The Skywalker family is a fictional family in the Star Wars series. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force. The Skywalkers are the central characters of the saga: Luke Skywalker is the protagonist of the original trilogy and his father Anakin is the protagonist of the prequel trilogy and the antagonist in the original trilogy, as Darth Vader.
In terms of the series' internal chronology, the Skywalkers first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. In this film, Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn discovers Shmi Skywalker and her son Anakin as slaves on the planet Tatooine. Qui-Gon finds that Anakin has a higher count of midi-chlorians (force-imparting microorganisms) than any Jedi, even Yoda, counting to about 20,000. Shmi informs Qui-Gon that Anakin has no father, leading Qui-Gon to suggest that Anakin is a product of midi-chlorians, an example of a miraculous birth. As the film progresses, Anakin leaves Tatooine to begin his Jedi training.
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones reveals that, in Anakin's absence, Shmi has married Cliegg Lars, becoming the stepmother of Owen. Owen tells Anakin they are stepbrothers. Owen later marries Beru Whitesun. As a Jedi Knight, Anakin secretly marries Padmé Amidala.