Fortress Vader

"Few people have the honor of seeing Lord Vader in his sanctum."

- Vaneé, to Orson Krennic

Vader's castle, also known as Vader's personal abode, was owned by Darth Vader during the reign of the Galactic Empire on the volcanic planet Mustafar, the location of his fateful duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi and once the site of a Sith temple.

History
"I suggest you keep all you witnessed to yourself."

- Vaneé, to Orson Krennic before Krennic's departure from Mustafar

By the order of his master, Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious, Vader was forced to live in this castle, an obsidian tower in the unforgiving environment of Mustafar. In 0 BBY, Darth Vader was meditating inside a bacta tank in his sanctum when Director Orson Krennic arrived. Sending Vader's assistant Vaneé to retrieve him, Krennic and Vader discussed the Death Star.

Behind the scenes
"Ralph McQuarrie actually drew quite a few small thumbnail sketches [of Vader's castle] that were very intriguing. They were kind of angular versions of a tower, and I saw the potential of where he was going, and I just exaggerated that quite a bit."

- Doug Chiang

Vader's castle first appeared in the Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was released in 2016. Inspired by unused Ralph McQuarrie sketches from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, the design team for Rogue One gave the castle a tuning fork shape, leading director Gareth Edwards to suggest that it is "tuning the dark side." The concept was also used for the Temple of the Kyber, which represents a mirror image on the light side.

During the concept phase of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, concept art titled "Vader Castle" was created by Erik Tiemens and Brett Northcutt, with the piece depicting TIE/IN interceptors exiting a fortress near a river of lava. In Star Wars Legends, Darth Vader had similar abodes, including a palace on Coruscant and a castle on Vjun.

Appearances

 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novel
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – A Junior Novel
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – A Junior Novel