10 Minor Characters Who Would've Broken Star Wars

The Phantom Menace's second most annoying character, Watto, was actually far more significant than he first seemed.

A Toydarian trader on Tatooine, we meet Watto when Qui-Gon Jinn goes looking for parts to repair his damaged ship. We soon learn that Watto is in possession of two slaves, Shmi and Anakin Skywalker, and Qui-Gon quickly realises that the young boy is special.

Watto technically owns the boy, though, and he's immune to Qui-Gon's Jedi mind tricks, so trying to liberate the slave child could have all too easily been a dead-end for the Jedi Master.

Instead, Watto's penchant for gambling proves to be his undoing, and Qui-Gon is able to win the boy's freedom, meaning he is able to train as a Jedi.

This isn't his only signifcant decision, though. He also ends up selling Anakin's mother Shmi to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars, who frees and marries her. If Watto hadn't done this, Shmi likely wouldn't have died at the hands of the Tusken Raiders, and Anakin might never have slaughtered them like animals (the women and children, too), realising the dark potential of his inner rage.