Destiny or fate was said to be a predetermined course of events. It could be conceived as a predetermined or likely future, whether in general or of an individual. Although often used interchangeably, the words fate and destiny had distinct connotations.
While stuck on the planet Tatooine, Padmé Amidala questions Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn about trusting their fate to Anakin Skywalker, a boy who they hardly knew. Watto bargained with Qui-Gon when betting on the Boonta Eve podrace, suggesting they let fate decide whether to free either Anakin or his mother Shmi from slavery, only for Qui-Gon to use the Force on Watto's chance cube. When Senator Sheev Palpatine tried dissuading Queen Amidala from returning to Naboo, the Queen said her fate will be no different than that of her people. Queen Amidala negotiated with Boss Rugor Nass into joining their two societies to help fight against the Trade Federation, saying their fate is in his hands. Meanwhile, in discovering Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon tried convincing the Jedi Council to train Anakin as a Jedi, only for the Council to consider young Skywalker's fate to be decided later due to the Galactic Senate of the Republic voting for a new Chancellor and Queen Amidala's ongoing confrontation on Naboo which would draw out the Queen's attacker, the Sith apprentice known as Darth Maul. Despite the disapproval of the Council and his Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon was certain that Anakin's fate was uncertain.
Ten years later, when forced into hiding during the Jedi's investigation of the assassination attempts against her, Senator Padmé Amidala expressed to Padawan Anakin Skywalker how she hadn't worked for a year to defeat the Senate's Military Creation Act only to not be there when its fate is decide.
In a showdown between Mace Windu and Darth Sidious, Anakin Skywalker faces his destiny to turn to the dark side of the Force.
Near the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, during the battle of Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine told Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker that they should leave his master Obi-Wan Kenobi or they'll never make it out of General Grievous's ship, the Invisible Hand, only for Anakin to say Obi-Wan's fate would be the same as theirs. Later, after the death of Grievous, Mace Windu took a group of Jedi to arrest Palpatine, revealed to be the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, with Windu saying that the Senate would decide the Sith Lord's fate. However, due to the intervention of Anakin Skywalker, the Palpatine blasted Windu with Force lightning and sent him through the window—to his death. While Anakin was ashamed of his actions, Palpatine said Skywalker was fulfilling his destiny, with Sidious dubbing the fallen Jedi as his new Sith apprentice, Darth Vader.
Five years following the rise of the Galactic Empire, fate was still at work throughout the Great Jedi Purge, which saw the remaining Jedi Knights being hunted down and destroyed by the Empire's Jedi hunters and Inquisitorius. Cal Kestis, a former Jedi Padawan in hiding, befriended a scrapper named Prauf, who was unaware of his friend's true nature but believed that Kestis deserved better than a life as a scrapper. After escaping from the Inquisitors with newfound allies aboard the Stinger Mantis, Cal dreamed of what Prauf told him about moving on with his life and finding his destiny before joining Cere Junda's mission to rebuild the Jedi Order. Years later, following the death of Kanan Jarrus, his Padawan Ezra Bridger entered the mystical realm connecting all of time and space, known as the World Between Worlds, where he saved Ahsoka Tano from a duel with Darth Vader in the past by pulling her into the realm. Bridger then became adamant in also changing the fate of his now-deceased master, Kanan Jarrus, only to be dissuaded after Tano reasoned with the Padawan that they would all be dead without Jarrus' selfless sacrifice.
Nineteen years after the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire, at a time when the Jedi were all but extinct, Han Solo claimed to have flown from one side of the galaxy to the other and never seen anything to make him believe in the Force as a mystical energy field controlling his destiny, saying it was a lot of simple tricks and nonsense. During the rescue of Princess Leia Organa aboard the Death Star, Obi-Wan told Luke Skywalker to watch over the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO and deliver to them safely to the Rebel Alliance or other star systems would suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Obi-Wan added that Luke's destiny lied along a different path from his, saying the Force would be with him, prior to his death in the Jedi Master's final duel with Darth Vader.
While Luke trained with Yoda on Dagobah, the Jedi Master warns the young Jedi to beware the dark side of the Force or it would dominate his destiny and consume him like Darth Vader. Although Luke tried to leave Dagobah, due to having a vision of Han and Leia in danger, Yoda tried to convince Luke to stay and complete his training, with the Force spirit of Obi-Wan saying even Yoda cannot see their fate. In their duel on Cloud City, Vader revealed to Luke that he was his father, and tried tempting him to join him to rule the galaxy together as father and son.
About one year later, Luke Skywalker returned to Dagobah, where Yoda revealed Darth Vader's revelation as his father to be true, then warned the young Jedi to not underestimate the powers of Emperor Palpatine or Luke would suffer his father's fate. Shortly afterwards, Obi-Wan told Luke he couldn't escape his destiny to face Darth Vader again, saying that if he chose not to kill his father, the Emperor had already won. While on the planet Endor and the second Death Star, Luke was tempted by Vader and the Emperor to fulfill his destiny or be killed. Although he defeated Vader in a duel, Luke told the Emperor he would never turn to the dark side and that he was a Jedi like his father.
During the First Order-Resistance War over 30 years later, after toying with the young Jedi Rey over her association with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and the Resistance, Supreme Leader Snoke ordered his apprentice Ben Solo, known as Kylo Ren, to fulfill his destiny by killing Rey as a means to complete his training. However, Ben killed Snoke and became the new Supreme Leader of the First Order. After the revelation that Rey was Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter, Luke's Force spirit told Rey that confronting fear was the destiny of a Jedi, and that if she didn't face Palpatine in Exegol it will mean the end of the Jedi and the war would be lost.
According to George Lucas, destiny is a central theme in the Star Wars saga.