Lars, Owen

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Ator; Tatooine

• Species:
  Human

• Gender:
  Male

• Size:
  1.78 meters

• Weapon:
  Blaster carbine

• Vehicle:
  Zephyr-G swoop bike, V-35 landspeeder

• 

From the Movies

Owen Lars had toiled to make a life for himself on Tatooine since a young age. The son of Cliegg Lars, a moisture farmer, he greatly valued the traditions of discipline and hard work. As a young man, he had a strong vision of what he wanted to make of himself, and that vision was firmly rooted on Tatooine. His goals were clear and attainable through discipline. He would turn the Lars homestead into a productive farm, and live there with his love, Beru Whitesun.

Complicating this simple life was his nephew. At the behest of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Owen and Beru were made the wards of Luke Skywalker, the son of Owen's stepbrother, Anakin. Lingering resentment over the actions of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi would color Owen's opinions for years.

Owen attempted to raise his nephew as a normal youth, keeping him from the fact that his veins coursed with Jedi blood and that his "dead" hero father was not simply a freighter navigator. The farmer tried to pass on his values to Luke. Though he was a caring guardian, Owen's demeanor was gruff and strict, which often led to tension between him and his daydreaming nephew. It usually fell to Beru to iron out the differences between Owen and Luke.

He could not rein in Luke's drive for adventure, though. Young Skywalker longed to leave Tatooine and join the Imperial Academy, to live life among the stars. Lars forbade it, reminding Luke that he was needed on the moisture farm. Each year, more of Luke's friends would leave the desert planet for brighter futures. Though Luke felt Owen was stagnating his growth, in truth, the old moisture farmer didn't want to see Luke fall victim to Anakin's fate.

Skywalker would eventually leave the farm, but under tragic circumstances. Imperials searching for missing droids razed the Lars homestead and killed Owen and Beru. With nothing left to keep him on Tatooine, Luke left the desert planet and began down the path of Jedi Knighthood.

From the Expanded Universe

The only life Owen knew was that of moisture farming on Tatooine. He barely remembered the planet of his birth, Ator, or his mother Aika, who died when he was very, very young. He grew up on Tatooine, and his father, Cliegg, taught him discipline and the importance of family and responsibility. They were lessons that Owen took deeply to heart.

When Cliegg married Shmi Skywalker, Owen came to view her as his mother. Shmi loved him as if he were her own son, but she still spoke of her other child often. Owen grew up hearing stories of young Anakin, and it saddened him to see his stepmother so visibly incomplete without her true son.

As an older man, Owen maintained a stern countenance, but he secretly feared greatly for Luke's future. When a young Skywalker demonstrated extra-sensory perception by finding a missing tool without even searching for it, Owen scolded the lad. When Skywalker was a teen, he and his friend Windy went on a foolhardy trek into the desert, atop a pet dewback named Huey. The two farmboys ran afoul of a krayt dragon and were stranded in the wastes. Obi-Wan Kenobi, traveling on foot, came to their rescue and guided them back to the Lars homestead. Owen was furious, but not at Luke. He instead yelled at Kenobi to leave his property and to never come back again.

Behind the Scenes

Spin-off material published around the time of Return of the Jedi postulated that Owen Lars was Obi-Wan Kenobi's brother, and the moisture farmer was resentful of his famous sibling's request to care for young Skywalker. This notion made it into print in several sources, starting with the novelization of Jedi, prompting many fan debates when speculating about the events of the prequel trilogy. Episode II sheds more light on Owen's true background and his relation to Luke Skywalker.