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Gas giant world · Outer Rim · K-18
Bespin
A gas giant with a breathable cloud layer, where Lando Calrissian's floating Cloud City hangs.
- Region
- Outer Rim
- Grid
- K-18
- Sector
- Anoat
- System
- Bespin
- Moons
- 2
- Climate
- Breathable cloud layer
- Terrain
- Gas layers, cloud banks, floating platforms
Overview
Bespin is a gas giant in the Outer Rim, a planet with no solid ground for anyone to stand on. Only a thin band of its atmosphere can be breathed, and that narrow layer is where everything happens[1]. Above and below it lie the gas layers and endless cloud banks that make up the rest of the world[1].
People come for tibanna, a valuable gas mined from the depths of the planet[1]. Prospectors built floating mining platforms to harvest it, and Cloud City grew into the best known of them[1]. From the city the sky is a sea of sunset-coloured cloud bands, with moons hanging above them[1].
Cloud City is run by Lando Calrissian and works as a refuge for people fleeing the galaxy's turmoil[2]. Miners, traders, engineers and gas-processing crews keep its platforms working, among them the Ugnaughts[1][2].
Who lives here
Ugnaughts
Not natives, but the one species tied to Bespin. They work in Cloud City's gas-processing and engineering levels, though their origin is elsewhere[1].
Cloud City colonists
Miners, traders and refugees who settled in the floating city, which offered shelter to people fleeing the galaxy's turmoil[2].
Role in the galaxy
Bespin matters because of what hangs in its sky. The gas giant's narrow habitable layer is valuable for the tibanna mined from its depths, and Cloud City, a floating mining colony run by Lando Calrissian, became its best-known settlement[1][2]. It is a place built for trade and refuge rather than for war.
That neutrality is what makes it attractive to people on the run. Far from the Core and the Empire's main fleets, a city that asks few questions is a natural stop for smugglers looking for repairs and old friends[2].
Chronicle
Events are in story order. Spoilers stay hidden until you open them — or mark the title as watched on the timeline, and they open by themselves.
-
The High Republic
Prospectors build floating mining complexes to harvest tibanna gas, and Cloud City grows into the best known of them[1].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
During the Galactic Civil War the Empire sends a garrison to Bespin and takes over Cloud City, with Darth Vader waiting there for the Millennium Falcon[2].
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3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
Spoiler · Episode V — The Empire Strikes BackShowYou've watched it
Han Solo is frozen in carbonite in Cloud City's carbon-freezing chamber and handed to Boba Fett for delivery to Jabba. Lando turns against the Empire and helps Leia and Chewbacca escape[3].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
Spoiler · Episode V — The Empire Strikes BackShowYou've watched it
Luke Skywalker duels Vader on a Cloud City gantry, loses his hand, learns that Vader is his father and drops down a shaft before the Falcon picks him up[3].
-
4 ABY
Episode VI — Return of the Jedi
Spoiler · Episode VI — Return of the JediShowYou've watched it
After the Emperor's defeat at the Battle of Endor, Bespin and Cloud City regain their freedom from the Empire[2].
Where to see Bespin
Every film, series and game in the timeline where Bespin appears, in watch order.
Filmed on Earth
Bespin was created in the studio and with visual effects — there is no real location to visit.
Did you know?
- An early draft by Leigh Brackett gave the name Hoth to the cloud planet that later became Bespin[5].
- Ralph McQuarrie's early concept sketches for a city-planet version of Alderaan looked a lot like Cloud City[6].
- Lobot, the aide who helps run Cloud City, is plugged directly into the city's central computer[2].
Questions about Bespin
Where is Bespin in Star Wars?
Bespin is a gas giant in the Anoat sector of the Outer Rim, at grid square K-18 of the galaxy map. Cloud City floats in its breathable cloud layer[4].