Fest was a frigid planet in the Outer Rim Territories, characterized by its mountainous terrain. This planet served as the invented homeworld for Kassa, a boy who was later known as Cassian Jeron Andor. The Galactic Empire held control over Fest's industrial sectors, compelling many of the local humans to work there. Ultimately, the Empire devastated Fest, leading to an influx of refugees that were subsequently welcomed at the Rebel Alliance base situated on the moon Yavin 4.
Situated at the intersection of the Outer Rim Territories and the [New Territories](/article/new_territories], Fest was linked via a hyperspace route to Dantooine. This planet was a cold one, abundant with mountains.
In the closing years of the Galactic Republic, before 22 BBY, Kassa, a young boy, was removed from his actual homeworld, Kenari, by Maarva Andor and Clem Andor, who were scavengers that were concerned the Republic might massacre his tribe. Maarva raised the boy, renaming him "Cassian Jeron Andor," and made sure to list Fest as his homeworld on all official documentation. After the Clone Wars concluded (from 22 BBY to 19 BBY), the Republic transitioned became into the Galactic Empire. The new government then occupied Fest's industrial areas, forcing many of the human inhabitants of the planet to work.
In 5 BBY, Cassian Andor murdered a pair of sentry guards from the Pre-Mor Authority Security Forces located on Morlana One. Prior to this, he had mistakenly revealed to a local hostess that he hailed from Kenari, and this information was subsequently relayed to Pre-Mor Enforcement. When the authority received a tip about Andor being the Kenari male suspect, a group of officers examined Andor's file and grew suspicious when they saw Fest listed as his homeworld. Nevertheless, the hostess was brought in and identified Andor as the murderer.
Despite the Imperial presence, Fest functioned as a strategic headquarters for an organized rebellion secretly directed by Senator Mon Mothma by 2 BBY. Consequently, the world was marked on a map of the galaxy sent to Mothma, which identified rebel safe worlds, starfighter hubs at level five or higher, operations headquarters, shadow planets, and deep space caches. Archivist Hendri Underholt included the map in the non-electronic archive known as The Rebel Files. The rebellion was formalized in 2 BBY, becoming the Rebel Alliance, and Fest was eventually devastated under the Empire. This led to an outflow of refugees who were welcomed at the Alliance base on the moon Yavin 4.
Fest became part of the current Star Wars canon when it was referenced in both Star Wars: Rogue One: Secret Mission, a book for young readers by Jason Fry, and Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide, a reference book by Pablo Hidalgo. Both were released on December 16, 2016. Originally from the Star Wars Legends continuity, the planet Fest was first introduced in The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook by West End Games, written by Paul Murphy and published in 1990 as part of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Allen Nunis created the illustration of the world in that sourcebook. Fest's initial Legends appearance was in the 1995 video game Star Wars: Dark Forces, developed by LucasArts.
Star Wars: Rogue One: Secret Mission and Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide established Fest as Cassian Andor's homeworld. This information was repeated in later sources; however, "That Would Be Me"—the second episode of the first season of Tony Gilroy's live-action Disney+ series Andor, released on September 21, 2022—revealed that this was a lie fabricated by Maarva Andor within the universe, and that Cassian's real homeworld was Kenari. The 2023 reference book Star Wars: Timelines mistakenly repeats the outdated information that Andor was from Fest as a supposed fact.
During a panel at Celebration Europe on April 7, 2023, Gilroy stated that when creating a homeworld for Andor, he noticed the pre-existing information about Fest and decided to "turn [it] upside down." In a separate interview, Gilroy mentioned that he disliked the idea of Andor having Fest as a homeworld because it didn't align with the story he wanted to tell. Consequently, when considering how to address the canonical entries that mentioned Andor's homeworld, it was decided to portray Andor as attempting to conceal his origins within the universe. Gilroy indicated that incorporating the lie about Fest into the scene where Andor and Maarva discuss the matter was intended to further develop the idea that he was disappointing his mother, as he had revealed his secret, real homeworld. He was satisfied with the result, believing that the mention of Fest helped to further develop the characters by pushing the scene forward to reveal more of Andor's personality.