Geonosis/Legends

"Who'd want to go to Geonosis? It's nothing but a bug's nest!"

- Chal Tozr

Geonosis was the home planet of the Geonosians, the Confederacy's first capital, and a major droid foundry.

Geology and geography


Geonosis had a large diameter but light gravity and dense atmosphere. With a weak magnetic field, harsh solar radiation storms were common, and on occasion mass extinctions occurred. The most persistent surface organisms were humble red rock algae while the semi-insectoid Geonosians were driven underground. It consisted of a diminutive molten core with a rocky mantle forming a rocky, desert world subject to flash floods that carved great highland canyons. Water made up 5% of the surface.

During the time of the Geonosian rule, much of the planet's architecture was similar in appearance to termite mounds, consisting of domes and buildings built into caverns and rock spires. Therefore, one could easily mistake Geonosian buildings for natural formations and the planet uninhabited, a great asset during war.

Early history
In the distant past, Geonosis's largest moon was hit by a rogue comet, sending out a massive debris field that hammered the surface into ruin, before settling into a ring of orbiting rock. This event killed off more than 99% of Geonosis's native species.

Over millions of years, the few creatures who survived the devastation slowly reclaimed the planet. Random meteor impacts constantly weeded out the weaker species, leaving only the truly cunning, hardy, and ruthless species alive. The Geonosians, the dominant life form on the planet, constituted all three.

After the technical-minded Geonosians made contact with the galaxy, the Baktoid Armor Workshop moved several droid and weapon foundries to the planet.

Clone Wars
"More happening on Geonosis, I feel, than has been revealed."

- Yoda

In 24 BBY, during the reign of Archduke Poggle the Lesser, Geonosis became a member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which used the planet's factories to build its droid army. Two years later, in 22 BBY, Poggle scheduled a private meeting of the Confederacy leaders on Geonosis. It was expected that during this meeting the organizations that formed the backbone of the Separatist movement would put their resources at the disposal of Count Dooku, the Head of State of the Confederacy.



Unbeknownst to the Separatists, their plans of waging war against the Galactic Republic were heard by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had followed Jango Fett, a bounty hunter employed by Dooku, to Geonosis. Kenobi managed to transmit his discoveries to his Padawan Anakin Skywalker, who was at that time located on Tatooine, before being caught by the Separatists. After retransmitting the information to the Jedi Council, Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, the Senator of Naboo, decided to rescue Kenobi, but ended up imprisoned themselves.

Eventually, Kenobi, Skywalker and Amidala were taken to the Geonosian execution arena and were faced against an Acklay, a Reek and a Nexu respectively, but managed to free themselves. The Separatists, in turn, introduced battle droids to the arena, triggering the Battle of Geonosis, the first battle of the Clone Wars, as Jedi reinforcements, led by Master Mace Windu, revealed themselves among the public and entered the arena to confront the droids.

After a long battle between the droids and the Jedi, Grand Master Yoda arrived with the newly-formed Republic army and rescued the defeated Jedi forces. Following the Confederacy's subsequent defeat on the planet, Geonosis was occupied by the Republic.

Post-Clone Wars


As the Clone Wars ended and the Republic restructured into the Galactic Empire, Geonosis remained under Imperial control. Geonosian scientists played a role in the construction of the first Death Star. In 3 ABY While chasing an Imperial carrier that had interfered with the Rebel Alliance's raid on the Empire's operations on Bakura, Wedge Antilles visited Geonosis and found several completely operational B1 battle droids left over from the war, as well as a Jedi starfighter, which he used to escape the planet. Soon after the Droid operations where put down by the Galactic Empire, which ultimately brought an official end to the Separatist holdouts. After the death of Emperor Palpatine, Geonosis established an isolationist policy.

The planet was spared by the Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion.

Several years after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Boba Fett returned to Geonosis to exhume his father's remains and bury them next to his daughter, Ailyn Vel, on Mandalore.

Behind the scenes
Geonosis is the only planet featured in the Star Wars films to have a natural ring system.

George Lucas considered the Battle of Geonosis to be the largest action sequence they'd ever tried as of Attack of the Clones.