Dagobah

Within the Outer Rim Territories' Sluis sector, one could find the planet Dagobah. This hot and humid world teemed with life, serving as a habitat for the Tash species and a multitude of creatures. Among these were bogwings, dragonsnakes, butcherbugs, sleens, vine snakes, and swamp slugs. During his exile, Jedi Master Yoda chose Dagobah as his home. The planet, enshrouded in mist, was predominantly swampy, featuring extensive swamps and bogs, numerous shallow lakes and lagoons, and several living caves. The boundaries between Dagobah's continental and oceanic crusts were indistinct, and the planet exhibited minimal volcanic activity or seismic events. The planet's flora included the lahdia plant, the yoghurt plant, gnarltree, and yarum seed. Notably, Dagobah lacked any urban centers.

As one of the most spiritually pure locations in the entire galaxy concerning the energy field known as the Force, it possessed a peculiar time-related characteristic akin to Mortis and Ahch-To. On Dagobah, the Cave of Evil represented a vergence aligned with the dark side of the Force. This Cave expanded its influence across Dagobah until Yoda's arrival, whose powerful presence in the light side of the Force served as a check. Consequently, during the Imperial Era, Dagobah's ecosystem maintained equilibrium until Yoda's passing, which allowed the Cave to once again spread its darkness throughout the planet.

Dagobah experienced two distinct seasons: a dry season and a wet season. The uplands become too hot for most organisms to survive during the long dry season's peak (which occurs more than half an orbit after the rains stop), forcing any inhabitants to move to the lower regions. The once-flooded lowlands transform back into a marshy swamp beneath the quickly leafing canopies of the gnarltrees that rise from the receding green and dense waters. The planet gets far enough away from its sun before another quarter orbit has passed that the dry season is over and the rains return, flooding the lowlands once more and covering the trees in water, making the uplands habitable once more as the air becomes more humid and the grey overcast clouds return.

During the time of the High Republic Era, an academic paper was produced, describing Dagobah as a world with a strong connection to the Force.

During the Republic Era, Halka Four-Den and her Alpha Team were sent to Dagobah to map the expanding borders of the Galactic Republic and study its flora and fauna. After three months, Four-Den and her Alpha Team were overcome by illnesses, dangerous animals, and rapidly expanding plants. The team was never found.

As the Clone Wars neared their conclusion, Jedi Grand Master Yoda journeyed to Dagobah after hearing the voice of the deceased Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. He ventured into the swamp, where he communicated with Jinn, who materialized as a swarm of fireflies. Jinn explained to Yoda how to communicate with the living after death by using the connection between the Living Force and the Cosmic Force. Yoda then entered a cave, where he had a vision of the Jedi battling the clones and the enigmatic Sith Lord.

After failing to defeat Sith Lord Darth Sidious following the formation of the Galactic Empire, Yoda went into exile on Dagobah. Using an E3-standard starship lifeboat, he began his exile, where he continued his Force studies. Yoda's initial shelter was the lifeboat, but because of Dagobah's swampy environment, it started to deteriorate within a year. Yoda constructed a new home for himself as the first shelter was gradually consumed by the swamp. He strategically placed it close to the dark side cave, but outside of its sphere of influence, and he would visit every few years. The Jedi Master was forced to move to the planet's highlands on a regular basis during the Dagobah wet season.

At one point, former Sava Madelin Sun came to Dagobah in search of Yoda. After Yoda saved her from a monster, he used the Force to lead Sun into the dark cave. She had visions inside that deterred her from looking for him. She then departed the planet as Yoda watched from a distance.

Years later, Luke Skywalker of the Alliance to Restore the Republic journeyed to Dagobah under the guidance of the late Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to find Yoda and receive training in the ways of the Jedi Order. Skywalker landed in a bog after crashing, and he came across the Jedi, though he didn't know it was Yoda at the time. The old master invited Skywalker back to his hut for dinner, where he revealed his true identity to Skywalker. Yoda was initially hesitant to train Skywalker because of his age and impatience, but the Force spirit of Kenobi eventually persuaded him to do so.

An Imperial probe droid from Project Swarm arrived on the planet one night during Skywalker's training. Maela, the droid's operator, initially believed there was no need to investigate the planet further during the unit's patrol until she noticed Skywalker's X-wing in the swamp. She saw the outline of what she saw as an X-wing, but after witnessing the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth, she realized how cruel the Empire was and deleted the footage before going on to her next droid.

During his training, Skywalker entered the Cave of Evil and confronted a vision of Darth Vader, whom he defeated, only to see his own face in Vader's mask. Skywalker later cut his training short after sensing that his friends Han Solo and Leia Organa were in danger. Despite Yoda and Kenobi's attempts to persuade Skywalker to stay, the student left the planet, promising to return and finish his training.

He kept his word, and after learning that Vader was his father during their duel on Cloud City, saving Leia and Chewbacca from Vader on Cloud City, and rescuing Solo from Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine, he went back to Dagobah to finish his Jedi training. When he got there, he discovered Yoda was ill and dying. Yoda informed him that his training was finished, but all he had to do was face Vader one more time, and the old master became one with the Force. Before Luke left the planet to face Vader and the Emperor in the hopes of turning Vader back to the light side, the ghost of Kenobi revealed to Skywalker that Leia was actually a Skywalker and Luke's sister. Meanwhile, Yoda's death gave the Cave of Evil the chance to spread its power once more throughout Dagobah.

Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker's nephew, traveled to Dagobah with his master and Supreme Leader of the First Order, Snoke, sometime after the skirmish on the Minemoon to confront Ren's deepest anxieties. He had a vision of his uncle Luke, whom he fought and killed, as well as a vision of his parents Leia and Han, in the Cave of Evil. He couldn't bring himself to kill his parents, so he destroyed the cave, tricking his master. By 34 ABY, herbs from Dagobah had found their way to Oga's Cantina on Batuu, where they were used as a well-known ingredient in the Dagobah Slug Slinger alcoholic beverage.

The Tash species, who grew herbs, called Dagobah home. During the Imperial Era, Jedi Grand Master Yoda traveled to Dagobah and made it his home. The Cave of Evil, a living Force vergence strong in the dark side but confined to its location on the planet, was another being of sorts on Dagobah.

Dagobah made its debut in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, the second film in the Star Wars original trilogy.

The planet, which was scheduled to appear in one scene of the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, was cut from the finished product, leaving it for the DVD release. The scene depicted Yoda's exile's beginning. George Lucas removed the scene to prevent the film from having "too many endings," despite Rick McCallum, the producer's, desires.

An image of Dagobah was mistakenly used in the planet profile of Kashyyyk in the 2016 reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations. The book also asserts that Dagobah lacked any civilization, but Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge later recanonized the Tash species.

The Kwazel Maw from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Bombad Jedi" was inspired by an unused design by Ralph McQuarrie for a swamp slug creature on Dagobah.

There is a long-standing fan discussion regarding the duration of Luke Skywalker's training on Dagobah. This discussion was jokingly mentioned in "The Lost Boy," a story told by Vaneé, when Ben Solo inquired as to whether Skywalker had trained on Dagobah for 20 minutes.

Lucas's initial concept for Dagobah was a swampy, misty planet resembling the setting of Dartmoor, England, in the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.