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Rocky world · Outer Rim · R-16
Geonosis
A red desert world of towering insect hives, where the Separatists built their droid armies.
- Region
- Outer Rim
- Grid
- R-16
- Sector
- Arkanis
- System
- Geonosis
- Suns
- 1
- Moons
- 15
- Climate
- Arid and harsh
- Terrain
- Rocky desert, mountains, spire-hives, catacombs
- Inhabitants
- Geonosians, Orray, Brain worms
Overview
Geonosis is a dry, rocky desert planet in the Outer Rim, just beyond the Republic's borders and close to Tatooine. Red-brown badlands, mountains and rocky plains stretch beneath planetary rings, and tall spire-hives rise from the ground[1].
The Geonosians, winged insectoid hive-dwellers, live in those spires and in the catacombs beneath them. Their hives run foundries that turn out droids and weapons, which is why the Separatists value the planet so highly and why the battle droids that invaded Naboo trace back to its factories[2][3].
Geonosis lies in the Arkanis sector and appears in Attack of the Clones, The Clone Wars and the game Star Wars Battlefront II[1]. Its arena, the Petranaki, is a landmark in its own right: it keeps dangerous creatures from other worlds, among them the nexu, reek and acklay[4].
Who lives here
Geonosians
Winged insectoid hive-dwellers who live in tall spire-hives, run droid and weapons foundries and support the Separatists[2].
Orray
A native creature of the Geonosian deserts, one of the wild animals that share the planet with the Geonosians[1].
Brain worms
Native parasites of the planet. In The Clone Wars they take over Geonosian hosts[1].
Arena beasts
Not natives. The nexu, reek and acklay are dangerous creatures imported to be kept for the Petranaki arena[4].
Role in the galaxy
Geonosis is the Separatists' workshop. Its hives, under Archduke Poggle the Lesser, build the battle droids and weapons that Count Dooku's movement depends on, and the same droids were first seen invading Naboo[3].
The planet's position helps. It lies just beyond the Republic's borders, close to Tatooine, and the Geonosians, who live in spire-hives and catacombs, back the Separatist cause[1][2]. Behind the public leaders sits a hidden queen, Karina the Great, who guides them from beneath the Progate Temple[2]. Attack of the Clones introduces the planet, and The Clone Wars later returns to its factories[1].
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.
-
≈ 24 BBY
Archduke Poggle the Lesser's hives build the battle droids used to invade Naboo, and later pledge weapons and Death Star plans to Count Dooku and the Separatists[3].
-
22 BBY
Episode II — Attack of the Clones
Obi-Wan Kenobi tracks Jango Fett to Geonosis, finds the droid foundries and a meeting of the Separatist leaders, and is captured[1].
-
22 BBY
Episode II — Attack of the Clones
Spoiler · Episode II — Attack of the ClonesShowYou've watched it
Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé are sentenced to death in the Petranaki arena. Jedi led by Mace Windu arrive, then clone troopers, and the fight becomes the first battle of the Clone Wars. Mace Windu kills Jango Fett[5].
-
≈ 21 BBY
After his first defeat, Poggle restarts the foundries, which prompts a second Republic invasion. Poggle is captured, and Ahsoka and Barriss Offee help destroy a factory from the inside[3].
-
≈ 9 BBY
To protect the secrecy of the Death Star project, the Empire builds the battle station near Geonosis and sterilises the planet's surface, killing nearly all Geonosians[1].
Heroes from Geonosis
Where to see Geonosis
Every film, series and game in the timeline where Geonosis appears, in watch order.
Filmed on Earth
Geonosis was created in the studio and with visual effects — there is no real location to visit.
Did you know?
- Geonosis lies less than a parsec from Tatooine, which makes the two desert worlds close neighbours[1].
- The name is thought to come from 'geognosis', a Greek term for knowledge of the earth, and the planet's landscapes were inspired by the American West, such as Monument Valley[4].
- Attack of the Clones built Geonosis almost entirely from digital sets: actors were shot against a blue screen and composited onto computer-built environments[4].
Questions about Geonosis
Where was Geonosis filmed?
Nowhere real: Geonosis was built mostly from digital sets for Attack of the Clones. Actors were shot against a blue screen, and the landscapes were inspired by the American West, such as Monument Valley[4].
Where is Geonosis in Star Wars?
Geonosis is an Outer Rim desert planet in the Arkanis sector, just beyond the Republic's borders and less than a parsec from Tatooine. On the galaxy map it sits in grid square R-16, right beside Tatooine.