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Desert world · Inner Rim · I-13
Jakku
A hot desert world strewn with crashed starships, where scavengers trade wreckage for food.
- Region
- Inner Rim
- Grid
- I-13
- Sector
- Jakku's
- System
- Jakku
- Suns
- 1
- Moons
- 2
- Climate
- Arid, cold nights
- Terrain
- Desert, dunes, canyons, wreckage fields
- Inhabitants
- Teedos
Overview
Jakku is a barren desert planet on the western edge of the galaxy. Its land is endless dunes and canyons under a hazy, pale sky, with hot days and cold nights[1][6].
The scenery is a leftover of war. The Empire once ran a secret research base here and used the planet as a jumping-off point for ships heading into the Unknown Regions[1]. Late in the Galactic Civil War, Imperial and New Republic fleets fought a huge battle over and on the planet, and the ships shot down in it still lie where they fell[6]. People call the fields of wrecks the Graveyard of Ships[6].
The wrecks feed a salvage economy. Scavengers of many species gather at Niima Outpost, haul in parts from the wreckage and swap them for portions of food, while small reptilian nomads called Teedos roam the wastes beyond[1].
Who lives here
Teedos
Small reptilian nomads wrapped in cloth who roam the wastes, often riding luggabeasts. They are native to Jakku[1][6].
Niima Outpost scavengers
Salvagers, refugees and outlaws of many species who pick through the wrecks of the old battle and trade the parts for food portions. They are not natives, but they make up most of the planet's day-to-day population[1].
Crolutes
Unkar Plutt, a Crolute junkboss, runs the salvage trade at Niima Outpost and pays the scavengers in rations[4].
Happabores
Heat-hardy pack beasts, the kind Finn finds at Niima while he searches for water. They live on several worlds, not on Jakku alone[5].
Role in the galaxy
Jakku matters because of what the old war left behind. The Empire used it for a secret research base and as a jumping-off point toward the Unknown Regions, so the planet became the site of the Empire's last stand against the New Republic fleet[1]. The wrecks fed a salvage economy that kept generations of scavengers alive, among them Rey[1][2].
Decades later the planet drew attention again. A map to Luke Skywalker was entrusted to a village on Jakku, which pulled the First Order and the Resistance onto the planet in search of it[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.
-
Age of Rebellion
Late in the Galactic Civil War the Empire runs a secret research base on Jakku and uses the planet as a staging point for warships heading into the Unknown Regions[1].
-
5 ABY
In 5 ABY Imperial and New Republic fleets fight above and on the planet in the last major battle of the Galactic Civil War. The ships shot down in the fight become the Graveyard of Ships[6].
-
≈ 21 ABY
Episode VII — The Force AwakensEpisode IX — The Rise of Skywalker
Spoiler · Episode IX — The Rise of SkywalkerShowYou've watched it
Rey is left on Jakku as a small child and grows up scavenging wrecks to survive. The Rise of Skywalker reveals that her parents hid her there on purpose, to protect her from Palpatine[2].
-
34 ABY
Episode VII — The Force Awakens
Spoiler · Episode VII — The Force AwakensShowYou've watched it
First Order stormtroopers attack the village of Tuanul to get a map to Luke Skywalker. Poe Dameron hides the map data in BB-8, Finn refuses to fire on the villagers, and Kylo Ren kills Lor San Tekka[3].
-
34 ABY
Episode VII — The Force Awakens
Rey, who has taken BB-8 in, and Finn flee Jakku together while the First Order hunts the droid. It is the first time Rey leaves the planet[6].
Heroes from Jakku
Where to see Jakku
Every film, series and game in the timeline where Jakku appears, in watch order.
Filmed on Earth
Real places that played Jakku on screen.
Rub' al Khali desert near Liwa Oasis, United Arab Emirates
A second unit shot desert scenes for Jakku here around April 2014, before principal photography in Abu Dhabi began on 16 May 2014[7].
Liwa desert, United Arab Emirates
Sets were built in the dunes about 200 km south of Abu Dhabi. In 2015 Twofour54 said they would become a tourist attraction, though the exact spot was kept secret[8].
Did you know?
- The desert scenes of The Force Awakens were shot in secret by a second unit in the Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter, before principal photography began[7].
- Lor San Tekka retired on Jakku and followed the Church of the Force, a faith that the Empire had banned[3].
- Unkar Plutt pays scavengers in survival rations for salvage from the Graveyard of Ships. He has also collected weapons, gear and ships, among them a battered Corellian freighter[4].
Questions about Jakku
Where was Jakku filmed?
Jakku was filmed in the desert of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, mainly in the Rub' al Khali near Liwa Oasis[7]. A second unit shot the dune scenes in secret around April 2014, before the main shoot began[7].