Star Wars Locations: Jedha

Jedha is the desert moon first introduced in the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It orbits the planet NaJedha. Jyn and Cassian travelled to Jedha City, also referred to as the Holy City, during their search for Saw Gerrera.

Here’s a clip showing Jedha City and some of its citizens from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Even though Jedha is a desert, it’s quite cold there as the moon is in a state of permanent winter. Jedha’s main resource, kyber crystals, are the main reason this moon drew the attention of both the Empire and followers of the Force. These crystals were used to power a Jedi’s lightsaber as well as the Death Star superlaser.

The outskirts of Jedha City from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
From Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide.

If you’re looking for Jedha on a map you’ll find it in the Mid-Rim section – closer to Outer Rim worlds like Endor, Bespin, and Hoth than Core worlds like Coruscant and Alderaan.

Jedha can be found in the Rogue One comic and graphic novel adaptations, the adult and junior novelizations of Rogue One, and the novel Guardians of the Whills.

An image of Jedha from Rogue One Issue #1. Writer – Jody Houser, Artists – Emilio Laiso & Oscar Bazaldua, Colorist – Rachelle Rosenberg, Letterer – VC’s Clayton Cowles.
The cover of Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka that focuses on the character Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus. Cover art by Diogo Saito.

The Star Wars main comic also told a story based in Jedha in the Ashes of Jedha story arc (Issues 38-42) written by Kieron Gillen.

The cover of Star Wars 38 – The Ashes of Jedha Part I. Cover art by David Marquez & Mathew Wilson.

If you’re not a comics person but would like to know what happened in the Ashes of Jedha story arc this video from Star Wars Explained is for you.

Jedha is also mentioned in several short stories from the anthology From a Certain Point of View, the novel The Legends of Luke Skywalker, the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, and a few issues of the comic Doctor Aphra.

Concept art of Jedha by Matt Allsopp from The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

A section of the book The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story written by Josh Kushins is devoted to Jedha. The quote below is from that book (which is filled with fascinating information about all aspects of the film).

“Obi-Wan Kenobi mentions the ‘dark times’ in A New Hope, and Jedha illustrates that part of the timeline,” said set decorator Lee Sandales. “Its main city has been occupied by the Empire—pretty war-torn, but with a beauty to it. It perfectly describes Star Wars: very ancient, by way of the future. Neil Lamont and Doug Chiang set out the visuals for Jedha with incredible sandstone buildings, arches, and ancient temples.”

You can find some more gorgeous artwork of Jedha in the book Star Wars: Galactic Maps written by Emil Fortune and illustrated by Tim McDonagh.

A small section of the Jedha spread from Star Wars: Galactic Maps. Somehow the long-legged beasts that live in Jedha have never been given a name.

The Rogue One Visual Guide written by Pablo Hidalgo includes a wealth of information about Jedha including its population (11.3 million) and descriptions of Jedha pilgrims and citizens.

From the Jedha Pilgrims section in Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide.

Finally, for animation fans you can spot Jedha at about the 20-second mark of the short below —Galaxy of Adventures “Stormtrooper vs. Rebels – Soldiers of the Galactic Empire.”

Sources: Wookieepedia, StarWars.com, Rogue One: Visual Guide, Star Wars: Galactic Maps, The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

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