Star Wars Characters: Annikin Starkiller

Annikin Starkiller was the son of Kane Starkiller and a Padawan of Luke Skywalker. He was the hero of the battle which saw the defeat of the Galactic Empire in the Aquilaean system.

Biography

After the Jedi Rebellion, the young Annikin and his brother Deak Starkiller settled on the Fourth Moon of Utapau with their father, Kane Starkiller. Annikin, despite his relative youth, had taken part in the Kessilian civil wars and led a Hubble expedition to the Cone systems. He wore his hair in a distinctive Kessilian hair knot.

After a Sith Knight located him and his family and killed his brother, Deak, Annikin and Kane headed back home to Aquilae.

He became the Padawan learner of Luke Skywalker after his father, Kane, revealed to Skywalker that he was dying.^[1]

After the death of his father, he became a suitor to Queen Leia of Aquilae, ruler of his home planet, and was named Lord Protector of Aquilae.

Behind the scenes

Annikin Starkiller was the lead character in the rough draft of what would become A New Hope. He played a similar role to that of Luke Skywalker in A New Hope, although his cockiness and brashness resembled Han Solo. He became the source of Luke’s father’s name, Anakin, in the third and later drafts.

In the first draft, Annikin was renamed «Justin Valor.» This name was dropped in later drafts. While there was no one named Annikin or Anakin in the second draft, the name reappeared in the third and earliest versions of the fourth draft. During the filming of Episode IV, Luke’s surname was changed from Starkiller to Skywalker, his Jedi byname in the second draft.