Canto Bight, a city situated on the coast, graced the desert planet of Cantonica. This urban center served as a prime destination for the affluent, boasting an abundance of casinos and racetracks. Amidst the war that unfolded between the Resistance and the First Order, two Resistance figures, Finn and Rose Tico, journeyed to this location.
Resting on the shores of the Sea of Cantonica, the largest man-made ocean within the galaxy, Canto Bight functioned as the capital city of Cantonica. It attracted well-off tourists, gamblers, and war profiteers who came to enjoy its luxurious casinos and racetracks. At these races, child laborers rode creatures known as fathiers, which were four-legged. The Canto Bight Police Department acted as the chief law enforcement agency within the city. The South Stretch Worker's District, a lively area inhabited by the Sixth Kin, provided a livelihood for residents and opportunists through tourism. Canto Bight experienced continual change, with new diversions being added to its core on a regular basis.
Located on Cantonica, an Outer Rim world within the corporate fiefdom of the Corporate Sector, Canto Bight served as a destination for hedonistic tourism and gambling. It was constructed with the singular aim of providing the most extravagant, exclusive, and costly entertainment in the galaxy. In their youth, Binnot Ullo and Axel Greylark once swam in the waters off the coast of Canto Bight, and subsequently stole pies to enjoy under the sun. During the Battle of Dalna, Ullo recalled this memory in an attempt to deceive Greylark into allowing him to escape, promising a return to those times and a chance to become princes of the galaxy. While Greylark initially seemed receptive to rekindling their former friendship, he was unable to forgive Ullo for the destruction of his beloved droid QN-1.
At one point, the smuggler Lando Calrissian engaged in a card game in the city with a gambler named Brushaun, who lost two thousand credits to Lando's victory. The Tonnika sisters once carried out a job in the casino. Kay Vess, a scoundrel, was also born and raised in Canto Bight. She remained there until the age of twenty-two, when she departed to escape both the Sixth Kin and Zerek Besh, having incurred their displeasure due to two failed heists.
During the time of the Galactic Civil War, Canto Bight was already recognized by some as the location of the most opulent casino. Ronen Tagge maintained a penthouse in the city, which he used to host gatherings.
Amidst the First Order-Resistance War, Resistance operatives Finn, Rose Tico, and BB-8 journeyed to Canto Bight as part of a mission to enlist the aid of the Master Codebreaker in disabling the First Order's hyperspace tracker. Finn and Rose's ship crashed on a public beach, prompting Slowen Lo, an Abednedo businessman, to notify the Canto Bight Police Department.
Their attempts to contact the Master Codebreaker led to their arrest by Canto Bight police for a traffic violation. While held at the Canto Bight police headquarters, they encountered the slicer DJ, who offered his assistance in disabling the hyperspace tracker in exchange for their freedom. BB-8 also incapacitated the guards, enabling Finn, Rose, and DJ to escape from jail. During their flight through the racetrack, Rose persuaded a child worker named Temiri Blagg to assist them in their escape by offering him her Resistance ring. Blagg released a group of fathiers, which caused a stampede through the streets of Canto Bight, resulting in significant damage to the town's businesses.
Finn and Rose escaped on the back of a fathier to the outskirts of Canto Bight, where they were met by DJ and BB-8, who had commandeered the luxury yacht Libertine. The group then traveled to the First Order Mega-class Star Dreadnought Supremacy in an attempt to disable the hyperspace tracker.
Canto Bight was conceived for Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi. Director Rian Johnson described it as "a Star Wars Monte Carlo–type environment, a little James Bond–ish, a little To Catch a Thief." Its debauchery and numerous casinos also make it reminiscent of Las Vegas.
The city and its casino's design were greatly influenced by Dubrovnik in Croatia. Filming for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (specifically, the Canto Bight scenes) took place in Dubrovnik in March 2016. The chase scenes involving Finn and Rose in Canto Bight were filmed on the city's main street, Stradun.
During the later stages of designing The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy expressed that Canto Bight's design did not feel sufficiently "Star Wars". Consequently, the creative team discarded many of their initial concepts for Canto Bight and ultimately drew inspiration from early sketches by Ralph McQuarrie for Jabba the Hutt's palace during the development of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi in the 1980s.