Owen Lars is a minor character in the Star Wars franchise, Luke Skywalker's uncle and Anakin Skywalker's half-brother. Appeared in the films "New Hope", "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith", as well as many books, comics, video games and animated series of the so-called expanded universe.
New Hope
In the first film in the Star Wars series, Owen Lars and his wife Beru raise a nineteen-year-old nephew Luke on the deserted planet Tatooine. The family is engaged in farming and is trying in every possible way to keep Luke from leaving the planet and traveling around the world.
Luke Skywalker and his uncle buy droids from desert merchants, including R2D2. The young man sees a message from Princess Leia and decides to find Obi Wan Kenobi, who lives as a hermit near the farm. However, the uncle tries to ban him and orders to erase the droid's memory.
The next day, Luke leaves the farm to look for an escaped droid and finds Obi Wan. At this time, imperial stormtroopers arrive at Oaun Lars and his wife, trying to find out the location of R2D2. As a result, Luke's guardians are killed, and he has no choice but to join Obi Wan and go to the aid of Princess Leia.
Prequels
In the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Owen Lars first appears in the second part of The Attack of the Clones. His father married the mother of Anakin Skywalker Shmi and Owen became the Jedi's half-brother. Soon, however, desert bandits abducted Shmi's wedding ambassador. Owen, his father, and three dozen farmers gather a detachment to find a woman, but fall into a trap. Almost all of them are killed, Shmi's husband loses his leg. As a result, Owen refuses subsequent attempts to save his stepmother.
A month later, Anakin arrives on Tatooine with Princess Padme. He learns from Owen about the abduction of his mother and a failed attempt to save. A young Jedi under cover alone penetrates the bandit camp, kills them all, including women and children, and the next morning brings his mother's lifeless body to the farm. Anakin blames Owen and his father for his weakness and inability to save Shmi from death. Having taken his droid C3-PO, the Jedi flies away from Tatooine.
In Revenge of the Sith, after transforming Anakin into Darth Vader, Obi Van Kenobi arrives on Tatooine and persuades Owen Lars and his wife to adopt a newborn Luke. The young family agrees and begins to raise the boy as their own son.
Extended universe
Owen Lars has appeared in many works of the extended Star Wars universe, including fiction books, graphic novels, comic books, and more. These stories significantly enrich the portrait of a supporting character, telling about his attitude to Obi Wan, whom Owen blames for Anakin's death and tries to protect him from communication with Luke in every possible way.
Several works of the extended universe describe the clashes between the Lars family and Jaba the Hutt's henchmen, desert bandits and Wookiee criminals during Luke's childhood and adolescence. In all cases, Obi Wan Kenobi helps them, often even unnoticed by the farmers themselves. During a clash with the Wookiee bounty hunter, Obi Wan saves Owen's life, after which the farmer begins to relate better to the Jedi, but before the events of the original trilogy, they no longer communicate with each other.
After Ben Solo's rebellion against the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and the destruction of the school, the defeated Luke arrives on Tatooine and begins to live on the Lars farm, remembering his life with his uncle and aunt and leading a lifestyle from which he escaped many years ago.
Actors
In "New Hope" the role of Owen Lars was played by British actor Phil Brown, who at that time had been playing in the theater and cinema for more than forty years and responded to the announcement of the casting. After the release of the film, the actor became a popular figure at fan congresses and conventions until his death in 2006 at the age of 89.
In "Attack of the Clones," actor Joel Edgerton was selected to play the role of young Owen Lars. He got the role largely due to the fact that his brother Nash was an understudy for Ewan McGregor. The Australian actor appeared in two franchise films, after which his career continued to gain momentum. He has appeared in major films, including The Warrior, The Great Gatsby, Exodus: Kings and Gods, and Brightness.
A film was recently announced that tells the story of Obi Wan Kenobi's years between the third and fourth episodes on the planet Tatooine. Edgerton expressed a desire to appear in the film. In the photo, Owen Lars from the second picture.