Tatooine has been a mainstay in the Star Wars universe since Luke Skywalker’s introduction in A New Hope almost five decades ago. While the planet is often deemed to be a podunk, backwater Outer Rim planet, Knights of the Old Republic provided an explanation as to why it was more important than it seems back in 2003.
Tatooine is one of the most recognizable and iconic locations in the franchise and holds significance as the place where important characters such as Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and more were first introduced. Despite this, the story was quick to move on from Tatooine in A New Hope, and the original trilogy only returned there at the beginning of Return of the Jedi. The prequel era then started to feature the location more prominently as part of Anakin Skywalker’s origins, and it appeared briefly at the end of The Rise of Skywalker. However, other media such as video games and the Disney+ shows have returned to Tatooine on several occasions, which seemingly increased its importance in-universe.
Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel provided a huge amount of lore to the Star Wars universe and attempted to provide a reason for Tatooine’s continuing prominence in the franchise by tying it to the Rakatan Infinite Empire. The Infinite Empire pre-dated the Old Republic and used highly advanced Force technology to assert its dominance and conquer worlds. According to KOTOR’s history, Tatooine was once teeming with life, and its native inhabitants, the Kumumgah, were such a force that they began colonizing other worlds.
This colonization drew the attention of the Rakata, and the Infinite Empire enslaved the Kumumgah, which led to a revolution later. In response to the Kumumgah’s rebellion, the Rakata carried out an orbital bombardment on Tatooine with devastating effects. Tatooine’s oceans boiled away, and its soil turned to glass as the silica within it fused, depriving the natives of the means to grow crops, and this glass eventually eroded into the sands that cover Tatooine, turning it into the desert planet most audiences are now well-acquainted with.
This drastic change split the indigenous Kumumgah into two races: the nomadic Ghorfas and the Jawas, and while the Jawas still scavenge the planet, and the Ghorfas seemed to evolve into the Tusken Raiders, it’s highly likely that Rakata still conquered Tatooine because its abundance of life meant there was an abundance of the Force, which could be tapped for the Infinite Empire. It’s possible that such an ancient, deep-rooted connection to the Force is the reason that so many Star Wars events keep occurring around the planet.
2023-07-30 19:00:05
Post from screenrant.com
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