10 most disliked Star Wars characters, ranked

5. Young Anakin Skywalker (The Phantom Menace)

Oh, young Anakin Skywalker, where do I even start? The Star Wars saga is known for its epic tales and complex characters, and it introduces this little kid who's supposed to become the fearsome Darth Vader. But instead of a brooding young prodigy, we get a cherubic face spouting lines like "Are you an angel?" It's like expecting a thunderstorm and getting a light drizzle. Anakin's portrayal in this movie is pretty close to a wide-eyed, overly enthusiastic child in a school play rather than the future Dark Lord of the Sith. His dialogue often feels really forced and out of sync with the rest of the Star Wars universe, making fans cringe rather than cheer.

Then there's the infamous podracing and "accidental" heroism. Sure, the podracing itself was pretty wild and visually stunning at the time, but Anakin's involvement felt like a wild stretch. A nine-year-old kid outmaneuvering seasoned racers and then accidentally blowing up the correct Trade Federation ship? It's like a toddler accidentally solving a Rubik's Cube while trying to eat it. If you need to make the kid an excellent pilot, why not say he received special piloting training as well as Jedi training?

These scenes were meant to showcase his natural and very strong Force abilities, but they came off as implausible and even a bit silly. The attempt to balance his childlike innocence with hints of a darker destiny ended up giving us tonal whiplash. It's no wonder this version of Anakin ended up more as a meme than a menacing precursor to Darth Vader.