Like hundreds of thousands of other people on this planet I love the original Star Wars trilogy. Just about everybody has seen the Star Wars movies and most people have seen them dozens of times. However, you can’t always tell. The Star Wars universe can be a very complex one at times. There are all these different creatures and places and vehicles and they all have these strange names. So even though you’ve seen the trilogy dozens of times you can’t always name things properly. This leads to someone asking you a question and you don’t look like you know what you’re talking about. Well I’m here to help. If you think the beginning of Empire Strikes Back takes place in “that place with all the snow where they cut up that thing and sleep inside” or you think the beginning of Return of the Jedi is in “that big desert with the big pit that people fall in” then this article is for you.
Most movies are very simple. They either take place on Earth or they take place on some other planet. Occasionally there will be a movie where you visit two different planets but Star Wars goes far beyond that. If you take into consideration all the movies, cartoons, books and comic books there are 486 planets in the Star Wars universe. Fortunately when it comes to the movies you can get by on knowing just some of the main planets.
Bespin – The planet of Bespin appears in Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back. Bespin is a giant gas surrounded by a number of moons. Due to the amount of gas there are many clouds in the planet of Bespin. That is where the most famous city in Bespin, Cloud City, got its name. Cloud City is run by Lando Calrissian which plays a big part in Empire Strikes Back. Cloud City is where Han Solo is put in carbonite and is also where Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker have their first battle which ends with Luke Skywalker losing his hand.
Coruscant – Coruscant is the very large city you will commonly see in the new trilogy, Star Wars Episodes I – II. When Coruscant was built they covered every single inch of land with buildings. The city began to grow so they had to expand somehow. So they build new buildings on top of the old ones. The population of Coruscant is one trillion. When Obi Wan Kenobi is described it is said that he has a Coruscant accent. Since in the movies Obi Wan Kenobi is played by Ewan McGregor it is believed that Coruscants talk with British accents.
Dagobah – Dagobah is a planet covered in swamp and the planet is not known by many since it doesn’t appear on any starcharts. After the attack on the Jedi in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Yoda retreats to Dagobah so he won’t be found. Dagobah is probably most known among Star Wars as the place where Luke Skywalker and Yoda meet in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Obi Wan Kenobi sends Luke Skywalker to train under Yoda to become a Jedi Master. It is in Dagobah where Yoda says such wise words like “Do or do not. There is no try.” and “Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.” Whatever that means.
Endor – Endor is known for one thing. Ewoks! That’s right Endor is the forest area at the end of the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi where those furry little teddy bears destroy those big powerful Empire robots. I don’t know how, whenever I play with my teddy bears and robots in my room my robots always win, but whatever. Endor wasn’t a complete bust though; we at least got that cool speeder bike chase scene.
Hoth – Hoth is that “land with all the snow” I was talking about earlier. Star Wars: Empire Strikes back begins on the planet Hoth. Hoth is known to have two creatures living there, wampa ice creatures and tauntauns, both of which we see in Empire Strikes Back. The Rebel Alliance has built a base inside the snowy mountains of Hoth called the Echo Base. Hoth is probably best known for what is probably the best battle in the Star Wars series. An Imperial probe droid spots the Rebel Alliance’s base in Hoth and reports back to Darth Vader. An Imperial Death Squadron then attacks the Echo Base. One scene in the battle on Hoth that everybody probably remember is when Luke Skywalker takes down one of the AT-ATs by tying it’s legs together. That trick never gets old.
Naboo – Naboo is the planet where most of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace takes place. Naboo is lead by Queen Amidala. The Naboo are a peaceful human race and they share their planet with the Gungans, Jar Jar Binks’ race. That means that Naboo ranks right below Endor on my list of Star Wars planets to visit. There is one thing good about Naboo; it is where Darth Maul has his light saber battle with Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. It’s probably my favorite saber fight of the whole series and if you sit through the first hour of that movie you deserve to get a good light saber fight.
Tantooine – After the attack on the Jedi in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Luke Skywalker is sent to live in Tantooine. Tantooine is the desert area we see at the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope. It is where Luke Skywalker encounters Tusken Raiders and Jawas. It is where he meets Obi Wan Kenobi for the first time and it’s where he buys R2-D2 and C-3PO. Many years earlier Luke’s father Anakin Skywalker also lived on Tantooine. This takes place in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. You may remember Tantooine as the place where Anakin Skywalker had his pod races. It is also on Tantooine, in a bar called Mos Eisley Cantina, that we meet Han Solo and Chewbacca for the first time.
So those are some of the planets to remember. If you can remember all of those then you won’t look like an idiot when your friends ask you about a certain planet in the Star Wars Universe. I have now taught you everything I know. You’ll have to find someone else to help you with learning the other 479 planets.
