With over two dozen theatrical films and television series, the Star Wars universe is firmly entrenched in pop culture and our collective consciousness. George Lucas' space opera franchise is so popular, even people who haven't seen the film can name not just the characters, but probably a spaceship or two as well. Lucas had the foresight to assemble a group of artists and model makers, led by illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, to create a movie universe where even the spaceships had an unforgettable look and an undeniable level of "coolness."
Lucas is a self-professed car enthusiast, and that affinity was seen in his film American Graffiti, where classic cars became extensions of the characters who drove them. He brought that same concept to Star Wars, where certain spaceships have become synonymous with a particular character. Lucas originally envisioned Star Wars as a "used" universe of worlds, injecting a level of realism that included giving the spaceships a worn, practical look. For the prequel trilogy, however, he shifted course, featuring ships with sleek, often chromed looks, reminiscent of the cars he enjoyed in the 1950s. It set a distinct look for a different era in Star Wars, and many of those ships have become memorable in the franchise.
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The following is a ranking of the absolute coolest ships in the Star Wars universe, taken directly from the films and television series.
20 The U-Wing
In one of the best Star Wars movies of the Disney era, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Cassian Andor uses a U-Wing troop transport to carry out his missions for the Rebellion.The forward-facing wings give the ship its common name, as well as give an almost fang-like look. The wings, however, can shift to the stern, for a more aerodynamic mode when flying in atmosphere. Unfortunately, not every U-Wing comes with a sardonic K-2SO droid as a co-pilot, as Andor's ship does.
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19 Snoke's Supremacy
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi may be divisive to many Star Wars fans, but all agree on the impressiveness of the First Order's flagship, The Supremacy. The Mega Class Dreadnaught housed a throne room for Supreme Leader Snoke, and led the pursuit of the Resistance after the destruction of Starkiller Base. Unfortunately, despite the Supremacy's size and "batwing" design, it turned out to be vulnerable to the dreaded "Holdo Maneuver."
18 B-Wing
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In Return of the Jedi, the Rebel Alliance revealed a new weapon in their fleet: the B-Wing. The unusual fighter features a rotating cockpit and a T-frame with weapons mounted on each point. It proved to be so popular, it made appearances in The Rise of Skywalker, as well as multiple Star Wars comic books, video games, and animated series. It is also one of the coolest vehicles in the Star Wars toy line. The B-Wing was designed by Bill George as well as Joe Johnston, who would go on to direct Captain America: The First Avenger and The Rocketeer.
17 Count Dooku's Solar Sailer
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You know the great Sir Christopher Lee deserves a cool ride, and the Solar Sailer certainly fits the bill. When Count Dooku needed a quick getaway from Geonosis after slicing off Anakin's arm, the Solar Sailer was waiting to shuttle him back to Coruscant. The small, pod-like ship features a retractable sail, and may be one of the few Star Wars ships inspired by real science. Solar sails have been in development by NASA for decades, and a Japanese exploration spacecraft using the tech was launched in 2010.
16 The Snowspeeder
Snowspeeders may not be the prettiest ships, but they turned out to be useful weapons during The Battle of Hoth in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. When the AT-ATs seemed nearly invincible in battle, the Snowspeeder proved capable of bringing one down by tripping it up with its built-in tow cables, fired from a rear gunner. Although Snowspeeders are sturdy and effective in battle, they are susceptible to be being stepped on by passing AT-ATs.
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15 Queen Amidala's Royal Starship
In Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Queen Padme Amidala traveled the galaxy in the Naboo Royal Starship, a J-type 327 Nubian starship, a highly stylized, aerodynamic ship with a polished chrome fuselage. To reflect the earlier, more idyllic era that the prequel trilogy was set, George Lucas opted to feature ships that were focused on anesthetics, rather than the utilitarian look ships like the Millennium Falcon featured in the original trilogy.
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The Star Wars saga was inspired by the Flash Gordon comic strips and movie serials, whose ship designs were reflected in the prequel trilogy. Design director Doug Chiang applied the "Flash Gordon look" into ships including the Naboo military and royal fleet.
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14 Hammerhead Corvette
In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Hammerhead Corvette of the rebel forces provided one of most exhilarating space battle moments of the entire film series. During the Battle over Scarif, the rebels find a way to disable the planet-wide shield by using a Hammerhead to ram into a Star Destroyer, causing a chain reaction that destroys the shield gate. It's a stunning scene, and the unique structure of the Hammerhead gave us one of the coolest moments of the Star Wars standalone film.
13 The Ghost
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First introduced in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, the Ghost is piloted by Hera Syndulla, and is used by a gang of rebels led by Kanan Jarrus, a former Jedi Padawan. Their missions against the Empire lead them to meet Ezra Bridger, a Force-sensitive teenager who later joins their team.
The Ghost proves to be pivotal in their missions, especially when they cross paths with Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader. Because Rebels is set during the original trilogy, the Ghost has made several appearances in the live-action films, including in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (in the Yavin base hangar) and in The Rise of Skywalker, specifically in the armada that attacks Emperor Palpatine's fleet at the Battle of Exegol.
12 The Tantive IV (Rebel Blockade Runner)
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When you absolutely, positively have to get away from the Empire, The Tantive IV was a great choice, until it wasn't. Fans first saw the ship in Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977, as an imposing Star Destroyer caught up to and disabled the doomed transport and captured Princess Leia.
The ship reappeared in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, as Bail Organa used it to rally rebel forces, as well as in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as Princess Leia received the Death Star plans over Scarif and made her escape. Finally, the Tantive IV appeared in The Rise of Skywalker, as Nien Numb piloted the ship into the Battle of Exegol.
11 Jedi Starfighters
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Mace Windu may have once insisted that Jedi were "keepers of the peace, not soldiers," but the Jedi Starfighters proved him wrong. Once the Clone Wars began, the Jedi were called upon to lead clones into battle, and these small, highly capable fighters were used by the Jedi to great effect. In the underrated Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker used their starfighters to gain access to General Grievous' ship and rescue Chancellor Palpatine.
Each starfighter has its own astromech droid port, which assists the pilot in flight. Obi-Wan Kenobi's droid was R4-P17, who was with him throughout Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but she was destroyed by Vulture Droids in the opening battle of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Anakin, of course, had R2-D2 with him, but he stayed with C-3PO when Anakin turned to the Dark Side.
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10 The Imperial Shuttle
Sometimes there just isn't room to park a Star Destroyer, so the Imperial Shuttle is called upon to get dignitaries around. Both Darth Vader and the Emperor used the shuttle, which features a distinctive retractible tri-wing design and an elegant look that stood apart in the Imperial fleet. In Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia used a stolen shuttle to lead a strike team onto the moon of Endor to take out the shield generator for the second Death Star.
9 The Y-Wing
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Although the sleeker-looking X-Wing gets more attention, the Y-Wing is the older, more reliable member of the rebel fleet. First used by the Republic during the Clone Wars, the Y-Wing was adopted by the rebel alliance primarily as a bomber, and served in both Death Star battles. An updated version even made an appearance in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, as part of the Resistance fleet taking on the Emperor Palpatine's fleet at the Battle of Exegol. The Y-Wing's unusual design is eye-catching, and their timeless durability ranks them high on our coolness ranking.
8 The Star Destroyer
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The opening shot of Episode IV:: A New Hope established the image of the Imperial Star Destroyer as a terrifying, imposing battleship. The instantly-recognizable pie-wedge design immediately places it in the upper echelon of Star Wars spacecraft, having played prominent roles in nearly every film.
In Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, an updated Star Destroyer was part of the First Order fleet. Like the Death Star, however, the Star Destroyer also has vulnerabilities, particularly from Hammerhead Corvettes (as Rogue One proved) and from ships that stick to their hull to escape detection from its scopes (as The Millennium Falcon proved).
7 The Razor Crest
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Ever since the movie Spaceballs was released, there has been a dream of flying through space in a Winnebago. That dream finally saw reality, ironically, in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, when the Razor Crest was introduced as Din Djarin's spacecraft.
Not only did it bear a striking resemblance to Spaceballs' Eagle 5, it served basically the same purpose, as a home away from home for a space-traveling hero. The Razor Crest is an older military craft that pre-dates the Empire, and Djarin found it effective to carry out his various jobs collecting bounties. He managed to customize it all the amenities a bounty hunter needs, including a carbon freezing chamber.
6 Darth Vader's Executor
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Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer, The Executor, is first seen in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, as it led the search for the rebel base. The flagship of the fleet, it measured nearly 12 miles long and seemed almost invincible. It met its demise, however, in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, when it was damaged and crashed into the second Death Star, but we'll always remember the sweet ride that Darth Vader cruised the galaxy in. Just seeing it makes us want to hum John Williams' Imperial March theme.
5 The Naboo N-1 Starfighter
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We first saw the Naboo N-1 Starfighter in Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as part of the Naboo forces. Sleek and fast, the starfighter held its own against Trade Federation forces, and a young Anakin Skywalker used one to fly into the landing bay of a Federation battleship and destroyed it from within. The ship re-entered the collective consciousness of Star Wars fans when a stripped-down version of the ship was repurposed by Din Djarin in The Mandalorian after the Razor Crest was destroyed. Mechanic Peli Motto even modified the droid port to make it a seating section for Grogu.
4 The X-Wing
George Lucas patterned the space battles of the Star Wars films after World War II dogfights, so it's no surprise the X-Wing, the rebels' fighting ship of choice, would resemble those planes. Designed by Lucasfilm artist Colin Cantwell, the X-Wings feature extending wings, giving them their unique shape, and their speed makes them incredibly effective in one-on-one dogfights. First introduced in Episode IV: A New Hope, the X-Wings were instrumental in taking out both Death Stars, and an updated version of the ship was featured in the sequel trilogy.
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Rogue One featured some the best X-Wing action in the entire Star Wars saga, although the ship was prominently featured in both the original and sequel trilogies. The X-Wing was the preferred ship of choice for both Luke Skywalker and Poe Dameron, and Skywalker famously took on the call sign Red 5 when he became an X-Wing pilot. Although the ship has brought the rebels good luck, R2-D2 has had a terrible history flying in them, including being shot by Darth Vader in the first Death Star attack, and nearly being eaten by a swamp creature upon exiting one on Dagobah.
3 Slave I
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The Slave I is cool mostly because its owner is cool. Sure, the unusual design catches the eye, but the Firespray-class ship also carries a certain mystique that echoes its owners. Originally flown by the bounty hunter Jango Fett, it passed to his son Boba, who ran jobs for gangster Jabba the Hutt.
Boba was separated from his ship for a time after he was thought dead inside a Sarlaac Pit in the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon, but reclaimed it in events seen in The Book of Boba Fett. Like its owner, the ship has some hidden surprises to protect itself, including sonic charges, as seen in Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Although the ship has been renamed The Firespray in recent comics and merchandising, Lucasfilm still officially recognizes the original name.
2 TIE Fighters
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Known for their engines' screeching roar, TIE Fighters are the backbone of the Imperial fleet. Their distinctive solar panel wings give them a unique look, and make them more maneuverable. The TIE design has been adapted into a number of different ships, including a custom curved-wing design for Darth Vader himself.
Other versions include TIE Interceptors (with pointed wings), the TIE Bomber (used to great effect in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), the TIE Striker (seen in Rogue One), and Kylo Ren flew an updated version of the Inceptor in the Sequel Trilogy, known as the TIE Silencer.
1 The Millennium Falcon
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Sometimes, a ship is cool for what it does, not how it looks. Once the property of Lando Calrissian, who lost the ship fair and square to Han Solo, The Millennium Falcon is the "fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy," according to its former owner. The Coreillian YT-1300 freighter once made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs while being piloted by Solo, but eventually became a vital member of the rebellion struggle against the Imperial Empire. It helped Luke Skywalker blow up the first Death Star, and (piloted by Calrissian) flew into the unfinished superstructure of the second Death Star, blowing up the station's main reactor and ultimately destroying it. Years later, after being stolen from Han Solo, it was returned to him by Rey and Finn, and joined in the fight against Kylo Ren and the First Order.
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Although it was an effective smuggling vessel for years, the Falcon became the unofficial flagship of the rebellion, and its speed and agility helped its passengers escape certain death many times. With dual gunner stations, it can hold its own against small fighters, although it has taken on Star Destroyers from time to time. It offers a common area with a gaming table for recreational purposes. The hyperdrive, at times, can be a little wonky.