10 Most Exciting Star Wars Planets, & Why They're So Important

March 30, 2024, 6:10 p.m.

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10 Most Exciting Star Wars Planets, & Why They're So Important

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Summary Key planets like Tatooine are vital to Star Wars lore, but lesser-known planets like Alderaan offer unique insights and history.

Exegol, a dark planet that played a key role in The Rise of Skywalker, promises a chilling future for the Sith in the franchise.

Planets like Felucia and Ilum hold significant roles in Star Wars history, showcasing diverse landscapes and important storylines.

Throughout the years, Star Wars has introduced countless planets to the galaxy, with some of them being nothing more than placeholders or set dressing for the narrative to take place. However, there are some planets that are more interesting and often more important than the others. Not only are these planets visually distinctive, but they also hold valuable insight into the greater lore of the franchise.

Time and time again, Star Wars movies and TV shows have constantly returned to planets such as Tatooine, or its other desert counterparts. While these planets are important, they are seen so often in the franchise that everyone knows about them, what they’re like, and who generally has been to them. Other planets in the series like those below bring even more excitement to the scenes they are in, simply because there aren’t many times when viewers have the opportunity to see them.

Related All 23 Times Tatooine Has Appeared In Star Wars Movies & TV Shows Anakin and Luke Skywalker's famous homeworld, Tatooine, has appeared 23 times in Star Wars movies and TV shows, and here's a list of each appearance.

10 Alderaan Is A Series Staple With Little Development

Obi-Wan Kenobi Offered A Brief Glimpse Of The Planet

Known best as the planet on which Princess Leia Organa was hidden from her father Anakin Skywalker, Alderaan was once a lush mountain planet and one of the Core Worlds. Famous royal and politician Bail Organa was the representative of Alderaan in the prequel trilogy, eventually becoming Leia’s adoptive father. Scenes on the planet itself are few and far between, but Obi-Wan Kenobi showed life on the planet during Leia’s childhood as mostly peaceful.

Despite the fact that Alderaan is one of the oldest planets in all of Star Wars, it is shown remarkably little throughout the series. This is likely due to its destruction in A New Hope, as the entire planet was the first to be annihilated by the Death Star in an attempt to convince Leia to give up the location of the Rebellion. Even so, in the media that covers the time period before the planet’s destruction, it is seen very little.

9 Exegol Promised A Future For The Sith

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Was Just The Beginning

Located deep in the Unknown Regions, Exegol is a planet shrouded in darkness, only accessible through the use of a special device known as a Sith wayfinder. Rocky, deserted, and unforgiving, the planet hides beneath the surface an underground shipyard created by the Sith. Exegol was best seen in the final showdown between Darth Sidious and the Resistance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which depicted the icy blue darkness of the planet as well as the turbulent skies above.

It was on this planet that Darth Sidious’ Final Order went into effect. This started the production of an entire fleet of warships, as well as a cloning effort to bring Darth Sidious back to life. It was meant to be his throneworld from which he would take over the galaxy before his plans were foiled, and he was killed by Rey and Ben Solo.

8 Mustafar Is Important, But Rarely Explored

Darth Vader’s Rebirth Is Explored Further In The Comics

Once a beautiful planet teeming with life, Mustafar was nearly destroyed when Lady Corvax attempted to resurrect her husband using the Bright Star, an energy crystal that was sacred on Mustafar. The volcano planet is well known for the role it plays in the fall of Darth Vader, being the location for Anakin’s battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. It was on Mustafar that Anakin was turned into Darth Vader, and it was on Mustafar that Vader would eventually make his home, building a fortress amongst the planet’s flowing lava.

The Darth Vader comics expand upon the planet’s role in his life, showing in detail the atrocities he commits against the people still living on Mustafar. It would become his new base of operations during the time of the Empire as opposed to the Death Star. It is also on Mustafar that Vader created the Inquisitorious, turning Force-sensitive individuals into warriors and his own personal assassins.

Related Star Wars: All 14 Inquisitors In Canon Explained Star Wars' Inquisitors were Darth Vader's elite death squad of Jedi-killing dark side users. Who were these Imperial agents and what were their fates?

7 Coruscant Has Changed Drastically Over The Decades

The City Has So Much Left To Explore

Unique to the cities that spread across the entire planet, Coruscant is functionally the center of the entire galaxy. It always manages to be in the middle of some conflict or another and has taken center stage in galactic politics time and time again, likely due to its massive population and location. At different points in history, the city has changed drastically depending on who is currently in power, with Coruscant under Imperial rule rarely explored in film.

Coruscant is functionally the center of the entire galaxy.

Not only is this the planet that once housed the Jedi Temple, but it was also the center for galactic politics with the Senate. Countless negotiations have taken place here, with individuals from all the different planets gathering in order to make decisions for the betterment of the galaxy. It is considered the galaxy’s capital, and it was the final location in which Chancellor Palpatine ascended to his throne as Emperor, creating his Imperial Senate.

6 Mortis Is A Mysterious Planet With A Complicated History

The Origins Of The Force Could Lie On Mortis

Little is known about the ethereal planet Mortis, aside from its powerful connection to the Force. It is not a planet that can be traveled to willingly, as the planet draws individuals in on its own terms, and over the years it has even appeared in different places across the galactic map. Mortis made its first appearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3, episode 15 “Overlords,” in which Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano are drawn in by a family of powerful Force-users who aim to determine whether Anakin is the Chosen One.

This family of Force-users was referred to as The Ones, also known as the Mortis gods. They represented the different sides of the Force, with the Daughter representing light, the Son representing darkness, and the Father representing balance. Sculptures of the three of them were present on Peridea, hinting at their future involvement in the franchise.

5 Felucia Is One Of The Most Unique Star Wars Planets

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Showed Felucia Off The Best

Although the planet makes at best a brief appearance in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Felucia is featured in several important Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes. Known for its unique appearance and colorful jungles, the planet was an agricultural empire and the headquarters of the Commerce Guild. The odd-looking nysillin plants growing on Felucia were also a valuable resource, as they were potent herbs used to heal wounds.

The planet became a battleground during the Clone Wars due to its location along the Perlemian Trade Route, making it the perfect target for Separatists and pirates alike. The battle continued to rage at the end of the Clone Wars, all the way up until Order 66 was executed. It is on Felucia that Jedi Master Aayla Secura was killed, executed during Order 66 by the clones under her command.

4 Ilum Was Once A Sacred Place For The Jedi

Jedi: Fallen Order Barely Scratched The Surface

Before the Great Jedi Purge, Ilum was an icy planet to which Jedi younglings would venture in order to receive their first kyber crystals, the crystals required for crafting lightsabers. This sacred rite was known as The Gathering, and it was meant to begin the process of more properly attuning to the Force for these young initiates. The Gathering involved different trials for each youngling as well, as seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 5, episode 6 “The Gathering.”

When the Empire took over and the Jedi were all but wiped out, they began mining Ilum for all the kyber crystals the planet had. They used these kyber crystals to create the Death Star, as they were the perfect catalyst for the planet-destroying machine. Despite this danger and the Empire’s presence, Cal Kestis eventually underwent the rite of The Gathering during this period in time in order to find a new kyber crystal for his lightsaber.

Related All 13 Star Wars Planets Players Can Visit In Cal Kestis' Jedi Games, Ranked Star Wars Jedi games have some of the most breathtaking and detailed planets found in any Star Wars game for Cal and players to explore.

3 Malachor Is A Frightening Sith Planet With A Variable Past

The Planet Once Played A Role In Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic

Malachor was once the site of a horrific tragedy known as the Great Scourge of Malachor, in which a massive superweapon detonated during an ancient battle between Jedi and Sith forces. This explosion left the planet devastated and devoid of life, allowing the planet to be fully taken by the Sith. The planet's fate mirrors that of its Star Wars Legends cousin Malachor V, which was similarly destroyed during the Mandalorian Wars by a weapon known as the Mass Shadow Generator.

It is also on Malachor that Ahsoka faced off against her old master, Darth Vader.

In canon, Ezra Bridger visited this planet in Star Wars Rebels, along with Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul, and Kanan Jarrus. It is there that the group found a dangerous Sith Holocron, a device filled with ancient Sith knowledge that can only be opened using the dark side of the Force. It is also on Malachor that Ahsoka faced off against her old master, Darth Vader, seeing just what Anakin had become in the years since she had last seen him.

2 Mandalore’s Future Rests In The Hands Of Bo-Katan

The Mandalorian Was Not The Planet’s First Appearance

The home planet of the Mandalorian people has made countless appearances in Star Wars canon, each of them surrounded by strife and bloodshed. When the planet appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars it was famously during the Siege of Mandalore, in which Darth Maul was exerting his influence to conquer the planet through combat. Some time later, the planet was nearly destroyed during the Great Purge of Mandalore when the Empire started bombing Mandalore to the point that it was eventually considered uninhabitable.

Mandalore's most recent appearance in The Mandalorian has since been more hopeful, as it was revealed that the planet below the rubble is still, in fact, habitable. There is room to rebuild, and under their ruler, Bo-Katan Kryze, it seems that Mandalore may rise again. For now, viewers will have to wait and see what the future of the franchise holds.

1 Dathomir Holds The Future Of The Franchise

The End Of Ahsoka Promises Big Things For The Future

As a planet best known for the characters that come out of it, Dathomir is an interesting example of what a Star Wars planet can be. Inhospitable and once called home to characters such as Darth Maul and Asajj Ventress, it is best known for its ties to ancient Force magic. The Nightsisters famously hail from Dathomir, who were originally introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and are powerful witches with a tendency towards the darker sides of the Force.

Though the planet made a very compelling appearance in Jedi: Fallen Order where the player is able to explore as Cal Kestis, Dathomir came back into public consciousness in a very big way in the season finale of Ahsoka. Not only was it earlier revealed that Morgan Elsbeth is herself a Nightsister, but there were Nightsisters exiled to the extragalactic planet of Peridea as well. With such a heavy focus on the Nightsister threat and the planet Dathomir itself on the horizon at the end of the series, it is clear that this planet will be vital to Star Wars' future.

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