| Coruscant | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars location | |
 | |
| First appearance |
|
| Created by | George Lucas Timothy Zahn |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Urban (planetwideecumenopolis)[1] |
| Races |
|
| Population | 2trillion (68% Human, 32% other sentients)[1] |
| Moon(s) | 4[1] (Centax-1, Centax-2, Centax-3 and Hesperdium) |
| Oceans | 0 |
| Sun(s) | Coruscant Prime |
| Grid Coordinates | L-9 |
| XYZ Coordinates | 0,0,0 |
Coruscant (/ˈkɒrəsɑːnt/)[a] is anecumenopolisplanet inthe fictional universe ofStar Wars. It was first described inTimothy Zahn's 1991 novelHeir to the Empire. The planet made its first on-screen appearance in a scene added toReturn of the Jedi for its 1997 re-release. It has since become an important location in theStar Wars universe and appears frequently inStar Wars media.
In-universe, Coruscant is a politically and strategically important planet, serving as the capital andseat of government for theRepublic[2] and theGalactic Empire, as well as the headquarters of theJedi Order. It is depicted as a bustling, yet highly stratified planet-spanning metropolis.[3] Throughout the city's centuries-long development, new city blocks were built on top of old ones, forming levels. Coruscant has 5127 levels, with the top being the wealthiest and the lowest being the poorest.[3]
Coruscant has four moons and is the sixth planet out of the eleven that make up the system of the same name. It lies within the Coruscant Subsector of the Corusca Sector, located in the Core Worldsgalactic quadrant region. The sun, Coruscant Prime, is the zerocoordinate of theStar Wars galaxy (as opposed to being itsgalactic center). InLegends, Coruscant was once referred to as Notron or Queen of the Core. It was renamed Imperial Center during the reign of the Galactic Empire (as depicted in theoriginal films) and Yuuzhan'tar during theYuuzhan Vong invasion (as depicted in theNew Jedi Order novel series). Initially, the planet'scapital city was Galactic City (built at least in 100,000 BBY,[b] partially destroyed in 27 and 44 ABY).[c] It was Imperial City under theGalactic Empire and was Republic City (or the City of Spires) under theGalactic Republic. The planet was code-named Triple Zero during theClone Wars. The demonym and adjective form of the planet's name is Coruscanti.
Many native citizens of Coruscant speak with theReceived Pronunciation accent (known in-universe as Coruscanti).[4][5]
In theStar Warsuniverse, the planet Coruscant derives its name from a rare and valuable gemstone, the corusca gem (a fictional gem inStar Wars lore). The lights of the planet-wide city, as seen from space,[6] were said to resemble the glittering of these gems.
In the real world, the word "coruscant" originates in the late 15th century from theLatin wordcoruscant, meaning "vibrating, glittering". It comes from theLatin verbcoruscare, meaning "to glitter". TheConcise Oxford Dictionary defines it as a poetic and literary adjective meaning "glittering; sparkling".[7] InFrench, "coruscant" is also used as an adjective meaning "glittering; sparkling". As a literary adjective, theFrench term can be used to describe a decadent and overly complicated language, decorum, or community.
The concept of acity-planet in theStar Warsuniverse originated with the initial drafts ofStar Wars when authorGeorge Lucas included a planet calledAlderaan, a city-planet and the capital planet of the galaxy.[8] In Lucas's 1975 draft,Adventures of the Starkiller as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars, the capital planet of Alderaan is described as afloating city in the clouds, "suspended in a sea of cirrus methane".[9][10] This concept was illustrated in early sketches commissioned by Lucas fromconceptual artistRalph McQuarrie, and the design very closely resemblesCloud City, the floating city featured inThe Empire Strikes Back.[11] In Lucas's third draft, the Imperial City of Alderaan became the homeworld of theSith Lords, whereDarth Vader heldPrincess Leia captive. Lucas continued to hone his script, aided byscreenwritersWillard Huyck andGloria Katz. By the fourth draft, scenes on the Imperial capital planet had been moved to a space station called theDeath Star and the name ofAlderaan was given to a peaceful world destroyed by the Empire.[12]The Empire's homeworld,Had Abbadon, came up in early drafts ofReturn of the Jedi. The entire planet was to be a sprawling city. However, concluding that the realization of such a city was impossible at the time, the creators abandoned the idea. Later, in the graphic novelLegacy 29: Vector, Part 10 the name Had Abbadon was given to a lost mythic planet in the Had Abbadon System of the Deep Core. This mythic planet was covered by dry fields, linked to the birth of the Jedi, and the location of a planned assassination attempt byCade Skywalker onDarth Krayt.
The Empire's homeworld first appeared in theStar Wars Expanded Universe and was called Coruscant for the first time inTimothy Zahn'sHeir to the Empire.
In various novels, characters aligned with the Empire refer to Coruscant as the "Imperial Center". Within the stories, this is explained as an administrative renaming undertaken to emphasize the differences between the Old Republic and the Empire.
Coruscant was in some early sources called "Jhantor" in homage toIsaac Asimov'sTrantor.[13]
Production artwork produced by Ralph McQuarrie forReturn of the Jedi included some unrealized designs for the imperial capital, Had Abbadon. During the production ofThe Phantom Menace, it was decided that scenes would be set on the capital planet, now called Coruscant. ArtistDoug Chiang was tasked with designing the imperial city for which he turned to McQuarrie's original concept art.[14] The appearance of the cityscape has been described as a "retro-futuristic metropolis", and the streams of floating vehicles traveling between soaring skyscrapers is thought to have been partly inspired byFritz Lang's 1927 film,Metropolis.[15][16]
InAttack of the Clones, the depiction of Coruscant was expanded greatly. Chiang created a more urban, apocalyptic environment for the street level, taking inspiration fromRidley Scott's 1982 hit filmBlade Runner.[17]
For the television seriesAndor, VFX supervisor Scott Pritchard chose to move away from the "high science fiction" depiction of Coruscant seen in theprequel trilogy and instead opted for a more realistic and grounded take on the planet's cityscape, inspired byNew York City'sArt Deco stone buildings. Real world locations inLondon, such as theBarbican Centre andCanary Wharf, were used for filming scenes on Coruscant and were later extended or augmented withCGI.[18]
Coruscant is the location of a sequence added to the1997 Special Edition release ofReturn of the Jedi, its first onscreen appearance.[2] The sequence depicts the reaction of citizens of Coruscant upon hearing of the death ofEmperor Palpatine, where many citizens are seen celebrating with fireworks and pulling down his statue. The 1998 novelX-Wing: Iron Fist included an eyewitness account of this scene.[19]
Coruscant was prominently featured inStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as the location of theGalactic Republic Senate building and the central Jedi Temple.
There is aspeeder chase through the skies of Coruscant inEpisode II: Attack of the Clones that eventually leads to a nightclub in the bowels of Coruscant's Uscru Entertainment District. Another area of Coruscant shown isCoco Town (short for "collective commerce"). Coco Town is the site of Dex's Diner inAttack of the Clones. Another notable area of Coruscant is 500 Republica, an area where the elites of the city, such as politicians and diplomats, gather.
InEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith, Coruscant is featured in a space battle (known as the Battle of Coruscant) during the opening scene. Separatist cyborg,General Grievous kidnaps Chancellor Palpatine and uses the Separatist fleet to help assault the capital and cover his escape.
The planet's cityscape is then prominently featured throughout much of the movie with Chancellor Palpatine's office as well as the Senate building being the primary two settings on Coruscant. A theatre in 500 Republica is whereAnakin Skywalker and Palpatine watch a ballet; during the show, Palpatine encourages Skywalker to ally with the Dark Side by telling him of the supposed Sith ability of resuscitation.
After a failed attempt by the Jedi to arrest Palpatine when he divulges his true identity as Darth Sidious to Skywalker, Palpatine appoints himself Emperor of the firstGalactic Empire in the Republic Senate Building on Coruscant.
Coruscant features prominently in both the 2003traditionally-animatedClone Wars series and the 2008 animatedThe Clone Wars series, as the headquarters of the Jedi Temple and the Senate.
InRogue One,Jyn Erso has a flashback of her young self on Coruscant.
InObi-Wan Kenobi, Coruscant makes its first extensive live-action appearance in theStar Wars saga since the prequel trilogy. Coruscant is prominent in a montage of footage from theStar Wars prequel films, and the Jedi Temple of Coruscant is the setting of several scenes.
Coruscant is a prominent setting in theAndor series. The Majority ofMon Mothma, Dedra, and Syril's scenes take place on Coruscant.
InTales of the Jedi, Coruscant appears prominently in three of the six episodes.Count Dooku andMace Windu attend the funeral of Council Member Katri at the Jedi Temple,Ahsoka Tano is shown extensively training for combat in the same location, and the finallightsaber duel betweenMaster Yaddle and Count Dooku takes place inDarth Sidious' manufacturing-district lair. In one scene, Dooku remarks upon the fact that Coruscant is a planet of "Steel and Stone", lacking much in the way of wild nature;Qui-Gon Jinn, who was born there, had never seen a tree before visiting the Jedi Temple for the first time as a boy.
Inthe 19th episode ofThe Mandalorian, Coruscant is featured as a New Republic capital. On Coruscant, we are re-introduced toDr. Penn Pershing andElia Kane, a former communications officer onMoff Gideon's cruiser, who are now revealed to be a part of the New Republic Amnesty program. We are also introduced to the Shipyard Depot, a salvage yard where decommissioned Star Destroyers are being dismantled.
Coruscant appears as the background of a space battle inLego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.
InLego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, players can visit Coruscant's Federal and Uscru Districts.
In the prologue of the comic seriesDark Empire (1991), set after the original film trilogy, Coruscant is ravaged by battles between warring Imperial factions.
Coruscant appears as the opening level in 2023'sStar Wars: Jedi Survivor. Cal Kestis is tasked with tracking down Senator Daho Sejan, the player chasing after the senator's yacht until catching up with it.[20]
Coruscant is seen in theX-Wing series of computer games.
Concept art byRalph McQuarrie served as the basis for the pyramidal Imperial Palace, depicted inThe Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1995) byKevin J. Anderson, which claims it is "the largest structure on Coruscant, perhaps on any planet".[21] According to theStar Wars Encyclopedia (1998), it is located next to the Senate building.[22] Although this version of the Imperial Palace appears in a variety of Expanded Universe works, in canon, the Imperial Palace is located at the site of the former Jedi Temple, where Palpatine resides.[23]
InThe New Jedi Order series (1999–2003), Coruscant is the capital world of the New Republic until, inThe New Jedi Order: Star by Star, the extragalacticYuuzhan Vong overwhelm the New Republic defenses in three attack waves led by WarmasterTsavong Lah who takes over the planet, destroying the New Republic and creating the theocratic Yuuzhan Vong Empire. After surrendering, the Yuuzhan Vong agreed to help the Alliance rebuild Coruscant. The new Coruscant is a combination of technology and organic life representing the peace between the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances (Galactic Alliance) and the Yuuzhan Vong.
James Luceno's novelLabyrinth of Evil (2005) introduces a deserted manufacturing area known as 'The Works' as the meeting place forSith Lords Darth Sidious (Palpatine) andDarth Tyranus.
With the 2012 acquisition ofLucasfilm byThe Walt Disney Company, most of the licensedStar Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 filmStar Wars were re-branded asStar Wars Legends anddeclared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.[24][25][26]
Coruscant is inspired by Trantor; which builds downwards, digging into the earth. In comparison, Coruscant builds upwards and doesn't have a fixed top layer. Every few centuries, equal to hundreds levels, a new mega level is added that covers the previous layer.
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TheSenate District (also sometimes referred to as theFederal District) is located on the planet's equator, and is known to contain numerous notable sites such as the Ambassadorial Sector (canonically home to500 Republica and the Senate Apartment Complex), Embassy Mall, the Coruscant Opera House, the Galactic Museum, the Heorem Complex (where the Heorem Skytunnel is located), Judicial Plaza (home to the Glitanni Esplanade and the Judicial Arcology), the Legislative Borough, Senate Plaza, the Avenue Of The Core Founders, the Republic Executive Building, the Galactic Senate Building, Hospital Plaza, the Galactic Senate, the Palace District (home to the Imperial Palace and Senate Hill), Quadrant A-89 (home to the CSF HQ), the Fellowship Plaza, the Galactic Justice Center and the Temple Precinct (home to the Jedi Temple), Sector H-52, Sector I-33, the Uscru Boulevard, Westport and Xizor's Palace.
The Senate District is depicted as thede facto capital of Coruscant, the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire, the New Republic, the Galactic Federation Of Free Alliances, and the One Sith. It is shown bordering the Financial District and the Sah'c District and is also adjacent to The Works (an industrial sector on the planet). The Senate District is also referred to asthe Legislative District,Government District, andGovernment Center.
TheAlien Protection Zone is referenced as a walledghetto on Coruscant of an unknown location, housing the planet'snon-human population. Neighborhoods within the zone are shown representing the cultures of these minority groups. The Alien Protection Zone was constructed in 19 BBY by the Galactic Empire and opened by the New Republic in 6 ABY.
Sah'c Town, also known asSah'c District orQuadrant H-46, is an area described as situated on the Equator, named after and controlled by the wealthy Sah'c family. It was home to an emergency bunker where the chancellor of the Galactic Republic or New Republic ruled in case of emergencies. The area also contains Sah'c Canyon, which is the exit point of the Senate District's Heorem Skytunnel.
TheUscru District appears inAttack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, andLego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. On its upper levels, it hosts the Galaxy's Opera House. The district's lower levels were collectively referred to as the Entertainment District. The Outlander Club, seen inAttack of the Clones and mentioned inJedi: Fallen Order, is in the Entertainment District.
Coruscant is a multi-layer cityscape blanketing the entire planet's surface: there's no forest or sea. A notable exception to this is Manorai Plaza that's on level 5216; the summit of Mount Umate the Manorai Mountain Range, an exposed peak in a plaza; the highest natural elevation and one of the last remaining natural landscapes, as depicted inStar Wars Andor.
Coruscant also appears as one of the in–ride "destination planets" in the theme park attractionStar Tours – The Adventures Continue inDisney's Hollywood Studios atWalt Disney World Resort inOrlando, Florida, andDisneyland Park atDisneyland Resort inAnaheim, California.
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