Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, despite it being the final installment in the saga, introduces us to many new locations as the battle between the Resistance, First Order and Sith spreads throughout the galaxy. However, while we get to see places like Exegol, Ajan Kloss and Kijimi for the first time, we also get taken back to past places like Tatooine, Mustafar, and Endor at various points throughout the blockbuster.
So we’re now going to take a look at some information you probably didn’t know about each place we see in the movie, new or old.
Mustafar
The last time we saw Mustafar in Rogue One, it appeared just as fiery and uninhabitable as ever. After all, who would want to live in a place where there’s a substantial risk of you getting covered in lava? Unless you’re Darth Vader, of course, who has already been there and done that.
But the planet is actually inhabited by Sith Colonists, many of which worshipped Vader and traveled to the planet as an act of pilgrimage. These are the people we see Kylo Ren brutally murdering at the start of the movie, cutting them down before his Stormtroopers can catch up.
Exegol
Exegol is the second planet we see in The Rise of Skywalker and where Kylo Ren meets Palpatine for the first time. It’s clearly a place full of darkness and mystique, one that no ordinary person is able to come across due to the complexity of getting there.
There’s a lot of lightning that lashes against the planet’s dusty surface and many fans assumed this was down to Palpatine. However, it’s actually because of the dry conditions and rubbing of its crust. Together this creates static - which is why the place is full of lightning at all times (even before Palpatine fires it himself).
Ajan Kloss
The next planet we see is Ajan Kloss, where Rey is meditating with rocks in an attempt to reach out to the Jedi of the past. Her mission is unsuccessful but she then embarks on an obstacle course, sprinting around the beautiful, green environment and slicing down trees when she gets frustrated.
But why did the Resistance choose it to be their next base? Well, that may have been down to Leia Organa, who acts as Rey’s Jedi Master following the death of Luke Skywalker at the end of The Last Jedi. The overgrown jungle environment is said to resonate with life through the force, making it the perfect place for Rey to get some long-overdue training.
Pasaana
We’ve seen desert places in the forms of Tatooine and Jakku over the years and Pasaana, like the others, appears a harsh place to live.
And it’s of little importance to the First Order, who don’t really have a presence there. They do in The Rise of Skywalker due to the Festival of the Ancestors but, for the most part, they stay away. That’s because the planet lacks any resources and has a tiny population - which is seemingly enough for them to stay safe while the First Order reigns chaos on the rest of the galaxy.
Kijimi
Rey, Finn, and Poe travel to the planet of Kijimi to enlist the help of the mercurial Babu Frikk, who is charged with the task of getting into C3-PO’s mind in order for the droid to translate some writing on an old Sith dagger. It’s so cold that they have to wear cloaks and it’s covered in snow, which is a nice little nod to the other snowy planet in the Star Wars universe, Hoth.
And temperatures there don’t really improve. Its average is -25, meaning it’s somewhere you wouldn’t necessarily want to go on vacation. We certainly wouldn’t, we’d prefer somewhere much warmer instead.
Kef Ber
When The Rise of Skywalker movie trailer released, many thought that the Death Star wreckage had landed back on the forest moon on Endor. However, that wasn’t the case, with the bulk of the remains of the space station falling onto the planet of Kef Ber instead.
That’s where Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, C3-Po, BB8 and D-0 all travel to in order to look for the wayfinder that will lead them to Exegol and Palpatine in the process. What you probably didn’t know, though, that there’s a far greater risk involved in falling into the water than drowning. It’s been poisoned due to toxins from the Death Star which has made it tricky for Aquatic life to survive.
Ach’ To
We genuinely thought we’d seen the last of Ach’ To following Luke Skywalker’s big sacrifice at the end of The Last Jedi. But that wasn’t the case, with Rey traveling there to exile herself after coming extremely close to killing Kylo Ren during their epic showdown on Kef Ber.
And what’s synonymous with Ach’ To? Porgs of course! Porgs have been spreading throughout the galaxy ever since a few of them were able to jump on board the Millennium Falcon in the last movie. A few are probably on Crait but they’re now growing all over. Let’s just hope Chewbacca doesn’t kill and roast any more of them…
Endor
We’re now onto the planets that are glimpsed just briefly towards the end of The Rise of Skywalker, with people around the galaxy celebrating the defeat of the First Order - just like they did the Galactic Empire at the end of Return of the Jedi back in 1983.
Ewoks are glimpsed at the end, putting to bed any claims they’d have been killed once the remains of the Death Star fell on them. However, the atmosphere around the planet meant that the ruins weren’t able to hit the surface. And that means we can sleep easy knowing the galaxy’s cuddliest creatures are safe from harm.
Jakku
Another planet we catch a glimpse of is Jakku, the harsh desert world where Rey grew up after being saved from Palpatine by her doting parents.
And here’s a fun fact: the three desert planets we see throughout the saga - Jakku, Tatooine, and Pasaana - were all filmed at different locations. The former was shot in Abu Dhabi, the latter (in the original trilogy at least) in Tunisia and the Pasaana scenes were put together in Jordan.
Tatooine
Tatooine is where the story really started way back in 1977 and Disney brings things full circle, with The Rise of Skywalker ending with Rey on the planet, burying the lightsabers of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa and forging a new, yellow blade of her own.
It’s not the nicest place to live, with Anakin Skywalker, in particular, hating it. Sand aside, it’s also extremely dangerous with the Hutts having a tight iron fist on the place for the most part. However, it’s revealed in The Mandalorian that the Hutts, all these years on, still haven’t settled on an heir to Jabba, who was choked to death by Leia in Return of the Jedi all those years ago. Clearly giant slugs aren’t the fastest…
