Star Wars Characters You Didn't Know Died Off-Screen
There are thousands of named "Star Wars" characters — so many that it's difficult for most fans to keep track of even a fraction of them. Between the "Star Wars" movies, TV shows, comics, novels, video games, and encyclopedias, countless side characters have gotten full backstories, arcs, and dramatic deaths. It's become a core facet of the franchise that if you see a weird-looking guy in the background of a movie or show, they'll almost surely pop up in some other comic or video game — a phenomenon fans have dubbed the Glup Shitto Effect.
Because of how Jedi, Sith, droids, and aliens there are, not to mention the myriad differences between the current canon and the old Expanded Universe (now called "Star Wars" Legends), you'd be forgiven for losing a few character threads. The sheer quantity of "Star Wars" content available means that these minor players are constantly being brought back into the fold, and a good number of them have been killed off unceremoniously between projects. Such deaths are occasionally revealed after the fact in a story, but sometimes fans don't know until it's mentioned on some stray page of a character encyclopedia or RPG sourcebook.
Fortunately, we've done the hard work for you, tracking down some of the most prominent "Star Wars" characters you likely didn't know have died off-screen. It's also worth noting that we're sticking to the current canon for this, as dipping into the EU would bring too many random deaths to count.
Shaak Ti
Few "Star Wars" characters have died in as many different ways as Shaak Ti. Originally, there was a plan for the Togruta Jedi master to die on-screen at the beginning of "Revenge of the Sith." In a scene that was filmed but deleted, Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) are forced to watch as General Grievous (Matthew Wood) executes Shaak Ti (Orli Shoshan) aboard his flagship, The Invisible Hand. This death synced up nicely with the Genndy Tartakovsky "Clone Wars" animated series that preceded the film, in which she's seen guarding the chancellor when he's "abducted" by Grievous on Coruscant.
With the scene deleted, Shaak Ti's death was moved later in the timeline to the 2008 video game "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed," which is no longer canon. That version of events sees her fall on Felucia, where she lives in exile following Order 66, after a duel with Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller.
In canon, Shaak Ti dies offscreen at the hands of Anakin himself. Canonical encyclopedias state that Shaak Ti was stationed at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant on the night Darth Vader was born and that she fell to his lightsaber — along with many other Jedi — when he raided the building with his clone troopers. For those who grew up with the prequels and their supporting material, Shaak Ti is a pretty iconic Jedi, so many fans may be surprised to learn that she officially dies offscreen in this way.
Wullf Yularen
Wullf Yularen is one of the more curious characters in "Star Wars" because while he's never that important, he does pop up a whole lot. Most fans know him as the capable, proper, and at times thorny admiral often allied with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." However, his first canonical appearance actually came in the original "Star Wars" in 1977.
Remember that scene where Vader and Tarkin walk into an Imperial meeting and Vader chokes that guy? Of course, you do, as It's a classic scene. So classic that some of the background officers present got their own cards in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game from Decipher, Inc. The name Wullf Yularen first appeared on a 1995 card bearing the likeness of one of the white-clad Imperials from that scene, and more than a decade later, a younger Yularen was introduced in the animated "Clone Wars" movie. The character appears again in both "Star Wars Rebels" and "Andor," this time as a high-ranking officer of the Imperial Security Bureau, rather than a naval officer. That may be because on the 1995 card, it was said that Yularen worked for the ISB. Neat how canon gets made, right?
Anyway, the Death Star didn't turn out to be a very safe place for anyone during the events of "A New Hope." Yularen (Robert Clarke) was killed when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) destroyed the battle station, along with many, many others.
Luminara Unduli
Jedi Master Luminara Unduli is a model of honor and decorum in the order, but that doesn't stop her from dying an unceremonious death off-screen. A Mirialan, Luminara is incredibly strong with the Force and seems uncomfortable with the Jedi's military role in the war during various episodes of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." Her padawan, Barriss Offee, shares her hesitations and takes them much further by bombing the Jedi Temple in protest during the show's fifth season. Like a good Jedi, though, Luminara herself stays the course, serving alongside Master Yoda during the Battle of Kashyyyk.
Unlike Yoda, Luminara apparently doesn't see Order 66 coming. She's captured on the planet while Chewbacca is helping Yoda escape, and she's later killed in custody. This wasn't revealed to fans until the "Star Wars Rebels" episode "Rise of the Old Masters," in which Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger hear a rumor that Luminara is still alive and in Imperial captivity. Sadly, this turns out to be a lie created by the Empire to lure in Jedi survivors. When Ezra and Kanan arrive, all that's left of Luminara is her lifeless body and a twisted hologram beckoning them into the trap.
Aurra Sing
It's only right that we get a proper bounty hunter on this list, as the scoundrels and brigands of the galaxy are often the ones dying unceremoniously in books or comics that many fans never hear about. Aurra Sing may not be as famous in bounty-hunting circles as Boba Fett, Bossk, or Dengar, but she's definitely up there, thanks largely to a memorable character design. The super-high ponytail and long-barreled rifle are hard to miss.
Sing was first introduced on Tatooine in the background of "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace." She went on to appear in a ton of extraneous stories in the old Expanded Universe, though none of them ever clarified how she died. In canon, Sing appears a bunch throughout the "Clone Wars" animated series, as well as various comic runs.
According to the current canon, Sing was ultimately killed by the gunslinging scoundrel Tobias Beckett, who fans will know as Woody Harrelson's character in "Solo: A Star Wars Story." During one scene in that film, Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) recognizes Beckett as the man who killed Aurra Sing, which Beckett admits to. That places her death not long after the end of the Clone Wars. It's certainly not as long or illustrious of a career as the bounty hunter enjoyed in Legends, and as of yet, we haven't actually seen it happen onscreen.
Tera Sinube
More casual "Star Wars" fans likely won't even recognize the name of Tera Sinube. By the time of the Clone Wars, he was already an old man — a venerated member of the Jedi Order, but certainly not someone you'd ever see on the front lines. During the "Clone Wars" animated series, Sinube pops up from time to time, often to impart some sage wisdom to the young and brash Ahsoka Tano. Don't mistake his old age for weakness, though. The man can still throw down, and he sports a rare blue lightsaber so light in color it almost looks white.
Unfortunately, neither his skills nor his blade are enough to save Sinube when the Empire rises. To this day, we don't know exactly how the old Jedi master dies, but we see his corpse in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" show when Obi-Wan infiltrates Fortress Inquisitorius. Down in the depths of the castle, Obi-Wan discovers a hall of entombed Jedi, all long dead, kept on bizarre display like trophies. A live-action version of Sinube's body is shown alongside several of his fallen brethren.
It's a brutal scene, but given that he rarely left the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, it makes some sense that Sinube might have been one of the first Jedi to die during Order 66.