Mustafar was a molten Outer Rim planet known mostly for its lava mining. But its harsh conditions and sparse population made it an ideal hideout for the desperate or those who preferred to live outside the law.

During the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious maintained a secret lair on Mustafar, where droids cared for Force-sensitive children stolen away from their parents by his agents. Sidious intended to turn these children into spies serving him. But the Jedi discovered the secret facility and rescued the children, foiling Sidious’s plan.

The crime syndicate Black Sun had a fortress on Mustafar. Darth Maul eyed its forces as an excellent addition to the Shadow Collective, his underworld alliance. Backed by the warriors of Death Watch, Maul and Savage Opress approached the fortress on Mustafar and demanded an audience with the syndicate’s leaders.

Maul’s request that Black Sun join him was dismissed derisively by the group’s leaders. When Black Sun’s thugs tried to disarm Savage, the dark-side warrior cut them all down with his double-bladed lightsaber. The Black Sun survivors chose to join the Shadow Collective.

Later in the Clone Wars, the Pyke Syndicate hired Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos to rescue the children of Marg Krim from Black Sun on Mustafar. Ventress and Vos succeeded, leaving numerous Black Sun enforcers dead in their wake.

With the Separatists near defeat in the Clone Wars, General Grievous sent the Separatist Council to Mustafar, where they took refuge in a mining facility.

After issuing Order 66, Sidious sent Anakin Skywalker – now pledged to the Sith as Darth Vader – to Mustafar. His orders were to wipe out the Separatist leaders, a task Anakin performed coldly and efficiently.

Hoping to save her husband from falling to the dark side, Padmé Amidala rushed to Mustafar – only to find Anakin lost to darkness, dreaming of ruling the galaxy. But Padmé didn’t know Obi-Wan Kenobi had stowed away on her ship to confront Anakin. When he spied his old master, Anakin concluded Padmé was in league with Obi-Wan. Blinded by rage, he used the Force to choke his wife.

Anakin and Obi-Wan dueled with their lightsabers, a running fight that took them through the mining facility and down a river of lava.

Obi-Wan disengaged from the fight, leaping to the shore and looking down at Anakin. He saw Anakin was determined to continue their duel but begged him not to try – Obi-Wan had the high ground, leaving Anakin at a tactical disadvantage.

Overcome by his rage, Anakin attacked – and Obi-Wan sheared off his legs and one arm. As the heat began to consume Anakin, a grief-stricken Obi-Wan turned away, unable to watch his former Padawan and friend die. But Anakin lived. Rescued by Darth Sidious, he was encased in black armor and became known as Darth Vader, the Empire’s brutal enforcer.

After the Empire’s rise, Mustafar became infamous among Jedi exiles as a place where fugitive Jedi were interrogated and executed. After his capture on Lothal, Kanan Jarrus was taken to a Star Destroyer orbiting Mustafar, where the Inquisitor questioned him brutally.

Determined to rescue Kanan, his fellow rebels infiltrated the Star Destroyer where he was held. While Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren and Zeb Orrelios battled stormtroopers, Ezra Bridger freed Kanan from his cell.

The Inquisitor intercepted Kanan and Ezra, but Kanan defeated the Imperial agent in a duel, resulting in the Imperial agent’s death.

Kanan and his rescuers fled – and were saved by the arrival of Chopper, leading a rebel task force. The skirmish at Mustafar was one of the earliest rebel victories in the Galactic Civil War.

Vader often retreated to his castle on Mustafar to commune with the dark side of the Force. After the Death Star’s test-firing at Jedha, Vader received Orson Krennic, the project’s director, in his retreat to warn him about the necessity of ensuring the battle station’s security.

After the fall of the Empire, Vader’s castle was left in ruins, and became a pilgrimage site for cultists dedicated to the dark side. They uncovered some of the powerful location’s secrets, guarding them against unworthy pilgrims. Kylo Ren defeated them to claim a Sith wayfinder that had belonged to Vader. This artifact led him to the legendary Sith world of Exegol.