The Forest Moon in ROTJ Is Not Endor: Clarifying a Common Star Wars Misunderstanding

For decades, Star Wars fans have referred to the setting of the climactic battle in Return of the Jedi as “Endor.” The lush, wooded moon where the Empire’s shield generator was hidden, where rebel commandos fought side by side with Ewoks, and where the tide turned against the Empire.

But there’s a quiet detail embedded in the lore and in the language of the original film that’s easy to miss. That forest-covered satellite is not Endor itself.

Let’s take a closer look.

The Language of “The Forest Moon of Endor”

In Return of the Jedi, the script refers to the setting as “the forest moon of Endor.” It’s an elegant phrase, but one that invites confusion. The wording suggests a relationship. The moon belongs to or orbits Endor. Yet over time, many viewers and even some official sources have treated “Endor” as the name of the moon itself.

The truth is more precise. Endor is the name of the planet, a gas giant in the Moddell sector. The moon where the shield generator was built is simply one of its many natural satellites. Its full designation, in-universe, is the forest moon of Endor. That’s a descriptor, not a name. The moon itself has no official title in canon.

This isn’t a retcon or a bit of obscure trivia. The original intention has always been there, even if it was never emphasized. Endor is the celestial body being orbited. The forest moon is the stage where the final act of the original trilogy played out.

What About the Death Star Wreckage in The Rise of Skywalker?

Fast forward to The Rise of Skywalker, and we see the shattered remains of the second Death Star, half-submerged in stormy seas. For a moment, it feels like we’ve returned to the familiar forest moon. But this is a different place.

The location is Kef Bir, an entirely different moon orbiting the same gas giant, Endor. Unlike the dense woods and tribal Ewok culture of the forest moon, Kef Bir is a rugged, ocean-covered world. Canon sources describe it as one of several moons orbiting Endor, each with its own terrain and ecology.

It is on Kef Bir, not the forest moon, that Rey finds the broken throne room and the path to the Emperor’s sanctuary. The filmmakers made a clear choice to place the wreckage elsewhere, reinforcing that the Endor system is more than one satellite and one battle.

So why then does www.starwars.com claim the small moon of Endor.... is called Endor?

I have no idea.:

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