Photos by Jeff Watts.

The Force is strong with Patrick Thaddeus Jackson.

“I could geek out about Star Wars all day,” said the School of International Service professor, who joined AU in 2000. The sci-fi space opera “has been super important to the way I think about my life—and my career has been through the lens of these materials.”

Jackson was five years old in 1977 when his parents took him to a drive-in theater in Napa, California, to see Star Wars—the first film in George Lucas’s nearly $47 billion franchise, later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope. Sitting in the front seat of his family’s blue Ford Pinto, Jackson was transfixed.

“My mom always said that it was the first time in my life that I shut up for two hours,” he said. “It’s safe to say that since I was five, there’s a part of my brain that has always lived in the Star Wars universe and has always been obsessed.”

In the five decades since, that universe has expanded to a dozen films and 13 TV shows. Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, the first installment in the prequel trilogy, was rereleased in April for its 20th anniversary, becoming a bona fide box office hit all over again. And The Mandalorian and Grogu will hit theaters in May 2026.

While Jackson didn’t grow up to be a lightsaber-wielding Jedi knight, as he once thought he would, his love for Star Wars has not faded to black.

“The thing that was always most engaging for me about Star Wars is the idea of the Jedi as a kind of mystical agency that is enforcing some broad notion of justice,” Jackson said. “The whole trick with Star Wars is that everybody can be redeemed.”

Jackson, who is never without a Jedi pin, socks, or cuff links, is working on a book about Star Wars and foreign policy—a project he hopes will be published on May 4, 2027, in time for the 50th anniversary of the original film’s release.

“Part of it I’ve been writing in my head since I was 10,” Jackson said. “Then there’s the part actually on paper, which is considerably less.”

In honor of Star Wars Day—May the Fourth—check out Jackson’s 10 favorite Star Wars characters.

1. Luke Skywalker: The boy dreaming of adventure who eventually figures out what eluded the Jedi Order—that the Force is bigger than any institution, bigger than doctrine, bigger than “sides.”

2. Obi-Wan Kenobi: The ideal Jedi, who had to survive the collapse of the institution that structured his entire life but found his way back to hope.

3. Ahsoka Tano: Her oft-quoted line “I am no Jedi” is only part of the story, as she forged her own path following the Force beyond the Jedi Order.

4. Leia Organa: The feisty princess and rebel leader who becomes a living symbol of the Rebellion and the Resistance.

5. Rey Skywalker: Looking for her family, she found her way into a story that wasn’t written for her, but she makes a story about her.

6. Elzar Mann: Grappling with his darker impulses during the High Republic era, he looked for the still point between fury and resistance.

7. Gilad Pellaeon: An Imperial officer with sufficient integrity and concern for his people to conclude a peace with the New Republic when the dream of reestablishing the Empire was realistically over.

8. Anakin Skywalker: Episodes I–VI revolve around his tragic fall and redemption, and he stands as a fantastic example of how “good” impulses can be corrupted if unchecked.

9. Finn (FN-2187): Although his character arc was muted in Episode IX, his story of breaking his conditioning and eventually coming to embrace the Resistance cause is still compelling.

10. Rose Tico: Another casualty of production decisions surrounding Episode IX, she is a resistance soldier for the right reasons—not fighting what we hate but saving what we love.