Some of the planets in the Star Wars universe boast technologically advanced civilizations while some others function as abandoned wastelands. Dagobah might fall in the latter category with its humid swamps and lack of life. It serves as the perfect sanctuary for an old and wise Jedi Master like Yoda who resides there and also trains Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back.
But there’s much more to the planet than it just being Yoda’s home, as it is considered as one of the purest places within the Force. Related franchise material such as comics, novels, and magazines provide more context behind the history of Dagobah.
9 The Vergence Is In The Cave Of Evil
Apart from Yoda’s Hut, a prominent Dagobah place in the Star Wars universe was the ominous Cave of Evil. The cave carried negative energies that tapped into people’s deepest vulnerabilities (such as Luke finding his own face under Darth Vader’s mask). However, no explanation was offered as to what exactly dwelled in this cave.
In the canonical novel From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, more context is offered around this. One of the chapters of the book is even told from the viewpoint of the “vergence” that is revealed to be a formless entity living in the cave for thousands of years. During this time, it has encountered several Force users and sensed their fears.
8 Dagobah’s Location And Climate
Like every planet in the franchise, Dagobah too belongs to a unique planetary system of its own. The Dagobah Star System is located within the Sluis Sector, a part of the galaxy’s Outer Rim Territories. The Outer Rim is also the largest region of the galaxy, accomodating several primitive planets. The planet also revolves around a sun called Dagobah Prime.
As for other geographical aspects, Dagobah’s swampy landscape doesn’t accommodate any oceans. The climate is divided into two phases, a dry season when the uplands become hot and uninhabitable, and a wet season that is marked by heavy rainfall and violent lightning storms.
7 It Has A Mountain Called Mount Yoda
Even after Yoda’s death, his legacy was kept alive in Dagobah. A case in point is how one of the most prominent mountains on the planet was christened as Mount Yoda in his honor. The volcanic mountain was earlier known as Mount Dagger and is dated at the time of the billion-year-old planet’s creation.
The mountain made its first appearance in the aptly titled Mission From Mount Yoda. A part of the Jedi Prince series, it was a Star Wars novel that expanded on the plot of Return of the Jedi.
6 It’s In A Deleted Scene For Revenge Of The Sith
A deleted Star Wars scene that not all fans might have seen is Yoda’s journey to Dagobah from Episode III. Forced to enter an exile after Anakin Skywalker’s rise as Darth Vader, the Jedi Master arrives at the planet in an escape pod. As Yoda descends the ramp of his pod, he observes the terrain of his future home.
The deleted scene was later added to the DVD release of the film with introductions by director George Lucas and producer Roger Guyett.
5 It Has Similarities To Earth
If studied carefully, the ecology of Dagobah is pretty similar to planet Earth in one of its archaic periods. During the Carboniferous period (over 360 million to 300 million years ago), the planet was covered by dense and swampy forests. Also known as the age of Amphibians, the snake-like and crocodile-like creatures resembled Dagobah’s beasts like the dragonsnake, nudj, and sleen.
Even Earth’s diameter and revolution period are pretty close to that of Dagobah’s. While Earth is over 12,000 km in its diameter, Dagobah can be measured up to 14,000km. As for the period taken to revolve around their suns, Earth and Dagobah take 365 days and 341 days respectively.
4 A Dagobah Scene Was Filmed In George Lucas’ Swimming Pool
The EMI Elstree Studios served as the location for shooting most of The Empire Strikes Back‘s Dagobah scenes. However, as the official Star Wars website states, the scene featuring the dragonsnake coming out of the muck was actually filmed at producer and franchise creator George Lucas’ own swimming pool.
To capture the darker tones of Dagobah, a diffuser screen was placed above the pool. The water was turned muddy for the swamp-like appearance while two scuba divers operated the dragonsnake prop.
3 It’s Accidentally Mentioned As Kashyyyk In A Reference Book
The reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations is a quintessential guide to the many planets in the Star Wars universe. Despite providing invaluable information, the book had a minor error in the section for the planet Kashyyyk as Dagobah’s image was used instead.
This confusion also points towards the similarities that both planets share. Both Kashyyk and Dagobah are forest-covered planets and both resemble Earth when seen from an overhead space view. The planet is otherwise famous for being the homeworld of the Wookies.
2 The Native Species Of Dagobah
Apart from the various monstrosities on the planet, the Hepsalum Tash was the native species to Dagobah. Even though they aren’t mentioned in the films or the canonical literature, fans know about the species through Star Wars Galaxy Magazine‘s eighth issue.
Worm-like in appearance, members of this Star Wars alien race were mostly peace-loving and spent their time playing music and telling stories. When it came to their social nature, the Tash were mostly reclusive. Much like Yoda, the forested and marshy surface of Dagobah gave this much-needed privacy in this case.
1 The Tash Species Was Created By A Fan
Interestingly, Dagobah’s native tribe wasn’t the brainchild of George Lucas but a 25-year-old Star Wars fan. Andrew Foley had designed the Tash as a part of the “Design the Alien” competition in the Star Wars Galaxy magazine.
While Foley’s concept art couldn’t make the final cut, his design was still mentioned in the honorable mentions section of Issue #8. Despite no references elsewhere, some fans continue to consider the Tash’s existence as canon. This is also evident from the 2006 Star Wars message board in which Holocron continuity database keeper Leland Chee confirmed the same.
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