In Star Wars, the Skywalker Saga tells the complete story of how Anakin Skywalker, Luke
Skywalker, and Rey Palpatine use the force to bring balance to the galaxy. Alongside these main films, many shows and spin-off movies have been released to tell more stories from the Star Wars universe. Come with me as I highlight various planets from these movies and shows, and provide a soundtrack from their perspective appearances which I feel shares that planet's story!
Coruscant
As a planet appearing as one giant city, Coruscant is a populous planet believed to be the homeworld of humanity in the Star Wars universe. The Jedi Temple is located on this large planet where younglings are trained to become Jedi and join the Jedi Order. One of these younglings was Anakin Skywalker, who was trained on Coruscant by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. Alongside the actions of the Jedi, the planet serves as the capital of the Galactic Republic, where the Galactic Senate is located. This Senate served as the governing body of the galaxy, even after the control of the Empire, becoming the Imperial Senate. This collapse, however, occurs due to the manipulation of Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. As Palpatine gains control of both the Republic as Chancellor and the Confederacy as Darth Sidious, his plans are set into motion. This leads to the Clone Wars occurring between the
organizations. The war ends with the false victory of the Republic and Order 66, resulting in the birth of the Galactic Empire. Order 66 also causes the destruction of the Jedi Order, where most Jedi are assassinated and all surviving Jedi go into hiding. In the end, however, once the Galactic Civil War is over and Palpatine is defeated, the Jedi and the galactic government are located on different planets and Coruscant simply becomes a member of the New Republic Senate.
Song - Palpatine's Teachings from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Kamino
As an aquatic planet, Kamino is the homeworld of the Kaminoans, who live in buildings above the water. These Kaminoans specialize in cloning and genetic engineering, though they mostly remained isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, however, has a vision of a galaxy-spanning conflict. This causes him to seek the Kaminoans to create a clone army for the Galactic Republic. The Sith, however, secretly take over the project, assassinate Sifo-Dyas, and select bounty hunter Jango Fett to be the genetic template for the army. They also add chips to all clones which will be used to control the clones during Order 66 by Palpatine. As the army is being constructed, Fett comes into conflict with Obi-Wan Kenobi, who tries to uncover the location of this unknown bounty hunter. This leads Kenobi to Kamino, who discovers the clone army, resulting in their commission during the Battle of
Geonosis, starting the Clone Wars. During the war, Kamino continues to produce and train more generations of clones until Order 66. With the establishment of the Empire, trained soldiers rather than clones are favored for the Imperial Army. As the cloning facilities are being decommissioned, however, the Bad Batch, a group of rogue clones with genetic mutations, leave Kamino with Omega, an experimental female clone. In the end, the facilities of Kamino are destroyed when the Bad Batch is reported to be on the planet.
Song - Omega's Theme from Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021)
Lothal
As a mostly vast and open planet, Lothal is a farming planet that willingly accepted control by the Empire. For most of its history, Lothal was ignored and used for its resources. Once the Galactic Empire was established, Lothal invited the Empire to the planet, causing it great economic growth. Not all citizens accepted this change, including the Bridgers, who spoke out against the Empire in secret. This caused the couple to be imprisoned, leaving their son, Ezra Bridger, to live alone on Lothal. One day, however, Ezra encounters the rebel crew of the Ghost. Kanan Jarrus, a member of the group, senses Ezra's abilities in the force and invites him to join the group. This leads to Lothal becoming a temporary base for the rebels
as Kanan, who is a former Jedi, trains Ezra to become a Jedi himself. Eventually, the actions of the Ghost gain the attention of Grand Moff Tarkin, who unsuccessfully tortures Kanan for answers. In response, Darth Vader puts Lothal on lockdown, with forces decreasing and
increasing as rebel presence shifts on the planet. This leads to Grand Admiral Thrawn taking over operations in Lothal, stripping the planet's resources to construct the new TIE Defender. This inspires the rebels to attack and liberate the planet, though their first attempt is stopped by Thrawn. In their second attempt, the rebel crew successfully defeats the impearl blockade and removes all troopers from the planet. This comes at a cost, however, as Kanan sacrifices himself to save the crew, and Ezra is taken into hyperspace when defeating Thrawn. In the end, Lothal becomes free from imperial control and gains true independence with the fall of the Empire.
Song - Rebel's Theme from Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)
Dagobah
As a planet consisting mostly of swamps and forests, Dagobah is a remote planet where Jedi Master Yoda goes for refuge after Order 66. Over time, Yoda establishes a home on Dagobah, building himself a hut to live in for the remainder of his life. After Luke Skywalker joins the Rebellion, however, late Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi sends Luke to train under Yoda. This leads the young Jedi to Dagobah, where Yoda reluctantly agrees to train Luke in the ways of the force. During this time, Luke enters the Cave of Evil, where he receives a vision of Darth Vader. This causes Luke to leave his training early, sensing his friends are in danger. Yoda and Obi-Wan try and reason with Luke, but he still leaves and promises to return. After his
friends are rescued, Luke returns to Dagobah to encounter a sick Yoda. Yoda tells Luke his training is complete, for now Luke needs to confront Vader one last time. Yoda then passes away, becoming one with the force.
Song - Yoda's Theme from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Exegol
As a desert planet in the Unknown Regions, Exegol is the homeworld of the Sith Eternal. During the reign of the Empire, this cult experimented with cloning to grant immortality to Emperor Palpatine. They also began developing a large army and fleet to be used by Palpatine in the future. With the fall and the Empire and defeat of Palpatine, the Sith were seemly gone forever. In secret, however, the Sith Eternal continued their plans and revived Palpatine through a cloned body. They also designed Snoke, a clone who became the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Eventually, Kylo Ren obtains a Sith Wayfinder, which leads him to Exegol to discover the Sith Eternal. This allows Palpatine to use Kylo Ren to bring Rey, a child of a Palpatine clone, to Exegol and announces his plans to control the galaxy once more through
his hidden fleet, calling it the Final Order. Unlike how Palpatine plans, however, when Rey arrives, she is able to defeat him with the help of the spirits of previous Jedi. At the same time, the Resistance and the Citizens' Fleet destroy the Final Order fleet, defeating the Sith Eternal for good and ending their war with the First Order.
Song - Journey to Exegol from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Tatooine
As a desert planet that was previously covered in oceans, Tatooine is the primary planet of the Star Wars universe. So far in every live-action movie and show, Tatooine has made an appearance, so we will have to see if this trend continues. The fame and consistence appearances of this planet, however, occur due to its important history. During the reign of the Galactic Republic, Tatooine was home to Anakin Skywalker. When Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn comes to the planet while escaping the Trade Federation, he encounters the young boy. Qui-Gon is convinced Anakin is the chosen one who will bring balance to the force, so he frees the boy from slavery to become a Jedi, but has to leave his mother behind. When the Republic falls due to Anakin's betrayal, Obi-Wan goes to Tatooine for refuge, but also to watch Luke Skywalker, who has been
hidden with his uncle, Owen Lars. Obi-Wan remains on the planet for most of his exile until he must save Luke's sister, Leia, who has been kidnapped by Inquisitors, dark side users who hunt Jedi after Order 66. In the end, the siblings remain hidden from their father, Vader, even after an Inquisitor almost assassinates Luke. After many years, however, the Empire eliminate Owen when they suspect he possesses a droid containing classified information, motivating Luke to become a Jedi. This eventually leads to the Rebel Alliance taking down the Empire, freeing Tatooine, but allowing crime syndicates to take over. Bounty Hunter Boba Fett, an
unaltered clone of Jango Fett, desires to end this oppression by taking over the throne of former crime lord Jabba the Hutt. With the help of Mandalorian Din Djarin and Bounty Hunter Fennec Shand, he is able to bring peace to Tatooine. Many years later, Rey Palpatine does bury Luke's and Leia's lightsaber in the sand beside Owen Lar's home. We do not know what has happened in Tatooine since Fett's control or the reign of the First Order, so we will have to wait for more future Star Wars projects to find out!
Song - Obi-Wan from Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and The Book of Boba Fett from The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
Through my post, I hope you learned more about the various planets across the Star Wars galaxy. While many of these planets have rich histories, others only have brief, but impactful stories. We will have to wait and see if any appear again in future Star Wars projects. While you wait, however, you can binge the previous movies or enjoy some tunes from every Star Wars soundtrack. If you seek the latter, please enjoy my Star Wars Mix playlist on the UCLP Teens' Spotify account. You can also use the embedded playlist attached below as well!
So, as you are enjoying a Star Wars project and watch as one of these planets is visited, just remember how large and unexplored our galaxy is. As wonders can be found across the Star Wars galaxy, so too undiscovered mysteries await in our world and other planets across the Milky Way, Andromeda, and beyond!