Coruscant
Coruscant | |
---|---|
Heir to the Empire (1991) Canon (live-action): Return of the Jedi (1997 special edition) | |
Last appearance | Ahsoka (2023) |
Created by | George Lucas, Timothy Zahn |
Genre | Science fiction |
In-universe information | |
Type | Urban (planetwide ecumenopolis)[1] |
Race(s) |
|
Population | 2 trillion (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 (
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 Worlds
Etymology and naming
In the Star Wars universe, the planet Coruscant derives its name from a rare and valuable gemstone, the corusca gem (a fictional gem in Star Wars lore). The lights of the planet-wide city, as seen from space,[4] were said to resemble the glittering of these gems.
In the real world, the word “coruscant” originates in the late 15th century from the
Early concepts
The concept of a
The Empire's homeworld first appeared in the
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 to
Design
Production artwork produced by Ralph McQuarrie for Return of the Jedi included some unrealized designs for the imperial capital, Had Abbadon. During the production of The Phantom Menace, it was decided that scenes would be set on the capital planet, now called Coruscant. Artist Doug Chiang was tasked with designing the imperial city for which he turned to McQuarrie's original concept art.[12] 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 by Fritz Lang's 1927 film, Metropolis.[13][14]
In Attack of the Clones, the depiction of Coruscant was expanded greatly. Chiang created a more urban, apocalyptic environment for the street level, taking inspiration from Ridley Scott's 1982 hit film Blade Runner.[15]
Appearances
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Coruscant is the location of a sequence added to the 1997 Special Edition release of Return of the Jedi, its first onscreen appearance.[2] The sequence depicts the reaction of citizens of Coruscant upon hearing of the death of Emperor Palpatine, where many citizens are seen celebrating with fireworks and pulling down his statue.
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Coruscant was prominently featured in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as the location of the Galactic Republic Senate building and the central Jedi Temple.
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
There is a
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
In Episode 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 where
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 first Galactic Empire in the Republic Senate Building on Coruscant.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2003 and 2008 TV series)
Coruscant features prominently in both the 2003
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
In Rogue One, Jyn Erso has a flashback of her young self on Coruscant.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
In
Andor
Coruscant is a prominent setting in the Andor series. All of Mon Mothma's scenes take place on Coruscant as well as the majority of Dedra and Syril's scenes.
Tales of the Jedi
In
The Mandalorian
In
Other works
Coruscant appears as the background of a space battle in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.
In Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, players can visit Coruscant's Federal and Uscru Districts.
In the prologue of the comic series Dark Empire (1991), set after the original film trilogy, Coruscant is ravaged by battles between warring Imperial factions.
Coruscant in seen in the X-Wing series of computer games.
Concept art by Ralph McQuarrie served as the basis for the pyramidal Imperial Palace, depicted in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1995) by Kevin J. Anderson, which claims it is "the largest structure on Coruscant, perhaps on any planet".[16] According to the Star Wars Encyclopedia (1998), it is located next to the Senate building.[17] 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.[18]
In
With the 2012 acquisition of
Notable metropolitan areas
This section describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (May 2021) |
Senate District
The Senate District (also sometimes referred to as the Federal District) is located on the planet's equator, and is known to contain numerous notable sites such as the Ambassadorial Sector (canonically home to 500 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 the de 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 as the Legislative District, Government District, and Government Center.
Alien Protection Zone
The Alien Protection Zone is referenced as a walled ghetto on Coruscant of an unknown location, housing the planet's non-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
Sah'c Town, also known as Sah'c District or Quadrant 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.
Uscru District
The Uscru District appears in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and Lego 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 in Attack of the Clones and mentioned in Jedi: Fallen Order, is in the Entertainment District.
Theme park attraction
Coruscant also appears as one of the in–ride "destination planets" in the theme park attraction
See also
References
Footnotes
- The Phantom Menace was produced, the "sc" had a pronunciation like a "sk" in Star Wars merchandise such as the Thrawn trilogy audiobooks. The rare English word "coruscant" ("glimmering") is pronounced /kəˈrʌskənt/ kə-RUSS-kənt.
- ^ BBY: Before the Battle of Yavin depicted in Episode IV: A New Hope
- ^ ABY: After the Battle of Yavin depicted in A New Hope
Citations
- ^ a b c Carey, C. R. etc. Coruscant and the Core Worlds. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003. P. 7.
- ^ ISBN 0-345-43111-1.
- ^ a b Leonard, Joel (March 30, 2021). "10 best locations for spring break in the Star Wars universe". Dork Side of the Force. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ^ Greicius, Tony (December 15, 2015). "Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far, far away…". NASA. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
- ^ See also Princeton WordNet
- ^ Rinzler 2008, pp. 351–400.
- ^ Hearn 2005, pp. 86–87.
- ^ Bouzereau 1998, pp. 67–68.
- ^ "An Annotated Guide to The Star Wars Portfolio by Ralph McQuarrie | StarWars.com". StarWars.com. January 14, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ Hearn 2005, p. 99.
- ^ Maemura, Emily. "Total Urbanization of a Planet - The Ecumenopolis". tboake. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ Hearn 2005, p. 193.
- ISBN 9781568988375. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "The Cinema Behind Star Wars: Metropolis". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm. August 18, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ISBN 9780345431257.
- OCLC 32388635.
- OCLC 36960986.
- ^ "Jedi Temple". StarWars.com. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ "Disney and Random House announce relaunch of Star Wars Adult Fiction line". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ McMilian, Graeme (April 25, 2014). "Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for Star Wars Expanded Universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
Sources
- Rinzler, J. W. (2008). The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. Ebury Press. ISBN 9780091924997. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- Hearn, Marcus (2005). The Cinema of George Lucas. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9780810949683. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- Bouzereau, Laurent (1998). Star Wars: the Annotated Screenplays (1st UK ed.). London: Titan Books. ISBN 9781852869236. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Further reading
- The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons (Star Wars), 1st edition, by Daniel Wallace, Scott Kolins. 1998. ISBN 0-345-42068-3
- Star Wars, X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, (Book 2 of the X-Wing series) 1st paperback printing, 1996. Michael A. Stackpole, ISBN 0-553-56802-7
- Star Wars, X-Wing: The Krytos Trap, (Book 3 of the X-Wing series) 1st paperback printing, 1996. Michael A. Stackpole, ISBN 0-553-56803-5
- Star Wars: Before the Storm, (Book 1 of The Black Fleet Crisis), first paperback printing, 1996. Michael P. Kube-McDowell, ISBN 0-553-57273-3
- Star Wars: Shield of Lies, (Book 2 of The Black Fleet Crisis), first paperback printing, 1996. Michael P. Kube-McDowell, ISBN 0-553-57277-6
- Star Wars, Darksaber, 1st paperback printing, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-57611-9
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, 1996. Steve Perry, ISBN 0-553-57413-2
- Heir to the Empire, (Book 1 of The Thrawn Crisis), 1st edition, 1991. ISBN 0-553-07327-3
- Dark Force Rising, (Book 2 of The Thrawn Crisis), 1st edition, 1992. Timothy Zahn. ISBN 0-553-08574-3
- The Last Command, (Book 3 of The Thrawn Crisis), 1st edition, 1993. Timothy Zahn. ISBN 0-553-09186-7
- ISBN 0-09-941044-3
- ISBN 0-09-941038-9
- ISBN 1-57297-025-1)
- ISBN 1-57297-052-9)
- Alain Musset, From New York to Coruscant. Essay on Geofiction (in French only: De New York à Coruscant. Essai de géofiction, PUF, 2005. This author uses science fiction as a way to explore the present (assuming that writers base their fiction as an extension of today) [1] / [2] (p. 109)
External links
- Coruscant in the StarWars.com Databank
- Coruscant on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
- For a description of the word coruscant in French with examples, look at the blog "Le Garde Mot" [3]