Summary
What’s a galaxy far, far away without planets? A tremendously empty one, that’s what – which is whythe Star Wars movieshave taken the liberty of rocketing us between a great number of them. From the desert worlds of Tatooine and Jakku, to the verdant Naboo, to the multi-levelled metropolis of Coruscant, there’s no shortage of planetary variety.
However, across the core films of the Skywalker Saga, exactly how many worlds have we visited? There’s a fair amount to keep track of, and some are even recurring locales! Well, worry no more, young Padawan: we’ve broken down the complete checklist of planets by each Star Wars trilogy, plus the anthology films to boot. The total will leave you blown away – much like Alderaan.
This breakdown willonly be factoring in theatrical films, not any of the multitudinous cartoons, video games, or Disney Plus series like The Mandalorian or Ahsoka. While 100 percent canon (and largely excellent), they play fast and loose with their planet-hopping, and they’d bloat our article beyond belief. The Clone Wars cartoon alone would slap anextra 100+ planetsonto our plate!
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
Utapau, Kashyyyk, Mustafar, Mygeeto, Felucia, Cato Neimoidia, Saleucami
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
The prequel trilogy kicks off with the divisive Phantom Menace, which has a surprisingly slight selection of planets. Much of the action occurs onNaboo, a lush, boggy world known for its valuable plasma mines. Once our heroes escape it, much of the second act is spent onTatooine, its first chronological appearance in canon.
After a brief stop off atCoruscant, the capital city-planet of the Republic, it’s back to Naboo to see off the greedy Trade Federation.
Episode II: Attack Of The Clones
Attack of the Clones doesn’t add a great deal to the roster, either. It’s Coruscant, Naboo, and Tatooine again; but Obi-Wan Kenobi also spends some time onKamino, a remote oceanic planet struck from the records of the Republic.
Kamino is populated by a society of cloners, who produce the Republic’s clone army – while the Separatists’ droid army is manufactured bythe insectoid beings of planet Geonosis, where Episode II’s climax takes place.
Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
Revenge of the Sith dials up the diversity when it comes to planets, fittingly so for a trilogy-capper. There’s the usual suspects (Naboo, Tatooine, and Coruscant once more feature) but we also get to seeUtapau, a cavernous land under siege by General Grievous. Yoda visitsKashyyyk, homeworld of the Wookiees, to help Chewbacca liberate his people from the Separatists – and who could forgetthe fiery expanses of Mustafar, where Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader is sealed?
DuringPalpatine’s execution of Order 66,we also get a quick montage of assorted Jedi being gunned down across the galaxy. While the planets they are on are not named, and are only shown for a couple of seconds each, we thought we’d acknowledge them in a quick list:
Endor
Episode IV: A New Hope
The original trilogy was, naturally, operating on greater budgetary and technological constraints than the glitzier prequels – so it’s perhaps to be expected that their planet roster isn’t gigantic. Episode IV: A New Hope adds only one planet we’ve yet to see:Yavin 4, where the Rebel base is located. The remainder of the plot takes place on Tatooine and on theDeath Star, an artificial space station.
We could technically countAlderaanhere, as it was the intended destination of the Falcon before the Death Star got its lasery mitts on it. However, it’snaught but rubbleby the time the characters arrive, so it would be rather sordid to add it to the list!
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back, meanwhile, tosses a few new contenders into the mix. We open onHoth, a barren snowy wastelandin which the Rebels are forced to set up shop following A New Hope. Luke trains with Yoda onDagobah, which is essentially one giant swamppopulated with altogether unpleasant fauna. Lastly, there’sCloud City on planet Bespin, run by Han’s old chum Lando Calrissian, who manages a mining business there.
Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
Return of the Jedi falls back on the familiar once again. Tatooine and Dagobah are all we get for the vast majority of the runtime – until the third act, when things shift tothe forest moon of Endor. Inhabited by cute, cuddly marketing opportunities known as Ewoks, it’s here that the Empire makes its last stand.
Emperor Palpatine falls in the second Death Star above, while Han, Leia, and the Ewoks fight the ground troops below.
Ahch-To, Canto Bight, Crait
The Rise of Skywalker
Exegol, Sinta Glacier, Cardovyte, Ivexia, Typhonic Nebula, Ajan Kloss, Pasaana, Kijimi, Kef Bir
The sequel trilogy, produced by Disney after their acquisition of Lucasfilm in the 2010s, has a curious case going on when it comes to planets. While most of them are technically “new,” it’s often in name only;their biomes and tropes deliberately evoke planets we’ve seen before, because nostalgia is nothing if not powerful trailer fodder.
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
The Force Awakens, then, makes this thesis statement abundantly clear off the bat. Our heroes Rey, Finn, and Poe all spend a hefty chunk of the story onJakku, a clear cipher for Tatooine. It’s a featureless desert where scavengers and junk traders eke out a living selling scrap. The second act takes us toTakodana, similar to Endor in its dense forestation and assortment of critters, and ontoD’Qar, a Rebel baseyou could be forgiven for mixing up with Yavin 4.
Lest we forgetthe First Order’s Starkiller Base, an upgraded Death Star-alike built intoIlum, a frigid world where Jedi of old harvested kyber crystals. It fires upon theNew Republic capital of Hosnian Prime, which we see for a split second before it’s obliterated.
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
The Last Jedi bucks a Star Wars trend (one of many it revels in bucking) by havingalmost all the action occur in space aboard a ship, as the Resistance seeks to outrun their foes. Aside from that, we join Rey onplanet Ahch-To,where she finds a grizzled, jaded Luke and must convince him to help the war effort.
Finn and his new pal Rose also busy themselves with a sidequest toCanto Bight, a planet known for its opulent casinos and ritzy society.Finally, the climax takes us toCrait, a mineral world whose white, salty surface is not a thousand miles away from the imagery of Hoth.
Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker
The Rise of Skywalker, as befits its kinetic, breakneck pace and status as the grand finale of the nine movies, has an embarrassment of riches planet-wise. Within the first ten minutes, we’ve been toExegol, a hidden world where Sith cultists work to revive Palpatine;Sinta Glacier, where a First Order mole awaits to deliver intelligence;Cardovyte, Ivexia, and the Typhonic Nebula, seen when Poe ‘lightspeed skips’ the Millennium Falcon; andAjan Kloss, yet another Rebel base.
This rapid-fire approach doesn’t let up, either. Next comesPasaana, a desert planet harbouring ancient secrets, then it’s ontoKijimi, the arctic home of Poe’s old flame Zorri Bliss. We then head toKef Bir, a planet neighbouring Endor where the Death Star ruins crash-landed, before ultimately circling back around to Exegol for the final battle. Episode IX easily sets the record!
Solo
Corellia, Mimban, Vandor, Kessel, Savareen
For a brief period, Star Wars flirted with the idea oftaking the MCU route and alternating each mainline film with a spinoff anthology flick. Whether it worked out is open for debate, but the ‘Story’ subseries managed two entries nonetheless.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One is a grittier, harsher movie than the usual Star Wars fare, highlighting the realities of war for common folk. As such, it shows off a broad selection of planets. First, there’sLah’mu, where young Jyn Erso lives in peace with her familyuntil her father is conscripted to work on the Death Star. Next comesKafrene, a backwater asteroidwhere agent Cassian Andor is sent to retrieve information.
There’s alsothe work camp on planet Wobani,where an adult Jyn is liberated by the Rebels;Jedha, a planet of great spiritual significance to the Jediand the base of insurgent Saw Gerrera;Eadu, a wet mountainous worldwith an Imperial presence; and most importantly,Scarif, where the Death Star plans are kept. The Battle of Scarif is easily near the top of the greatest Star Wars battles ever committed to film.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo is, to date, the last Star Wars anthology film, and explores the backstory of a young Han (played here by Alden Ehrenreich as opposed to Harrison Ford) starting out as a smuggler. Much like its Rogue One cousin, it boasts a rich tapestry of planetary destinations.
The events kick off inCorellia, the drab industrial world where Han and his girlfriend Qi’ra grew up– but it isn’t long before Han elects to join the Imperial army and isassigned to a battle on Mimban. There, he defects with smuggler Tobias Beckett and his crew, and with Chewbacca they pull offa coaxium heist on planet Vandor, which sees the death of Tobias’ lover, Val.
From there, the gang recruits scoundrel Lando Calrissian for an even bigger score onplanet Kessel, home of spice mines and forced manual labour. The Falcon completes the Kessel run in record time, and the story comes to a close onplanet Savareen, where through a series of twisty events the resources end up in the hands of a nascent Rebellion.
