9 of the most-wasted Star Wars characters as picked from each movie

4. Episode IV: Technically the Emperor

Instead of forcing a character here like Greedo or someone who really wasn’t wasted all that much, I figured it’s better to just come clean and say A New Hope didn’t waste any characters. This was a very tight movie from start to finish that was quick-paced and every character who appeared in the film help pushed the movie forward. There weren’t any stale or slow-moving moments that helped to introduce a character who wasn’t properly explained or used.

If there were any gripes about a character who didn’t appear in this film, that possibly could’ve, it would have been Emperor Palpatine. There was an opportunity here to introduce the big bad of the saga and have him appear in every film of the original trilogy. Instead, we only hear his name mentioned briefly and really don’t have time to think twice about him. It would’ve made all the sense in the world for the leader of the Empire to appear on this new and fully functional battle station and the fact he wasn’t was a bit odd.

The Emperor could’ve been seen communicating with Vader the way he did in The Empire Strikes Back or even make a brief appearance on the Death Star itself seeing his new weapon finally come to fruition. His role could’ve then been expanded through the next two films until his death in Return of the Jedi.