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| Tatooine | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars location | |
.jpg) The planet Tatooine, as seen inStar Wars (1997 special edition) | |
| First appearance |
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| Last appearance | Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (2023) |
| Created by | George Lucas |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Desert planet |
| Race(s) | |
| Locations |
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Tatooine (/ˌtætuˈiːn/TAT-oo-EEN) is a fictionaldesert planet that appears in theStar Wars franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate worldorbiting a pair ofbinary stars, and inhabited byhuman settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first seen inthe original 1977 filmStar Wars, and has to date featured in a total of sevenStar Wars theatrical films, three live-action television series, and four animated series.
It is the home planet of theprotagonist of the originalStar Wars Trilogy,Luke Skywalker, and of his father,Anakin Skywalker (who later became Darth Vader). It is also the planet whereObi-Wan Kenobi takes up residence under the name "Ben Kenobi" in order to watch over Luke during the former's exile following the events ofOrder 66 and Anakin's fall to the dark side. Shots of the binary sunset over the Tatooine desert are considered to be aniconic image of the film series, along with the greatest sunset scenes in cinematic history.[1][2]
In his early drafts of theStar Wars story, authorGeorge Lucas changed the names of planets and characters several times. In his earlytreatment, Lucas opened the story on the fourth moon of the planetUtapau, the home of a young warrior called Annikin Starkiller.[3] In Lucas's rough draft,The Star Wars (1974), the escaping droids land in a desert on the planet Aquilae; in later drafts the planet again takes the name of Utapau.[4] Prior to production, early artwork commissioned by Lucas fromconceptual illustratorRalph McQuarrie show robots lost on a desert world, scorched by twin suns and mysterious, maskedTusken Raiders riding large hornedBanthas.[5][6][7]
George Lucas originally envisaged filming the Utapau/Tatooine scenes inAlgeria (inspired byMichelangelo Antonioni's 1975 filmThe Passenger),Libya orIran, but these locations were rejected by20th Century Fox. When production began onStar Wars, production designersJohn Barry andRobert Watts scouted forfilming locations inMorocco andTunisia. Lucas, accompanied by producerGary Kurtz visited the Tunisian island ofDjerba with them and were impressed by the desert landscape and the unusual architecture, and selected Tunisia to provide the desert planet setting. Lucas was also keen to shoot at the Hotel Sidi Driss inMatmata, a decision which extended the shoot, and consequently the budget, by a day. Filming in Tunisia began on March 22, 1976, and immediately ran into difficulty: the region was experiencing its first heavy rainfall in seven years, which disrupted the setting of an arid desert planet.[8] The Matmata hotel consisted of atroglodyte dwelling in a large hole in the ground. Combined with shots atChott el Djerid, nearNefta, this formed the setting for the Lars homestead and moisture farm. The landing site forC-3PO andR2-D2's escape pod was filmed insand dunes at La Grande Dune, near Nefta, and exterior shots ofMos Eisley spaceport were shot on Djerba.[9][10][11] The nameTatooine is not actually mentioned in the final screenplay ofStar Wars—Lucas was still working on his fourth draft while scouting locations, and adapted the name from a town in southern Tunisia calledTataouine (French spelling, orTataween spelling inTunisian Arabic).[12]
Certain scenes filmed on Djerbawere subsequently deleted from thefinal cut of the film in order to improve the narrative pace. The most significant material cut was a series of scenes set in the township of Anchorhead which served to introduce the characters of Luke Skywalker andBiggs Darklighter.[13] Lucas asked film editorRichard Chew to cut these scenes as they had been likened to "American Graffiti in outer space" by Fox executives (in reference to Lucas's 1973 film).[14][15]
Footage filmed at Sidi Bouhlel in Tunisia was combined with 1977second unit filming atDeath Valley National Park in California to create the rocky canyon scenes featuringJawas andTusken Raiders.[16][17]
When crews returned to Tunisia to film for the Star Wars prequel films in 1998, locations at Onk Jemal (Ong Jmal) inTozeur,Ksar Ouled Soltane andKsar Hadada, Ghomrassen were used for Tatooine scenes.[10] Abandoned sets for the filming have been left in the desert but can be visited.[18]
Tatooine originally featured in the1977 filmStar Wars, and was the first planet to be seen in the film franchise. In the opening scene, the planet and two of its moons are seen in space against a sea of stars, forming the backdrop of a space battle which sets in motion the events of the film. Two robots,C-3PO andR2-D2, jettison in anescape pod from a captured spaceship, theTantive IV, and land on the surface of Tatooine. The droids lose their way in a sparse desert and are captured by small scavenger creatures calledJawas. When the robots are sold on to human settlers, protagonistLuke Skywalker is introduced as a young man living with his aunt and uncle on a farm. The hostility of the arid desert environment is emphasised by the depiction of sandstorms and the heat of the binary stars, as Luke watches a twin sunset over the sand dunes. Humans are constantly threatened by violent bandit creatures calledTusken Raiders. As the film progresses, various leading characters are introduced to the story in scenes set on Tatooine:Obi-Wan Kenobi,Han Solo andChewbacca. Later Tatooine scenes take place inMos Eisley, a gritty bustlingspaceport on the planet which is a centre of smuggling and organised crime. One of the most celebrated scenes in theStar Wars saga is in the Mos Eisley cantina, a shady saloon populated by exotic alien species.[19][20] ComposerJohn Williams wrote music for the alien band in this scene in the style ofswing musicianBenny Goodman, and arranged with unusual instrumentation to convey an other-worldly sound.[21] Tatooine features once again in the 1983 filmReturn of the Jedi, in which the story's heroes return to Tatooine to rescue Han Solo fromJabba the Hutt, a fearsome gangster who dominates the criminal underworld on Tatooine.
When theprequel trilogy revived the film franchise in 1999, the action returned to Tatooine forEpisode I: The Phantom Menace as the setting for the childhood of Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. Living as a slave in another spaceport,Mos Espa, Anakin competes inpod races, long-distance airborne races across the desert. The Jedi masterQui-Gon Jinn meets Anakin after making an emergency landing on the planet, and helps him win his freedom. InEpisode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), an older Anakin returns to Tatooine to search for his mother, Shmi, who has been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. The prequels depict a vast expanse of desert with jagged rock formations. Tatooine features once more in the final prequel film,Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005); in the closing scene, Obi-Wan Kenobi takes the infant Luke Skywalker and delivers him to his adoptive parents on the Tatooine moisture farm while he goes into hiding by residing in the Junland Wastelands which are in Tatooine's mountainous areas, thus explaining his first appearance in that location inEpisode IV.[19]
Tatooine is featured in the climax of the animated filmStar Wars: The Clone Wars in which Anakin and his Padawan apprenticeAhsoka Tano return Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped son to his palace. Tatooine again appears briefly at the end ofThe Rise of Skywalker, whenRey visits the remains of the Lars moisture farm.
Located in an unknown galaxy's desolate Outer Rim, Tatooine orbits a pair ofbinaryG-typestars, Tatoo I and Tatoo II.[22] The planet's indigenous lifeforms such as thewomp rat,bantha,Sarlacc, andKrayt dragon are well-adapted to its arid climate. Though its proximity to the suns makes life difficult, it is located near key hyperspace routes, making it a smuggler and gangster haven; debris from shipwrecks also provides resources for scavengers. Annual sandstorms wipe out landmarks and make nomadic life dangerous, with the planet's populations clustered into distinct settlements.[22]
A small Imperial presence brings the planet an additional source of water, its most precious commodity. Though tasked to enforce the law,stormtroopers often overlook crime; an efficientblack market also enables the procurement of illegal goods. Human settlers often becomemoisture farmers and live insubterranean dwellings in order to survive.[23] Pipe systems distribute most of the harvested moisture to indoor crops supplying food for the farmers. Rare water sources such as springs inbadlands (e.g. Beggar's Canyon) provide hydration for hermits and Tusken Raiders.[24]The planet is dominated by theHutts, a clan of gangsters and crime lords. Since Tatooine was beyond the reach of theGalactic Republic, the Hutts presided over the lawless planet with little outside interference. When theGalactic Empire subsumed the Old Republic, the new regime established only a token presence on Tatooine, which leftJabba the Hutt's reign unchallenged until his death during the events depicted inReturn of the Jedi. In fact, during the reign of the Empire, some Tatooinians were skeptical that, should theRebellion actually reach their planet, that the Empire would even bother to put up a fight to hold on to it. The planet gained notability in what is an unknown galaxy as the homeworld of Luke Skywalker.[25]
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Because Tatooine features so prominently in theStar Wars film series, a wide range of locations has been represented on-screen.
Although the planet is sparsely populated, settlements of varying size have provided the settings for many scenes inStar Wars films.
The first settlement to be shown isAnchorhead where many human settlers on Tatooine pursue a difficult agrarian existence on remote "moisture farms" in the desert, collecting water vapor from theatmosphere to grow crops. Among these moisture farmers is the young hero of the film,Luke Skywalker, who resides with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru at theLars Homestead. The region is dangerous, with kidnappings byTusken Raiders being a major problem, as shown inAttack of the Clones (2002), when Luke's father Anakin, lost his mother to Tusken Raiders. In the original film, Luke also mentionsTosche Station (orToshi Station), which was a mechanical repair shop featured in scenes that were deleted from the final cut of the original 1977 film. In the deleted scenes, Luke meets his young friends and bids farewell toBiggs Darklighter, who is about to leave to the Imperial Academy. TheJediObi-Wan Kenobi is also in self-imposed exile near that region, although his house is remote from other houses, as he is hiding under the alias Ben.[19][20]
Bestine is the "capital" of Tatooine; although it does not appear in any films, it is mentioned as "Bestine township" in the 1976 novelisationStar Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker and is featured prominently inStar Wars Galaxies video games. In theExpanded Universe, there is also a separate planet namedBestine.[26][27]
Mos Pelgo briefly known as Freetown, was atown located in the northern hemisphere of theplanet Tatooine. Seen in bothStar Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne andThe Mandalorian.
Two majorspaceport locations have been shown on Tatooine:
Tatooine is mostly a desert environment. Characters in the films make reference to the deserts by name: theJundland Wastes, a rocky region, is the location of the Tusken Raider attack inStar Wars (1977), and the neighboringDune Sea (the basin of an ancient ocean)[28] is the setting for Jabba the Hutt'spalace has theRancor pit inside the palace. Also situated in the Dune Sea is theGreat Pit of Carkoon, the lair of the deadlyomnivorousSarlacc creature.[31]
Tatooine also appeared in the theme park attractionStar Tours - The Adventures Continue inDisney's Hollywood Studios inWalt Disney World Resort inOrlando,Florida andDisneyland Park inDisneyland Resort inAnaheim,California.
The discovery ofexoplanets in thereal universe gained pace in the early 21st century. In 2015, the US space agencyNASA published an article which stated that many of the newly discovered astronomical bodies possessed scientifically confirmed properties that are similar to planets in the fictionalStar Wars universe. Among them, the planetsTOI 1338 b,Kepler-16b andKepler-453b have been likened to Tatooine because they have been discovered orbitingbinary star systems.[32] These planets are known ascircumbinary planets.
The desert planet ofJakku in theStar Wars sequel trilogy filmThe Force Awakens (2015) has been noted as being very similar to Tatooine.[33]
In August 2019, rapperKanye West announced that he was designingprefabricated homes inspired by the settlements on Tatooine seen inA New Hope to serve aslow-income housing. His prototypes inCalabasas, California were torn down after he was cited for not obtaining the proper permits and receiving complaints about the "gumdrop-shaped" structures.[34][35] On July 5, 2020, West tweeted a photograph of similar structures being built to promote hispresidential campaign.[36]
The desert planet of Kerona inSpace Quest I is a reference to Tatooine.
