Family is crucial in the Star Wars universe. A lot of the saga is about where characters come from. Although, Star Wars: The Last Jedi tried to change that with the film’s reveal, or lack thereof, of Rey’s birth parents. That could all change of course with J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX. However, The Last Jedi aside, family and characters’ heritage has always been held in high regard in George Lucas’ space opera movie franchise.

It pretty much started with the reveal that Darth Vader is really Luke Skywalker’s father, a.k.a. Anakin Skywalker, and since then the franchise has been full of family reveals. Princess Leia being Luke’s twin brother, for instance, Boba Fett turning out to be the clone of the original Mandalorian bounty hunter, Jango, who was, in turn, the template of the clone troopers for the Grand Army of the Republic.

These strange and unexpected family connections are something which should be looked into further, so here are some that you might not have known about.

Darth Sidious And Luke Skywalker

Everyone knows that Luke Skywalker’s birth father is Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader. However, not much was known about his grandfather. His grandmother was Shmi Skywalker, and she always claimed that Anakin had no father, but that turned out not to be the case. It was revealed in Marvel’s Darth Vader comics series that Darth Sidious, who also went by the name of Emperor Palpatine, was Anakin’s father, making him Luke’s grandfather. Yes, it’s true. The Sith was behind everything that happened, and even his own death.

Poe Dameron And Luke Skywalker

Poe Dameron was first introduced to Star Wars fans in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and people immediately loved him. He was yet another witty and gungho Rebel fighter pilot, not unlike Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Played by Oscar Isaac, the character quickly grew in popularity, and his backstory was expanded upon in the latest Star Wars comics. It was here where it was revealed that his parents were Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, who both served the Alliance to Restore the Republic alongside Luke, Han, and Leia. However, his mother, Shara, assisted Luke on a mission retrieving two fragments of a Great Tree (a Force-sensitive tree) from the Empire on Vetine, which was subsequently planted outside of Poe’s childhood home.

Leia Organa And Emperor Palpatine

The Skywalker family tree is a fascinating one, full of family members who are strong in the Force. Princess Leia is strong in the Force; however, she never went on to become a Jedi like her twin brother, Luke. Instead, she opted to lead a life in politics, much like her adoptive father and, apparently, her grandfather. As mentioned above, Emperor Palpatine was revealed to be Anakin’s birth father in the Darth Vader comics series. He did this by manipulating the Force to impregnate Shmi Skywalker. This lead to Anakin’s birth which started the whole Star Wars saga.

Luke Skywalker And Princess Leia

This one is quite an obvious one, but it doesn’t make it any stranger because what happens in Star Wars: A New Hope. All Star Wars fans will remember the moment in question and shudder.

It’s the moment when Leia bends down and kisses Luke on the lips in front of Han Solo. Luke then looks up at Han with a grin on his face. At the time it probably seemed normal and quite amusing, but then Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back came around along with the reveal that Luke and Leia are actually twin brother and sister. Just imagine what the audiences must have thought when Darth Vader let that one slip.

Jacen Syndulla And Han Solo

In the animated series, Star Wars: Rebels, Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla end up having a romantic relationship. There were hints throughout the whole series that this was going to happen, and they ended up romantically involved towards the end of both the series and Kanan’s life. Yet, before Kanan died (spoilers, sorry), Hera gave birth to his son, Jacen Syndulla.

What people might not realize is that this character, which was created by executive producer Dave Filoni, was inspired by a character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU). This character was Han Solo and Leia Organa’s son in the Star Wars EU, Jacen Solo. The character was never brought into canon, which is a great shame since he was a fascinating character. It does look like Filoni plans to explore his version of Jacen further in future Star Wars animated series.

Darth Maul And Savage Opress

For years and years, people just assumed that Darth Maul died after Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Little did they know that despite being cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Sith Lord lived on. He managed to survive by making himself half cyborg, yet the process made him quite mad. Eventually, after decades of being alone, he was discovered by his brother, Savage Opress. Yes, Darth Maul not only survived his duel with Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan but also happens to have a brother. With the help of his brother and Mother Talzin, Maul’s mind was restored, and he lived on to do more unspeakable things in the Star Wars: Rebels animated series, as well as popping in a brief cameo in the Han Solo spinoff movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Obi-Wan Kenobi And Owen Lars

Obi-Wan Kenobi was born on the planet Stewjon, and had believed that he had a brother called Owen. This was due to the fact that during his apprenticeship to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Kenobi began having dreams of his parents and of a mysterious brother named Owen. Jinn told Obi-Wan that dreams could sometimes be visions of the past or the future. This meant that for much of Obi-Wan’s life before The Clone Wars, he thought he had a brother back on Stewjon.

However, in Star Wars: Episode II - The Clone Wars, Kenobi discovered that his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, had met his stepbrother on Tatooine. It wasn’t until the end of the Clone Wars and the destruction of the Order that Kenobi began connecting all of the pieces of the puzzle. As he fled with the infant Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan prepared to take the boy to the Larses on Tatooine. Finally, the Jedi Master concluded that the dreams he had as a boy were a vision of Owen Lars, who was, in reality, his student’s stepbrother.

Anakin Skywalker And Emperor Palpatine

A lot’s been written about where Anakin Skywalker actually came from, and there are a lot of theories out there. Many people have suggested that Anakin’s father was a Sith Lord, strong in the Force. Some have even posited that the future Jedi-turned-Sith’s birth father was The Force itself.

It was later revealed in the Darth Vader comic series that Palpatine manipulated the Force to impregnate his mother, Shmi Skywalker. This came as a bit of a shock revelation to Star Wars fans across the globe since it meant that Palpatine had orchestrated the whole thing.