Jedha's Kyber Crystals Came From An Asteroid In 'Rogue One', But Where Did The Asteroid Come From?
Kyber crystals are an important part of Star Wars lore. The Force-attuned crystals are fundamental in the creation of lightsabers, and they were also a major component in the creation of the Death Star's destructive superlaser, as seen in last year's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. We found out in that film that the Empire had scoured the galaxy for any kyber crystals they could find in order to fuel the Death Star's supply, eventually taking over Jedha City's kyber crystal mines that were once guarded by the Jedi.
But now director Gareth Edwards has revealed some fascinating new information about why Jedha was so rich with kyber crystals: a kyber-heavy asteroid crashed there. But where did that asteroid originate?
Jedha's Kyber Crystals
In an interview with Collider, Edwards explains how he and his Rogue One team attempted to slip some hints about the origins of Jedha's kyber crystals into the film's visuals:
"There's some stuff we did in there that are visual clues to ideas that maybe no one would ever know...If you look at the establishing shot of Jedha from above, the layout of it is this giant, circular rock formation around where Jedha is—the idea was that there was a meteor impact that hit Jedha and it came at such a force that it was what created the kyber crystals at the center of that crater of impact. So Jedha is like this very unique place in the galaxy in that it's got a very high density of kyber crystals, which is what the Jedi need for lightsabers. So it became this holy city as a result of that meteor impact. But that must've happened maybe millions of years ago. We tried to tell that story in the establishing shot, you see the circular formation and at the heart of it is Jedha City."
I definitely didn't notice that detail while watching the movie in theaters, but it's a cool little piece of trivia that makes the Star Wars universe feel larger than what we've seen on screen, and that's always something I appreciate.
Where Did The Asteroid Come From?
So the clear follow-up question to hearing about a kyber-heavy asteroid crashing into Jedha is, "Where did that thing come from?" And while I'm not 100% sure about the answer, I think I've been to come up with a plausible theory.
In an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is still officially recognized as canon, we first see an act called The Gathering, in which younglings (prospective Jedi) are taken to Ilum, an arctic planet with bountiful caves full of kyber crystals. As part of a coming of age ritual, each youngling must choose a crystal that calls out to them in order to construct their own lightsaber.
Since Ilum is one of the primary locations for kyber crystals in this entire fictional galaxy, my guess is that the asteroid originated on or near that planet.
The big question for me now becomes, "Will we ever see Ilum on screen in a Star Wars movie?" I have to assume the answer is yes, especially considering how important it is to Jedi lore. I wouldn't even be surprised to see Kylo Ren make a pilgrimage there in The Last Jedi, perhaps in an effort to find a stronger crystal for his lightsaber. (His red crossguard lightsaber contains a cracked kyber crystal, which is why it's so unstable.) He'll need all the help he can get if he's going to take down Rey, Finn, and Poe.
What do you think? Does Ilum sound like a legitimate guess as to the source of Jedha's asteroid? Do you think we'll ever visit that planet in a future Star Wars movie? Sound off below.