Star Wars explained: Is Star Wars scary?

As we approach Halloween time, frights and spooks stay on the mind. It’s the season to let go, face our fears, and even indulge in the Dark Side a little. And for those who aren’t too familiar with Star Wars, even if it isn’t Halloween, you may be wondering if Star Wars is scary.

The movie series, after all, does deal with a battle between good and evil. And it has one of the best, most fearsome villains of all time, Darth Vader. And, really, pretty much every villain in the Skywalker saga has gone down as some of the most epic villains of all time, like Darth Sidious, Darth Maul, and even Kylo Ren.

But is Star Wars actually scary? Well, thankfully, we can resoundingly say no, Star Wars isn’t scary. In fact, it was the creator George Lucas’ idea to make Star Wars not just for adults — but for kids. In the original trilogy, you’ve got a princess who’s held captive by the big bad guy. And she gets rescued by the small-town hero who’s got nothing to lose. There’s even some romance in the sequel film. It’s a fairy tale with a different setting. But that doesn’t just go for the first movie, A New Hope, pretty much every movie in the Skywalker saga is tame and not scary at all.

Scary moments in Star Wars

Although, just because Star Wars is generally not scary, it doesn’t mean there aren’t any scary scenes. Again, we’re not talking super shocking, but there are some parts that borrow from the horror genre, especially in the sequel trilogy.

In The Rise of Skywalker, for instance, we get a scary scene where Rey confronts her Dark self with a jump scare. Even the sight of Palpatine at the end is a little frightening.

Elsewhere in the series, sometimes the fights can be pretty intense. As some know, in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the fight on Mustafar between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker gets pretty graphic. (We’ve even deemed Episode III as the scariest Star Wars movie.) And in the fight, Obi-Wan uses his lightsaber to cut Anakin’s legs off, then Anakin is thrust into the burning lava beneath him. Of course, that’s not the only time people have lost body parts due to a lightsaber in this series — so that can get mildly intense too.

So, while Star Wars may not be 100 percent scary, there are a few scenes that might invoke fear. And for a full breakdown of that, you can click the “Next” link to read about the spookiest moments in the Skywalker saga.

You can catch all the Star Wars movies on Disney+. And for more, keep up with the Star Wars movies category on Dork Side of the Force.