Mustafar/Legends

"I am sending you to the Mustafar system in the Outer Rim. It is a volcanic planet. You will be safe there."

- General Grievous to the Separatist Council

Mustafar was a planet located in the Mustafar system of the Outer Rim Territories, coreward of Rutan, between the Hydian Way and the Ninth Quadrant.

The tiny world of Mustafar was a fiery volcanic world where lava was mined like a precious natural resource. It was also the last capital of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Mustafar was a young and volatile world, torn apart by opposing gravitational forces of the gas giants Jestefad and Lefrani, with the former being the closer of the two. Astride thick-skinned lava fleas, the natives leapt across the lava fields to mine the planet's deadly natural resources. Mustafarians oversaw the smelting facilities constructed by the Separatists on Mustafar.

Early history


Once a lush green world, Mustafar was home to many Jedi temples during the days of the Galactic Republic. It was here that they cultivated their abilities as well as training their students. One such Jedi Master was Chu-Gon Dar, an individual whose mastery of physical Force was unmatched. He created a unique Force-sensitive object while here known as the Chu-Gon Dar cube which was used to both channel and manipulate the physical Force to alter the physical properties of an item placed inside it. However, when the Sith became powerful, they wished to exterminate the Jedi, and so a climactic battle took place on the planet. This battle was so intense that one of the nearby gas giants was pulled into its current location by the Force, starting the gravimetric tug-of-war. The enviromental hazards caused by this tug-of-war forced the Jedi to abandon their temples on the planet. This caused all knowledge of Chu-Gon's cube to be lost.

Mustafar was home to two variants of sapient Mustafarians&mdash;the northern Mustafarians, who were tall and thin, and the southern Mustafarians, who were short and squat. Centuries ago, a cataclysmic eruption destroyed all Mustafarian settlements except for Fralideja.

Clone Wars
"Master Kenobi, we have Miss Padmé on board. Yes, please. Please hurry. We should leave this dreadul place!"

- C-3PO to Obi-Wan Kenobi



At the time of the Clone Wars, the Techno Union had owned Mustafar since its discovery c. 300 BBY, harvesting minerals and energy from the 800-degree-hot lava. It was comparatively cool compared to most other lava due to the unusual mineral allotropes that became molten at a lower temperature. Regardless, the lava could only safely be mined when a repulsor field was placed to repress any eruptions and deflect heat away from those harvesting it.

The main Separatist stronghold was located in a massive industrial complex located on a fiery cliff bracketed by two huge lava flows. Collection arms mined lava from the area, while durable industrial droids worked further afield. Within this facility lay a Separatist command center, one of the most secure bunkers in the Galaxy.

Later, at the very end of the war, Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, stormed the Separatist base and slew the Separatist Council under orders from Darth Sidious, and deactivated the droid armies, ending the war. Shortly afterwards, the duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader would also take place on the lava planet. During the duel, the controls to the mining complex were destroyed and the repulsor fields dropped, allowing the violent lava eruptions to overwhelm the complex. Vader suffered grievous injuries including the loss of his remaining limbs and the searing of his lungs when he attempted to jump to higher ground from a platform on the lava river, only to be cut down by Kenobi. He was later rescued by Emperor Palpatine, who brought him back to Coruscant where he was rebuilt into the feared cyborg executor of the Emperor at the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center.



Imperial era
After the destruction of the Separatist Council and the Imperialization of the Techno Union, Mustafar was largely forgotten, until a Separatist stalwart, the fugitive Geonosian Gizor Dellso, holed up on Mustafar during the early days of the Galactic Empire and re-activated an independent battle droid factory, intending to rebuild the Confederacy's previous military strength. He constructed a small droid army and a flotilla of warships above the planet, and got the support of several fellow Geonosians. The situation requiried the attention of the loyal 501st Legion of stormtroopers to storm the planet. At the battle's end, with the droid schematics destroyed and Dellso eliminated, the base was annihilated in a massive orbital strike from Imperial I-class Star Destroyers.

At some point, Mensix Corp established the Mensix Mining Facility, built to replace the previously destroyed complex.

Galactic Civil War
It was rumored that, during the time of the Galactic Civil War, several would-be Jedi found their way to the legendary world of Mustafar, and were apparently guided on their path to Knighthood by the spectral form of Obi-Wan Kenobi. A disturbance caused by a gathering of dark side energy drew Kenobi's spirit to the planet. Other explorers at the time apparently encountered the ancient assassin droid HK-47. How HK-47 came to be on the planet remains unknown.

Behind the scenes

 * Mustafar was originally known as "Mufasta" in early drafts of Revenge of the Sith.




 * "Mustafa" is Arabic for "Chosen One". It is very possible that Lucas named this planet Mustafar because the fate of the Chosen One would be revealed on the planet. Mustafa is also a male name in some regions.


 * The concept of a lava duel dates back to early versions of Return of the Jedi, in which Luke Skywalker battles Darth Vader over a lava lake in Palpatine's throne room in the lowest levels of the Imperial homeworld. Even back then, it was rumored that Anakin suffered his grievous injuries at the hands of Obi-Wan during a battle over a lava pit, and the concept became an almost mythical tale among Star Wars fans until finally realized on film over twenty years later. Joe Johnston envisaged the environment that would ultimately become Mustafar in a series of drawings designed to show Darth Vader's home.


 * The novelization of Return of the Jedi previously stated that the duel between Anakin/Vader and Obi-Wan, which resulted in Anakin's terrible injuries, happened on a volcanic planet. The battle was stated in some sources predating the prequel trilogy to be on Sullust, also a volcanic world.


 * Mustafar was designed to look like George Lucas's vision of hell.


 * In Revenge of the Sith, while Anakin and Obi-Wan are fighting on the fallen arm, the lava flows backwards (as can be seen by looking at the lava "waterfall").


 * Mustafar is very similar to Io, a moon of Jupiter, which is also covered in volcanoes, and, just like Mustafar is volcanic due to the gravitational effects of Jestefad and Lefrani, Io is volcanic due to the strong gravitational effects of Jupiter.


 * Mount Etna was scouted for Revenge of the Sith, to capture plate photography for backdrops in the Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Anakin Skywalker fight on Mustafar. Conveniently, Etna erupted during the making of the film, so Lucas sent a team to film it. The resultant moving image of lava flows could be used as backgrounds for the duel. These images could have been done by CGI, in theory, but it would have been more difficult and expensive than sending a few people to Sicily with cameras, as Lucas states in the audio commentary to Episode III.

Appearances



 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Wat Tambor and the Quest for the Sacred Eye of the Albino Cyclops
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:24
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * The Last One Standing
 * Old Wounds
 * Star Wars: Lethal Alliance
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novel
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Bloodlines