visit to Daiyu led to his discovery that Vader had survived their battle on Mustafar.^[20]

Protecting the family[]

Owen opposed Kenobi's plans to train Luke in the ways of the Force. He held the Jedi in low esteem, and in his view, Kenobi failed to properly train Anakin. As such, he believed it would be a mistake to allow Kenobi access to the next generation of the Skywalker family. Owen felt that Luke's place was with his family on the Lars Homestead; he dismissed Kenobi's counterargument that Luke should not be confined to a moisture farm, and repeatedly asked the Jedi to stay away from his nephew, believing that Kenobi was more interested in Luke's potential for Force-sensitivity than his wellbeing.^[17]

Yet, despite their disagreement on Luke's future, Owen did not reveal Kenobi's presence on Tatooine to the Jedi hunters of the Inquisitorius, even when he was threatened with death by the Inquisitor known as the Third Sister^[17] in 9 BBY.^[21] Belonging to an organization that was quested with the hunt of the remaining Jedi who survived Order 66, the Third Sister sought to demonstrate the danger of harboring Jedi fugitives by publicly interrogating Owen. The female Inquisitor proceeded to threaten the farmer, as well as his family, after Owen refused to discuss his family with her, only telling the Third Sister that he did not harbor any Jedi on his farm. Another Inquisitor, the Fifth Brother, prevented the Third Sister from carrying out her threat to kill Owen with her lightsaber.^[17]

Unbeknownst to her superior, the Grand Inquisitor, the Third Sister arranged the abduction of Princess Leia Organa from Alderaan, having surmised that Kenobi would attempt to rescue the daughter of Senator Bail Prestor Organa whom he served during the Clone Wars.^[20] Kenobi was reluctant to leave Tatooine; in addition to being hunted by the Empire, he considered it his duty to protect Luke until the time came to train him as a Jedi. Despite this, he was ultimately convinced by Senator Organa to rescue Leia, who was Luke's twin sister.^[17]

During Kenobi's efforts to return Leia to her adoptive parents, the Third Sister intercepted a message from Bail Organa revealing that the child whom Owen raised had a connection to Darth Vader. Despite her actions as an Inquisitor, Reva Sevander planned to assassinate Vader for killing her fellow Jedi younglings during the fall of the Jedi Temple on the night of Order 66.^[22] Once her plan failed, however, Sevander returned to Tatooine seeking justice for the younglings who died by Vader's hand.^[6]

Owen and Luke were in the process of obtaining a new belt for their landspeeder when Dardin Shull warned Owen that Sevander had returned to Tatooine. Owen in turn warned his wife Beru that Sevander was hunting them. He wanted to leave the farm with Beru and Luke, but Beru refused to leave their home and convinced Owen to help her secure the homestead instead of hiding in the desert. As they prepared for Sevander's arrival, Owen claimed to Luke that the Tuskens were going to raid their farm. He also implored Luke to run if he and Beru failed to defend the homestead.^[6]

When Sevander arrived at the homestead, she was ambushed in the inner courtyard by Owen and Beru, both of whom were armed with blasters. Despite sustaining an injury from her lightsaber duel with Vader on Jabiim, the dark side adept deflected the Larses' attacks with her lightsaber. While neither Owen nor Beru were killed, they failed to prevent Sevander from pursuing Luke into the desert. They were searching for Luke by the time Kenobi returned to Tatooine, but as the Jedi Master prepared to assist them, Sevander returned an unconscious Luke to his adoptive parents. The former Inquisitor had chosen to spare Luke's life after realizing that she could not kill a child, in the way that Vader had killed the Jedi younglings^[6] whom Sevander regarded as her family.^[22]

The Lars family returned to tending their moisture farm in the aftermath of Sevander's attack. Kenobi briefly visited the homestead to reassure Owen that he would keep his distance from them, deciding to allow Luke to live out his childhood with Owen as his guardian. Owen assured Kenobi that he would continue to take care of Luke, and allowed them to meet before Kenobi departed from the farm.^[6]

The farmboy[]

Luke remained with his uncle and aunt on the moisture farm throughout his early life, unaware of his parents' history, and possessed no knowledge of the Jedi Order or the Force. As a young man, Luke dreamed of a more exciting life while working on his uncle's farm.^[19] Weary of his life on a desert world, Luke aspired to leave Tatooine and join his friends who enrolled in the Imperial Academy. However, Owen persuaded Luke to postpone his plans as he needed his help on the homestead.^[1] Luke relented, knowing that his support was essential to the farm's survival, but as the seasons passed, he grew increasingly restless and yearned for a more adventurous experience.^[19]

Whereas Owen sought to keep Luke on the homestead, believing it was necessary for his safety,^[12] Beru was supportive of Luke's dreams,^[16] knowing that he longed^[1] for adventure^[23] and the chance to join his friends at the Imperial Academy. While Beru shared her husband's responsibility as Luke's guardian, she had also become a substitute mother for him,^[16] and was well aware of her nephew's similarity to his father Anakin.^[1] She repeatedly spoke in support of Luke to Owen,^[16] warning him that he could not expect Luke to remain on the farm indefinitely. Beru told Owen bluntly that their nephew was far too similar to his father to settle for the life of a farmer, which Owen acknowledged as his fear.^[1]

A new hope[]

A fateful purchase[]

Even with Luke's assistance, Owen struggled to make a profit from his moisture farm. He therefore turned to mechanical means of farming support, purchasing a pair of droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, from a clan of Jawa traders^[12] in 0 BBY.^[5] Unbeknownst to Owen, the droids that he bought had fled to Tatooine following a battle between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. He was also unaware that the Imperial Military sought the droids, including the Death Star plans within the R2 unit's memory bank, and was willing to kill Imperial citizens to acquire their targets.^[12] Before Luke could set out to meet his friends at Tosche Station, his uncle insisted that he first complete his chores, which included cleaning the family's new droids.^[1]

By buying the droids, Owen set in motion a sequence of events that led to Luke meeting Kenobi,^[19] an outcome that Owen spent years trying to prevent.^[17] Luke inquired about the identity of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" after R2-D2 claimed to be his property, believing that the astromech was referring to a hermit that Luke knew of as "old Ben." Owen denied having any knowledge of "Obi-Wan," and claimed that "Ben" was a "crazy old man" and a "wizard." He instructed Luke to have the astromech undergo a memory wipe in Anchorhead the following day, declaring that the droid was now the rightful property of the Lars family. Luke, who was under the impression that Obi-Wan and Ben were separate individuals, suggested that Obi-Wan might search for the droid, causing Owen to claim that Obi-Wan had died around the same time as Luke's father. The mention of Anakin piqued Luke's interest further, but Owen insisted on ending the discussion.^[1]

Confident that the acquisition of new droids would provide his uncle with sufficient support, Luke intended to send his application to the Imperial Academy by the next semester before the harvest. He hoped to elicit the approval of his uncle, who agreed to allow Luke to attend the Academy by the following year. Owen instead implored Luke to hold to their original agreement, reminding him that harvest was when Luke's importance to the farm's productivity was critical. Owen promised to send Luke to the Academy after the family earned enough money to employ a larger work force, but Luke remained apprehensive about working on the farm for another year. Beru interjected after Luke left to complete his chores, reminding Owen that he could not delay Luke's departure for much longer, to which Owen promised to make amends with his nephew at a later date.^[1]

Obi-Wan Kenobi[]

After years of watching over Luke, Kenobi introduced himself to his former apprentice's son by rescuing him from a group of Tusken Raiders.^[24] Luke and C-3PO had been searching the desert for R2-D2 after the astromech droid wandered away from the farm, searching for the Jedi Master who served Senator Bail Organa during the Clone Wars.^[1]

Kenobi offered Luke and the droids shelter at his home, and there, he revealed to Luke that he and Anakin had fought alongside each other as Jedi Knights in the Clone Wars. When Luke mentioned his uncle's story about Anakin working in the spice industry as a freighter navigator, Kenobi explained that Owen had disapproved of Anakin's involvement in the conflict, and that he believed his stepbrother should have remained on Tatooine. Kenobi was aware that Owen did not want Luke to have Anakin's Jedi lightsaber, fearing it would inspire his nephew to join the old Jedi hermit on a "crusade." Nevertheless, Kenobi gave the Skywalker lightsaber to Luke. When Luke asked about his father's death, Kenobi claimed that a fallen Jedi, Darth Vader, "betrayed and murdered" Anakin Skywalker along with most of the Jedi Order after turning to the dark side of the Force.^[1]

Kenobi and Luke discovered within R2-D2 a recording of the Alderaanian princess Leia Organa asking the Jedi Master to help the Alliance in its fight against the Empire. Kenobi resolved to travel to Alderaan with Luke, having decided that it was time for him to be trained as a Jedi. Luke balked at the suggestion of making a journey to a distant planet, realizing that he had been away from the farm for some time and that his uncle would be furious.^[1] Although Luke had spent years wishing for a more exciting life,^[19] he was hesitant to become involved in the Galactic Civil War, notwithstanding his personal disdain for the Empire, or his responsibilities to his family and the farm.^[1] Luke ultimately refused to leave Tatooine,^[19] but offered to take Kenobi as far as Anchorhead.^[1]

The massacre[]

On the way to Anchorhead, Luke and Kenobi discovered a damaged sandcrawler along with several dead Jawa scavengers. The damage to the transport indicated that it was attacked by Imperial stormtroopers rather than Tusken Raiders. Luke recognized the Jawas who had sold the droids to the Lars family, and realized that the soldiers who killed them would have learned this as well, putting his uncle and aunt in danger. Luke immediately returned to the homestead, ignoring Kenobi's warning that it was too dangerous, but he arrived too late.^[1] The stormtroopers who hunted the droids had already left the area after burning the homestead, murdering Owen and Beru in the process.^[9] All that remained of Luke's uncle and aunt were their burnt skeletal remains.^[1]

Luke returned to Kenobi, who told him that there was nothing he could have done to save his family, and that he would have been killed as well.^[1] The murder of his aunt and uncle instilled a determination in Luke to fight the Empire by learning the ways of the Force as a Jedi.^[9]

Legacy[]

A massacre site[]

During the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader sensed that the Force was strong with Luke, Rebel pilot who destroyed the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station.^[1] After discovering their biological relationship as father and son, he became determined to capture and convert Luke to the dark side.^[26] Accompanied by Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra and the droids 0-0-0 and BT-1, Vader visited the Lars Homestead to investigate Luke's past. The homestead bore evidence of the slaughter committed by Imperial troops; 0-0-0 pitied the family's droids that were destroyed in the attack, and Aphra surmised that the pilot who destroyed the Death Star had been motivated to avenge his family. She further speculated that Luke might have never left his farm on Tatooine if the Empire had not killed the Lars family.^[25]

In 3 ABY,^[5] Luke confronted Vader in Cloud City on Bespin, where the Sith Lord revealed that he was, in fact, the Jedi apprentice's father, Anakin Skywalker.^[26] In addition to this revelation, Luke learned that Organa was his twin sister, and that the Jedi had separated them at birth to protect them from their father and his Sith Master, the Dark Lord of the Sith and Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious.^[27]

Vader returned to the Lars family's abandoned homestead once more, this time accompanied by the forensics droid ZED-6-7. As the droid analyzed the area, Vader grew aggravated while experiencing several visions of his past as Anakin. They discovered that the grave markers for Cliegg and Shmi had been removed; Vader's droid speculated that Owen and Beru had done this to protect their nephew. Luke's refusal to join Vader was perceived as weakness by the Sith Lord, whose return to the Lars Homestead only solidified his belief that Luke had been made weak through influence of those who were involved in hiding his son, including the Lars family.^[28]

The rise of Luke Skywalker[]

Although Owen's patience was tested by Luke at times, he loved him as his own child.^[6] After the deaths of Owen and Beru, Luke went on to become "one of the greatest Jedi" in the history of the galaxy. Though originally a farmboy of humble beginnings, Luke gained notoriety for his many achievements in the course of his journey to becoming a Jedi Knight. He participated in the rescue of Princess Leia, saved the Rebel Alliance by destroying the first Death Star during the Battle of Yavin, and gained the military rank of commander in the Alliance Military.^[19]

In 4 ABY,^[5] Luke and Vader confronted each other in a lightsaber duel on the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station during the Battle of Endor. While the Force spirit of Kenobi convinced Luke to complete his Jedi path by challenging his father in battle, Luke developed the belief that his father could be turned back to the light side of the Force.^[27]

When the Emperor moved to kill Luke for rejecting the dark side, Vader turned against his master and killed him, sacrificing his life to save his son. Redeemed as Anakin Skywalker, he became one with the Force after fulfilling his destiny as the Chosen One. As the New Republic ushered the galaxy into a new era, Luke endeavored to restore the Jedi Order by training several apprentices in the ways of the Force, including his nephew Ben Solo.^[2]

An abandoned homestead[]

The Lars Homestead was left abandoned^[29] after two generations of the Lars family maintained their moisture farm through hard work and struggle.^[9] In 35 ABY,^[30] following the end of the First Order-Resistance War, the Jedi Rey buried the Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber alongside Leia Organa's lightsaber in the sand of the Lars farm, and adopted the Skywalker name^[29] in memory of her masters Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.^[2]

Family tree[]

Lef Lars[8]

Gredda Lars[8]

Aika Lars[11]

Cliegg Lars[4]

Shmi Skywalker Lars[4] (see Skywalker family)[31]

Edern Lars[8]

Owen Lars[1]

Beru Whitesun Lars[1] (see Beru Whitesun's family)[3]

Luke Skywalker[1] (adopted from Skywalker family)[2]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]