We rank the 50 most memorable Star Wars deaths ever
By Ryan Wrenn
21. General Grievous
When Did They Die: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Who Were They: Cyborg leader of the Separatist military forces
How Did They Die: Shot in the heart by Obi-wan Kenobi
It seems as if Count Dooku and General Grievous could not be more different despite serving essentially the same function in the story. Dooku is a paper tiger, a figurehead of a fake rebellion whose only goal is to create an excuse for Palpatine to come to power.
Grievous is, of course, fighting that same battle, but for some reason he is given a surprising amount of depth and characterisation along the way.
He looks like an overgrown battledroid, hunched over beneath a cloak. He’s got an inexplicable cough that doesn’t seem to be getting better. He collects lightsabers and knows how to use them. And finally, he appears to be a cyborg.
It’s almost as if Grievous was written for another movie entirely and wandered into the Revenge of the Sith script by accident. How could such a potentially interesting character only appear in one of these movies up to that point?
Let Darth Vader charge your phone.
And why would Lucas elect to kill him off? Not only does that deprive audiences of a unique and powerful enemy to root against, it also means we’re never going to know why he is the way he is. We’ll never the circumstances behind his cyborging or his cough. We’ll never see how he got those lightsabers. It all just seems like such a waste.
Next: 20. Salacious B. Crumb