Geonosis, sometimes called Geonosia by its inhabitants, functioned as the desert planetary origin for the Geonosian species. It housed the primary battle droid production facilities for the Separatist Alliance and served as the location for the initial Geonosis conflict, which ignited the Clone Wars. Subsequently, the Galactic Republic launched an invasion. The Death Star was under construction in orbit above the world throughout and after the Clone Wars. The Galactic Empire heavily fortified the planet and attempted to extract resources from its asteroid belt for mineral wealth five years after the Clone Wars ended and the Galactic Republic was reorganized. Approximately five years following the Clone Wars, the Empire relocated the Death Star to another building site and sterilized the planet as a security measure, which nearly wiped out the native Geonosian populace.
Geonosis, a planet situated in the Geonosis system within the Arkanis sector of the Outer Rim Territories, was located 43,000 light years from the Galactic Core and less than a parsec from Tatooine, a neighboring planet in the Outer Rim. It was the original planetary home of the Geonosians, a sapient insectoid species. Despite possessing a breathable atmosphere, Geonosis had a scorching, arid climate. Its irradiated surface was characterized by rugged, rocky deserts featuring mesas and buttes. The rocks and sky both exhibited red hues. Surface water was scarce, constituting only 5% of the planet's total surface area. However, Geonosis experienced frequent flash floods. From space, Geonosis displayed prominent rocky rings. Fifteen moons orbited the planet, including four major moons, one of which was the icy moon Bahryn.
The discovery of the Tatoo system, and its proximity to Tatooine, drew Galactic colonizers to Geonosis. Initial contact between the Galactic Republic and the Geonosians proved successful and mutually beneficial. Consequently, the Geonosians developed an interest in Republic technology, becoming adept at adapting and enhancing advanced systems. Geonosians exported droids and other technologies throughout the galaxy, but this period was short-lived. As Tatooine faced near abandonment by its first colonizers, Geonosis suffered from its distance from the Core Worlds, leading to a decline in visitors until they ceased altogether. Manufacturers closer to the Core more easily fulfilled the demand for Geonosian exports.
The Geonosians became divided over cooperating with offworlders, and the planet's economy collapsed, leading to wars that raged for millennia. The galaxy largely ignored the planet and its endless conflicts. A few centuries before the Separatist Crisis, the Galactic Republic rediscovered the world and established manufacturing agreements to sell and distribute its advanced technology and droids.
During the later years of the Galactic Republic, Geonosis became a vital operational center for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a coalition of star systems spanning the galaxy. Geonosian droid factories produced tens of thousands of battle droids of various types, maintaining their own Geonosian droid army. Geonosis produced droid armies for major corporations like the Trade Federation. Ten years after Sheev Palpatine was elected as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, Poggle the Lesser, the Archduke of Geonosis, hosted a meeting of the Confederacy's leaders. During this gathering, trade barons pledged their military resources to Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master and leader of the Confederacy. Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master, overheard the Separatists' war preparations.
The Geonosians captured Kenobi, but he managed to send a distress signal to the Jedi High Council on Coruscant. The Council dispatched a Jedi strike force to Geonosis. Meanwhile, the Geonosians sentenced Master Kenobi, his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, and Republic senator Padmé Amidala to death in the Petranaki Arena. The Jedi reinforcements arrived and quickly engaged the Geonosian warriors. However, the Confederacy's massive droid army was ready, and many Jedi were killed. The newly formed Grand Army of the Republic, utilizing clone troopers, arrived as reinforcements. The Republic and the Confederacy engaged in the first battle of the Clone Wars upon the arrival of the clone army.
Following the Battle near Dorin and Geonosis's return to Separatist control, the Republic dispatched Jedi Generals Ki-Adi-Mundi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, and Anakin Skywalker with a large-scale invasion to seize Geonosis. As they descended, Kenobi and his Clone Commander, Cody, boarded their gunships to secure the rendezvous point. However, Geonosian defenses subjected their gunships to heavy fire. Mundi and Commander Jet's forces followed, but the heavy fire forced them to land their AT-TEs away from the rendezvous. Skywalker, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, and Clone Captain Rex's gunships were shot down, destroying all their AT-TEs. Despite this, they pressed on toward the rendezvous point, facing strong Geonosian resistance. Mundi's gunship was shot down, and he was wounded. Cody landed his AT-TEs, but Geonosians and their AATs subjected the landing area to fire. Kenobi's gunship crashed away from the landing zone after being hit. Only Kenobi and Trapper survived the crash and were rescued by clone troopers Waxer and Boil. Kenobi, Cody, and their troopers secured the rendezvous, awaiting Skywalker's and Mundi's forces.
As Mundi's forces advanced through the Caltrop field toward the rendezvous point, Jet requested air support from Republic Admiral Wullf Yularen. The Admiral couldn't divert air support without endangering other units. Jet left a squad with the AT-TE walkers and continued to the rendezvous with Mundi and his clone flametroopers. Skywalker's force encountered a fortress blocking their path. Skywalker and Tano scaled the wall, destroyed the battle droids, and faced Droidekas, which they defeated with Rex's help. They placed explosives inside the wall to clear their path. Skywalker's forces then linked up with Mundi's forces. Skywalker requested air support from Yularen, who provided a squadron of BTL-B Y-wing starfighter/bombers.
As Kenobi's forces were overwhelmed, the bombers eliminated the Geonosian forces surrounding the rendezvous. Skywalker's and Mundi's forces joined Kenobi's to plan the final attack. Skywalker would attack the Deflector shield generator's defenses while AT-TEs were brought in, and Mundi brought in the remaining troops and gunships. Skywalker, Tano, and a squad penetrated the shield and used droid poppers to disable the defending proton cannons. Kenobi brought the AT-TEs within range of the shield generator and destroyed it. After the shield fell, Mundi brought in the gunships and captured the remaining Geonosians. Kenobi and Mundi, along with their wounded, left to recover, leaving Skywalker, Tano, and their force to destroy the factory.
To assist Skywalker, Tano, and their forces in destroying the factory, Unduli, her apprentice Barriss Offee, and Commander Gree's 41st Elite Corps arrived. They planned to destroy the primary droid factory. Unduli and Skywalker marched their troops across the bridge without cover to draw Poggle's forces' attention. Poggle and his tactical droid, TX-21, were running the factory at 50% capacity with ten garrisons of droids ready for deployment. The super tanks were still under construction but nearing completion. The droids deployed, marching across the bridge to engage the clones. TX-21 sent Geonosians to attack from above. Despite this, Skywalker's and Unduli's forces defeated the droids. Poggle, urged by TX-21, deployed the super tanks, which advanced on the clones as Skywalker ordered their cannons to fire, to no effect. The super tanks rolled over the clones as they crossed the bridge.
As the battle raged above, Offee and Tano navigated the Geonosian catacombs to reach the main reactor. Offee inadvertently awakened a Geonosian, who alerted Poggle and TX-21. After planting the bombs, Offee and Tano faced Poggle, TX-21, Geonosians, and a super tank. Tano destroyed TX-21 but couldn't damage the super tank. Offee and Tano fought the Geonosians to retrieve their bombs but failed. When Tano was knocked out, Offee took the droid drivers and commandeered the super tank. They decided to use the tank to destroy the factory.
As the super tanks moved across the bridge, Unduli and Skywalker planted explosives to make the tanks fall into the ravine, successfully destroying them. However, they faced more battle droids. Skywalker contacted Tano, instructing her to detonate the bombs. Instead, they used the tank, knowing it might kill them. They fired the tank at the reactor, causing the factory to collapse, burying them in the wreckage. Skywalker and Unduli found their apprentices alive.
Following the successful invasion, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli searched for Poggle the Lesser, who had retreated into the catacombs of an ancient temple. A sandstorm prevented reinforcements from reaching her and a trooper as they searched the temple. While communicating with Masters Kenobi and Mundi via hologram, Unduli's clone trooper was killed by the undead hordes of the mysterious Hive Queen Karina the Great. Knocked unconscious and captured, the Jedi Master was taken before Karina. Jedi Kenobi and Skywalker came to her rescue; they were nearby when Luminara regained consciousness and fought her way out of the zombies' reach.
Realizing the situation, she contacted Kenobi to warn him against coming after her but was cut off as the zombies overwhelmed her. The Jedi ignored her warnings and continued their search, finding Karina's abode, where they discovered Luminara in an energy trap, destined to be infested with brain worms. With Kenobi and Cody delaying the zombies and the Queen, Skywalker freed Unduli and captured Poggle. Cody and his troops collapsed the cave support, burying the Queen and taking Poggle prisoner.
Poggle, imprisoned on Coruscant, was repeatedly interrogated by Republic Intelligence about the battle station the Geonosians designed, which would become known as the "Death Star." The archduke denied any knowledge of the weapon. Lieutenant Commander Orson Callan Krennic met with him, noting that Geonosis would fall into chaos without Poggle and that the Republic wanted to build the station. Poggle agreed to build the station for the Republic and returned to Geonosis on the Eve of Meckgin, secretly planning to return to the Confederacy. He orchestrated a Geonosian riot as a diversion, allowing him to escape and sabotage the project. The Death Star project, however, continued.
At the end of the war, Skywalker, now the Sith apprentice Darth Vader, slaughtered Poggle and the rest of the Separatist Council on Mustafar. The Stalgasin hive queen appointed a new archduke in Poggle's place, but this was a mere formality. Geonosis effectively belonged to the Republic's successor state, the First Galactic Empire, a tyrannical, autocratic regime led by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious.
Construction of the Death Star resumed above Geonosis. The Empire utilized numerous construction modules operated by slaves of various species to construct the battlestation.
In 18 BBY, Darth Vader arrived on Geonosis under command of Governor Wilhuff Tarkin. While Vader was on the planet, he and Director Orson Krennic were nearly victims of sabotage. Vader investigated the situation, discovering that a Geonosian egg had been shipped to Galen Walton Erso. Vader then executed a Geonosian queen responsible for breeding the Geonosians behind the sabotage.
In 14 BBY, the Imperials attempted to extract minerals from the Geonosis asteroids, but the project was unfeasible. Geonosis remained the Death Star's construction site, supplied by marshaling stations including Rampart Station, Desolation Station, and Sentinel Base. Following the suppression of Berch Teller's rebel cell, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin limited contact between workers (contractors, employees, and slaves) and the wider galaxy, cancelling leaves and monitoring communications. After returning from a tour of his homeworld Eriadu, Tarkin activated the station's sublight engines, moving the Death Star into deep space.
After the rebel Partisan Saw Gerrera neared discovery of the station, the Empire moved it from Geonosis to Scarif around 9 BBY. Imperial construction modules remained orbiting Geonosis. As a security measure, the Empire sterilized the planet with poison canisters, killing all but one Geonosian.
In the year 3 BBY, the Lothal rebel cell, accompanied by the veteran Clone trooper Rex, embarked on a mission targeting one of the construction modules. Rebel intelligence had uncovered the Empire's clandestine construction project orbiting the planet, unbeknownst to them, the infamous Death Star. Reaching Geonosis's orbit, the rebels initiated a comprehensive planetary scan, only to be met with the unsettling discovery of a complete absence of life. Upon their arrival at the designated construction module, they were met with a calculated ambush orchestrated by ISB Agent Kallus and a contingent of stormtroopers. Following a brief but intense engagement within the confines of the station, the rebels managed to escape, leaving Kallus and the rebel Zeb locked in a fierce duel. Zeb made his way onto an escape pod, with Kallus hot on his heels. Soon after launch, the pod suffered a critical engine failure, resulting in a crash landing on the icy moon of Bahryn. Against all odds, the Imperial agent and the rebel forged an unexpected bond as they battled the frigid environment and defended themselves against two bonzami to ensure their survival. After a few hours, the remaining rebels successfully located them by tracing their transponder signal, but Kallus made the decision to remain behind and await the arrival of the Empire. After bidding farewell, Zeb departed for the ship.
In 2 BBY, Gerrera and his Partisans took on a mission on behalf of Rebel Command to look into why the Geonosian species had disappeared. As they carried out their mission, they were set upon by the Geonosian Klik-Klak, who thought they were enemies. Saw's team was mostly wiped out, and he was the only one left. After contact was lost with Saw, Senator Bail Organa sent the Spectres rebel cell and Captain Rex to finish Saw's mission. When they got there, they found that the Imperial construction modules and debris that they had seen the last time had been taken away.
While Hera stayed on the Ghost, Rex, Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, and Chopper looked for Saw in the catacombs while Sabine Wren and Garazeb Orrelios checked out a deflector shield generator, which turned out to be the power source that Saw's team had reported before they lost contact. After they found Saw, the Spectres and Rex decided to help him catch Klik-Klak so they could find out what had happened to the Geonosians. After a long chase, the rebels were able to catch Klik-Klak while Sabine and Zeb were able to get the generator's deflector core.
While Saw was mean to Klik-Klak, Ezra was able to gain the Geonosian's trust. The rebels then found out that Klik-Klak was taking care of the last Geonosian queen egg. After talking about it, Kanan got Saw to agree to bring Klik-Klak back to Geonosis after they were done questioning him. The rebels' presence on Geonosis caught the attention of an Arquitens-class command cruiser commanded by Captain Brunson. After getting away from two TIE bombers, Hera, Zeb, and Sabine flew the Ghost into an air shaft and met up with the other rebels and Klik-Klak.
Soon, the Spectres, Rex, and Saw got into a heated argument. The Spectres and Rex didn't agree with Saw's plan to take Klik-Klak offworld to question him and use harsh methods, like shocking him with a shocker. After a fight, Saw threatened to shoot the Geonosian queen's egg to get information from Klik-Klak. Before the argument could get worse, the rebels and Saw had to work together to fight off an Imperial boarding party made up of Jumptroopers. To get away from the Imperials, Hera took the Ghost deep into Geonosis.
When they got to the bottom, the rebels and Saw found out that the Imperial weapons division had committed genocide against the Geonosians by using poison canisters. Saw, who had a change of heart, freed Klik-Klak and let him go underground with the Geonosian queen egg. The rebels then loaded some canisters as proof for the Imperial Senate. The Ghost then managed to get out of the shaft by firing proton torpedoes at Bronson's light cruiser. Even though they got away into space, they lost the canisters in the process.
After their mission, the rebels were debriefed by Senator Organa and Commander Jun Sato. Even though they lost the canisters, Organa assured them that the pictures they took of the poison canisters could convince more systems to join the rebellion. Sato also congratulated them for saving Saw and getting a deflector core. While Saw was disappointed that they hadn't found out what the Empire was building on Geonosis, Kanan assured them that they would soon.
After the Battle of Yavin, Skywalker, now the Sith Lord Darth Vader, made his way back to Geonosis. He was one of the few people who made it through the destruction of the Death Star, and the Emperor punished him and tested him. Vader needed personal assets that the Empire couldn't control, like troops and credits, so he recruited the rogue archaeologist Doctor Aphra and the assassin droids BT-1 and 0-0-0 to help him build an army of battle droids that would be loyal to him. Vader arrived on the planet and his team snuck into the lair of Karina, who had hatched from the egg that Klik-Klak had protected. She had been hurt before she hatched, which made her unable to have children, but her desire to reproduce made her create a droid factory to make modified B1-series battle droids as her "children". While BT-1 shot at the queen's droid workers, Vader and Aphra cut the queen off from her factory, and Aphra used her starship, the Ark Angel, to blow a big hole in the roof of the lair so that Vader's own starship could use a big crane to take the factory and Vader's team. The captured droid factory started making BX-series droid commandos for Vader, who used them to attack the research base of an Imperial operative named Cylo who was his rival.
After the Empire was badly defeated in the Battle of Endor, some Imperials showed up on Geonosis to try to get the surviving droid factories running again, but the New Republic found out about their plan. During the operation on Geonosis to take out the Imperial forces, a gunship traveled through an electrical superstorm. In history, Geonosis would be mostly remembered as the Confederacy's first capital, but the chef Strono Tuggs remembered the delicious honey that came from the Geonosian hives.
The planet Geonosis first made an appearance in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, which was the second movie in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and came out on May 16, 2002. The planet was first called Geonosia in "Legacy of Terror," which was the seventh episode of the second season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show and came out on November 20, 2009. Geonosis was also in the non-canon LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales cartoon series where the Imperial General Maximilian Veers tried to rebuild the Separatist Droid Army to bring back the Galactic Empire.
Geonosis might have come from the planet "Ttaz," which was a possible location for Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. When they were making Attack of the Clones, Geonosis was just called "rock planet" and was supposed to be a rough world with red soil and stone that looked like the planet Mars and the buttes and mesas of the American southwest. The tall spires on Geonosis were inspired by the termite mounds of Africa. The background shots of Geonosis were made up of still photos from the American southwest, matte paintings, and small models.