7 key takeaways from the official Star Wars galaxy map

If you have ever wondered how far Naboo is from Coruscant or where in the galaxy Lothal or Ferrix are located, you finally have an answer that you can consider canon.

Lucasfilm has released an official map of the Star Wars galaxy, the first of its kind to include all the planets we have heard of in the franchise and more. It was revealed on the official website's cartography page, initially created for Jason Fry’s 2009 reference book Star Wars: The Essential Atlas. Based on the 2021 Star Wars Celebration poster designed by Christopher Ibbit of DK, the map shows the galaxy divided into regions: Core Worlds, Colonies, Inner Rim, Outer Rim, Hutt Space, and others.

The map comes with a 59-page database of all the systems, their respective sectors, regions, and grid numbers. It is impossible to scan for any given planet without further zooming in, but a quick glance will show you the capital city of Coruscant in the yellow-marked Core and the desert moon of Jedha in the pink Mid Rim.

Fry wrote on his Substack that Lucasfilm plans to update the map with periodic revisions and appendices. He added that regional maps with sector borders will be unveiled in the future, focusing on the Inner Rim, Colonies, Core, and Deep Core.

In addition to giving fans a reason to nerd out, the map reveals, retcons, or refers to specific details that impact the existing lore of Star Wars. Let’s take a look at some of them.

The absence of Kamino and Peridea

It has not eluded the fans that one of the missing worlds on the map is Kamino, home to the long-necked cloners who created and nurtured the massive clone army for the Galactic Republic. Fry explains that its absence is not an oversight. It is a conscious decision as Kamino is an “extragalactic” world, which means it is located in a different galaxy.

However, fans loved pitching that it could have been a well-curated reference to the prequel movies:

In Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi comes upon Kamino while chasing Jango Fett after an assassination attempt on Padme Amidala. During his investigation, he finds out that the planet’s existence had been erased from the Jedi records. It was removed by Count Dooku to cover up the creation of the army after he arranged for Sifo-Dyas’ murder.

Interestingly, Kamino is supposed to belong to the Abrion sector, which is mentioned multiple times in the database. Two major worlds mentioned on Andor—Narkina and Scarif—are also in this sector.

Then there's Peridea, the planet to which Ezra Bridger and Thrawn disappeared at the end of Star Wars Rebels, as fans learned in Ahsoka. Peridea is in a place that cannot be reached without complex calculations or the help of purrgils. Sabine and Ahsoka Tano are now stuck on the world.

Narkina, Scarif, and Tatooine

Narkina is the world that changed Cassian Andor's life, and Scarif is where it ended. It is poignant that the two planets are awfully close to one another. After being arrested on Niamos (also an Outer Rim planet) for literally doing nothing, Cassian is imprisoned on Narkina 5. There he meets Kino Loy, Ruescott Melshi, and other inmates unknowingly helping the Empire build the Death Star.

In a twist of irony, the same Death Star later wipes out Scarif, where Cassian, Jyn Erso, the Rogue One squad, and several other rebel pilots die trying to steal the Death Star plans. The ending of Rogue One directly connects with the beginning of A New Hope, where C-3PO and R2-D2 crash into the sands of Tatooine, kickstarting the series of events that we know as the Original Trilogy.

A close look at this part of the map reveals that Tatooine is indeed quite close to Scarif. It would make sense for Darth Vader to catch up with Princess Leia’s ship within those few parsecs. Interestingly, the rebel home base of Yavin, where Leia should’ve been headed, is on the other side of the Outer Rim Territories. Maybe Leia was trying to throw the Empire off the scent, or hyperspace travel just works very differently than our usual to and fro.

Rebel activities in Andor

The map further fleshes out the different events of Andor and provides more clarity to the many rebel activities. Ferrix, Cassian’s adopted home planet, is located very close to the Corporate Sector, an element that heavily impacts the show's first season. Ghorman, the world brutally invaded by the Empire in the second season, lies on the Rimma Trade Route in the Colonies. That makes sense given that trading was one of the planet's primary sources of revenue.

Planets like Steergard and Spellhaus can be seen along the Hydian Way in the Outer Rim, a few parsecs away from Ferrix. On Andor, we hear that both planets are part of the Rebellion’s offensive attacks on the Empire. Cassian had stolen the Starpath unit from a naval yard on Steergard, and Anton Kreegyr’s men attacked Spellhaus, although they walked into a trap and perished.

Aldhani, the world where Cassian and Vel’s team carry out the heist of the Imperial payroll, is located close to Spellhaus, while Yavin stands close to Steergard. This paints a better picture of the localization of rebel movements during the years leading up to the Battle of Yavin.

At Attin has an interesting neighbor

At Attin, the forested planet where the young adventurers of Skeleton Crew grew up, is very near another important Star Wars world: Dathomir. The Galactic Republic hid At Attin from the wider galaxy as part of their Great Work. But given that Dathomir was home to the Nightsisters, one wonders if the witches knew what was happening on their neighboring planet. Dathomir is where Asajj Ventress, Darth Maul, and Savage Opress were born.

At the end of Ahsoka season 1, Grand Admiral Thrawn made way for Dathomir with his remaining Imperial troops and the Nightsisters of Peridea. Given that Dave Filoni’s grand Mando-verse movie is expected to tie up plot threads from all the New Republic era Disney+ shows, one could see a crossover between the narratives surrounding Dathomir and At Attin.

Wayland is pretty close to Pabu

Pabu, where Clone Force 99 houses the community of displaced individuals in The Bad Batch, is located at the far edge of the Outer Rim. That explains why it would be a safe refuge for the community. However, it also makes the season 3 hunt for Omega across the galaxy multiple times all the more tragic. Omega was being held prisoner on Wayland, another planet in the Outer Rim. While Wayland isn’t exactly next door from Pabu, it was definitely much closer to home.

Dawn of the Jedi foreshadowing

The location of two Unknown Regions planets, Rakata Prime and Ach-To, has sparked theories surrounding James Mangold’s upcoming Dawn of the Jedi movie. That film is set to explore the origins of the Jedi Order around 25,000 BBY. It could feature Ach-To, the world where the first Jedi Temple was built. Jedha, another planet with an ancient and sacred Jedi Temple, is nearby.

Andor season 2 name-dropped the Rakatan invasion, confirming that it took place 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. Many believe that the mention of the incident and the location of the two worlds are setting up for the events of Mangold’s movie. Moreover, Beau Willimon, one of the writers on Andor, is also working on Dawn of the Jedi.

The planets of Rebels

If you are a Rebels fan like me, the close location of all the major planets from the show may interest you. Lothal, where the show begins and ends, is in the Outer Rim north of the Hutt Space. Its grid location almost overlaps with Garel, the world the “Ghost” crew moves to after their covers are blown on Lothal.

Both planets are half a grid away from Atollon, the preliminary rebel base Thrawn eventually destroys in an all-out attack. It is also where Kanan meets Bendu, an ancient Force being who believed firmly in centrism.

The famous Archeon Nebula forms a triangle with Lothal-Garel and Atollon. Hera masterfully navigates the “Ghost” through this nebula while rescuing Mon Mothma from the Empire in the episode “Secret Cargo.” Next to Atollon is Mykapo, Commander Jun Sato’s home planet, and Mon Cala, the native world of Admirals Raddus and Ackbar.

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