A scavenger toughened by life in Jakku’s harsh deserts, Rey has been drawn into a galaxy-spanning conflict and learned that her life is being shaped by the mysterious power of the Force. She seeks out Luke Skywalker, the lost Jedi Master, in hopes that he will aid the Resistance against the First Order and help her control her growing powers. But when that quest ends in disappointment, Rey must find a new way forward.

The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben Solo was seduced by the dark side of the Force and renamed himself Kylo Ren, becoming the First Order’s champion and Supreme Leader Snoke’s student. Kylo killed his father and seeks to destroy his mother’s Resistance and the remnants of the Jedi Order. Though a servant of the dark side, he still struggles against the pull of the light side of the Force.

FN-2187 was trained since birth to serve the First Order as a stormtrooper, but a skirmish on Jakku awakened his conscience and drove him down a different path, one that proved both heroic and dangerous. He helped Poe Dameron escape the First Order – picking up the nickname Finn in doing so – and then sought his own freedom alongside Rey and BB-8. Finn helped the Resistance destroy Starkiller Base, but had to decide his true loyalties: Would he continue to fight alongside the Resistance’s soldiers, or seek to reunite with Rey and flee the galactic conflict? At first Finn tried to flee the war, but a mission alongside Rose Tico convinced him that he had to commit himself to the Resistance’s cause.

A commander in the Resistance’s starfighter corps, Poe Dameron is one of Leia Organa’s most-trusted operatives. A decorated X-wing pilot, he can fly anything – which is fortunate given how often his headstrong nature leads him into trouble. Poe leads the attack that destroys Starkiller Base, but soon finds himself on the run from the First Order. Sidelined without his beloved X-wing, he learns tough lessons about leadership, heroism and sacrifice.

Lando Calrissian made a name for himself as captain of the Millennium Falcon and a sportsman seeking a fortune at the galaxy’s sabacc tables. After he lost his beloved ship to Han Solo, he spent years living the high life and pursuing get-rich-quick schemes, with uneven results. He went semi-respectable as the administrator of Cloud City, only to be drawn into the fight against the Empire. His quick wit and daring helped the Alliance destroy the second Death Star, completing Lando’s evolution from smooth-talking smuggler to galactic hero.

During his long life Chewbacca has been many things: Wookiee warrior, ace smuggler and rebel hero. Chewie fought with the Republic on Kashyyyk during the Clone Wars, then befriended Han Solo while in Imperial captivity on Mimban. After adventures on Vandor and Kessel, he became Han’s co-pilot aboard the Millennium Falcon, and eventually helped the Alliance restore freedom to the galaxy. Known for his short temper and accuracy with a bowcaster, Chewie also had a big heart – and unflagging loyalty to his friends. He stuck with Han through years of turmoil, and flew the Falcon alongside Rey after the Corellian’s death.

Princess Leia Organa was one of the Rebel Alliance’s greatest leaders, fearless on the battlefield and dedicated to ending the tyranny of the Empire. Daughter of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, sister of Luke Skywalker, and with a soft spot for scoundrels, Leia ranks among the galaxy’s great heroes. But life under the New Republic has not been easy for Leia. Sidelined by a new generation of political leaders, she struck out on her own to oppose the First Order as founder of the Resistance. These setbacks in her political career have been accompanied by more personal losses.

A skittish but loyal astromech, BB-8 accompanied Poe Dameron on many missions for the Resistance, helping keep his X-wing in working order. When Poe’s mission to Jakku ended with his capture by the First Order, BB-8 fled into the desert with a vital clue to the location of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. He rejoined Poe and the service of the Resistance in time for the attack on Starkiller Base, then helped Rey locate Skywalker’s planet of exile.

C-3PO is a droid programmed for etiquette and protocol, built by the heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker, and a constant companion to astromech R2-D2. Over the years, he was involved in some of the galaxy’s most defining moments and thrilling battles -- and is fluent in more than seven million forms of communication. In the years after the Empire’s defeat C-3PO served Leia Organa, becoming the head of a Resistance spy ring aimed at undermining the First Order.