Wikipedia

Alderaan

This article is about the fictional Star Wars planet. For the asterism, seeAl-Dhira'.For other uses, seeAlderaan (disambiguation).
Not to be confused withAldebaranorAlderman.

Alderaan(/ˈɔːldərɑːn,-ræn/) is anEarth-likefictional planetfeatured in theStar Warsfranchise. It is blue-green in appearance, depicted as aterrestrial planetwithhumanoidinhabitants, and characterized by a peaceful culture. It is the home planet ofPrincess Leia Organa,one of the lead characters in thefilm series,as well as former Rebel shock trooperCara Dune.In theoriginal 1977 film,[a]Alderaan was destroyed by theDeath Star's superlaser.[1]

Alderaan
Star Warslocation
Alderaan as it appears inStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
First appearance
Last appearanceObi-Wan Kenobi(2022)
Created byGeorge Lucas
GenreScience fiction
In-universe information
TypeTerrestrial planet
Race(s)Human(immigrated)
Characters
Moons1

Depiction

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Early drafts of theStar Warsstory include references to at least two planets which later evolved into the concept of Alderaan.Star WarsauthorGeorge Lucasincluded a planet called Alderaan in earlytreatments;inThe Star Wars(1973),Alderaanis a city-planet and the capital planet of the galaxy (prefiguring the planetCoruscantwhich later featured in the films). The draft script opens with a scene in which an "eerie blue-green" planet calledAquilaeis threatened by an armed space fortress.[2]

In Lucas' 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 cityin the clouds, "suspended in a sea of cirrus methane". A planet described in Lucas' draft script as being "under siege by the Imperial Legions of Alderaan" and which is later destroyed is named asOgana Major.[3][4]Early sketches commissioned by Lucas fromconceptual illustratorRalph McQuarrieshow a design which very closely resemblesCloud City,as featured in the later sequel,The Empire Strikes Back.[5]In Lucas' third draft, the Imperial City of Alderaan has become the home world of theSith Lords,andDarth VaderholdsPrincess Leiacaptive here. Lucas continued to hone his script, aided byscreenwritersWillard HuyckandGloria Katz;names of planets and characters were revised and the narrative was improved, and by the fourth draft, scenes on the Imperial capital planet had been moved to a space station called theDeath Starand the peaceful world destroyed by the Empire had taken the name Alderaan.[6]

The on-screen depictions of Alderaan in theStar Warsfilms are scant; the distant planet is seen momentarily inStar Wars(1977) prior to its destruction, and inRevenge of the Sith(2005) a short scene shows a city amid a snow-covered, mountainous landscape.

Film

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Mountain scenery inGrindelwald,Switzerland,used to depict Alderaan.
Composite image based on a shot ofLake Thun,depicting Alderaan.
Characters from Alderaan
Carrie Fisher,who played Alderaan's best-known inhabitant,Princess Leia Organa
Jimmy Smits,who played Alderaan royal and adoptive father of Leia,Bail Organa
Adam Driver,who playedBen Solo,the son ofHan SoloandPrincess Leia,and a "Prince of Alderaan", in theStar Warssequel trilogy.

Alderaan was originally featured in the first film,Star Wars,released in 1977. The opening scene depicts the capture of a small spaceship from Alderaan, theTantive IV,by theGalactic Empire,and introduces the character of Princess Leia Organa, a princess of the Royal House of Alderaan who is played by Carrie Fisher.

Alderaan appears in a later scene in the film, but is only shown on-screen in a distant view from space as the Empire's gigantic space station, the Death Star, moves into orbit around the planet. The battle station's commander, theGrand Moff Tarkin(Peter Cushing) orders the Death Star'ssuperweaponto be fired at the planet as both a test of the superlaser at full power and as a message to the rest of the galaxy that the price of any type of resistance was extermination. Alderaan explodes instantly in a ball of fire. It is later shown that the shattered planet has been reduced to a cloud ofasteroidsas theMillennium Falconspaceship attempts to visit the planet.[1]

The destruction of Alderaan meant that it was not depicted in subsequentStar Warsfilms until the series of prequel films was produced. The planet made its first on-screen appearance since 1977 inEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith(2005), appearing briefly at the end of the film. The adoptive father of Princess Leia,Bail Organa(Jimmy Smits) is seen piloting a starship to the planet's surface, which is shown as a mountainous, alpine region covered in snow. Landing his ship in acitadelamong the mountains, he brings the newborn Leia to the royal palace and introduces her to his wife, Queen Breha. The backdrop for these scenes was created bycompositinglandscape footage of Grindelwald in Switzerland withCGIimages of the city.[7]

The planet is not featured in the 2016 filmRogue One,but the character Bail Organa makes an appearance, stating that he will return to Alderaan to wait for his daughter, Leia, to bring the Jedi MasterObi-Wan Kenobi.This precedes the narrative of the 1977 film,A New Hope.[8]He dies when the Death Star destroys the planet.

Television

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In an episode of the animated television seriesStar Wars: The Clone Wars[1]entitled "Assassin",Ahsoka Tanohas premonitions ofPadmé's death on Alderaan.

The mercenaryCarasynthia "Cara" Dune,inThe Mandalorian,is a former Republic Shock Trooper from Alderaan, according toMoff Gideon,which she later confirms.[9]

The planet appeared in the first and sixth episodes of the streaming seriesObi-Wan Kenobi,in scenes depicting the Organa's residence and its surroundings.

Comics

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The comic seriesStar Wars: Princess Leia(2015) deals with Princess Leia and Evaan Verlaine (a female rebel pilot also native from Alderaan), rescuing survivors from Alderaan's destruction. It also features a brief flashback to Leia's childhood on the planet and her relationship with her adoptive father Senator Bail Organa.[10]

InStar Wars#33 (2017), Leia tells Luke that sometimes she can see Alderaan among the stars as, from certain perspectives in the galaxy, its light has not ceased to emit.

Books

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"We are Alderaan. We answer rage with wisdom. We answer fear with imagination. We answer rage with hope. If one life with a single drop of Alderaanian blood survive, Alderaan survives. If one life with a passion for Alderaanian creativity survives—Alderaan survives. And we are, each of us, important. And whatever happens, I bow to all of you—and to our future." ― Leia Organa[10]

According to the bookSkywalker: A Family at Warby Kristin Baver, as the son ofPrincess Leia,Ben Solowould have inherited the title of "Prince of Alderaan" if the planet and the royal House of Organa not been destroyed by his grandfather,Darth Vader,andEmpireprior to his birth. Upon the birth of Ben Solo, he was considered a member of the Elder Houses of the galaxy, and entitled through hereditary succession to ceremonial titles, including "Supreme Governor of Birren", a small planet settled by Alderaanian explorers in the Inner Rim of the galaxy.[11][12]

According to the 2016 novelStar Wars: BloodlinebyClaudia Gray,as well as the 2017Chuck WendignovelStar Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End,due to the destruction of Alderaan, Princess Leia gave birth to Ben onChandrila,the home planet ofMon Mothma,as well as the temporary capital of theNew Republic.Ben was born in 5 ABY, one year and four days after theBattle of Endorin the filmStar Wars: Return of the Jedi(1983).[13][14][15]

According to the 2018 novelLast Shot: A Han and Lando NovelbyDaniel José Older,which features a young Ben Solo, the boy was never formally raised orinvestedas a "Prince of Alderaan",[16]despite his mother leading the Alderaanian diaspora.[12]Out of the 2 billion inhabitants on Alderaan - with the modern-day populations ofChinaandIndiahaving about 2.8 billion people combined - about 60,000 survived the destruction of the planet due to being outside of its star system at the time.[17]One of the survivors,Cara Dune,served as a marshal of the New Republic, presumably under Princess Leia, Ben Solo's mother, around 9 ABY.[18]Dune is played byGina CaranoinThe Mandalorian.

Legends

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Alderaan is mentioned frequently and also serves as a location in several works in theStar WarsExpanded Universe,the collection of books, comics and other material considered outside official canon, now brandedStar Wars Legends.In various stories, Alderaan is presented as the home of the charactersTycho Celchu,and ofUlic Qel Dromawho fought in theGreat Sith Warin 4000 BBY.[b]

Radio drama

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The 1981NPR/BBCradio drama adaptation ofStar Warsfeatures scenes set on Alderaan, in which Princess Leia discusses her mission to acquire the Death Star plans from agents of theRebel Alliancewith her father, Bail Organa (Prestor Organa). In a later scene, she is confronted by the Imperial commander Lord Tion and accused of treason.[19][20]It is established that Alderaan has a strict policy against weapons.[21]

Novels

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InMichael A. Stackpole's 1998 novel,I, Jedi,Alderaan features as the sanctuary of theCaamasiwhen their home world ofCaamasis devastated by theGalactic Empire.

Alderaan is featured in a 1991role-playing game,Graveyard of Alderaan(part ofStar Wars: The Roleplaying Game). It describes how, after theClone Wars,Alderaan's massive war machine was dismantled, and the weapons were placed aboard an armory warship calledAnother Chance.The ship was programmed to continually jump through hyperspace until called home by the Alderanian Council.Bill Slavicsek,who wrote the game's sourcebook, later drew from it for his edition ofA Guide to the Star Wars Universe.[22]

Comics

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In theDark HorsecomicDark Empire(1991–1992), New Alderaan is a Rebel Alliance colony planet populated by Alderaanians who were off-world when Alderaan was destroyed.Mon Mothma's daughter lives there.[23]

Description

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Alderaan (Core Worlds, M12) illustrated on a map of the fictionalStar Warsgalaxy

InAlan Dean Foster's 1976novelization of the original film,Alderaan is described as a "small green gem of a world".[24] The planet appears more substantially inStar Warsreference guidesto fictional locations. According toKevin J. Anderson'sThe Illustrated Star Wars Universe(1995) and Wallace, Kolins and McKinney'sStar Wars: The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons(1998), Alderaan is covered by wild grasslands, plains, forests and mountain ranges.[25][26]The planet has no ocean, but has a semi-frozen polar sea, and thousands of lakes and rivers.[27]It is rich in biodiversity, populated by a wide variety of flora and fauna, such as thenerfand thethranta.[28]

Human life on the planet is evidenced by a number of cities, built to harmonize with the natural environment such as on canyon walls, on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice.[25]The capital city, Aldera, has been built on a small island in the center of acaldera.[29][26]The Alderaanian people value arts and education highly,[25]and place high importance on their participation in the Galactic (later Imperial) Senate and the promotion of peace through demilitarization.[26][c]The largelydemocratic societyis formed as hereditaryconstitutional monarchy,ruled by the King or Queen of Alderaan from the Royal House of Antilles and later, due to marriage, the House of Organa.[26]The planetary government is the High Council of Alderaan, presided over by aFirst Chairman and Viceroy.

Cultural analysis

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The destruction of Alderaan is considered by some as an artistic depiction of the danger ofnuclear weaponsduring theCold War[31]and some claim it is used as apop-cultureexample of inadequate political and military action leading to negative effects.[32][33]

See also

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References

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Footnotes

  1. ^Later titledStar Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
  2. ^BBY: Before the Battle of Yavindepicted inA New Hope
  3. ^According toA Guide to the Star Wars Universe,which draws from the radio drama of the original film, weapons were banned after the violence of the Clone Wars.[30]

Citations

  1. ^abc"Databank: Alderaan".StarWars.Lucasfilm.Archivedfrom the original on April 23, 2016.RetrievedApril 20,2017.
  2. ^Rinzler 2008,pp. 351–400.
  3. ^Hearn 2005,pp. 86–87.
  4. ^Bouzereau 1998,pp. 67–68.
  5. ^"An Annotated Guide to The Star Wars Portfolio by Ralph McQuarrie | StarWars".StarWars.14 January 2014.Retrieved20 April2017.
  6. ^Hearn 2005,p. 99.
  7. ^Stephens, Thomas (24 February 2012)."Giving Swiss film locations some direction".SwissInfo.ch.Retrieved1 July2012.
  8. ^"Databank: Bail Organa".StarWars.Lucasfilm. Archived fromthe originalon 8 April 2017.Retrieved21 April2017.
  9. ^"Chapter 8: Redemption".The Mandalorian.Season 1. Episode 8. 27 December 2019. Disney+.
  10. ^ab"Comic Book Review – Star Wars: Princess Leia #1-5".10 July 2015.
  11. ^Baver, Kirstin (6 April 2021).Skywalker: A Family at War.DK.ISBN978-0744027310.
  12. ^abGray, Claudia (31 January 2017).Bloodline.Random House Worlds.ISBN978-1101885260.
  13. ^Gray, Claudia (1 August 2017).Lost Stars.Disney Lucasfilm Press.ISBN978-1368013789.
  14. ^Trendacosta, Katharine (February 22, 2017)."Everything ThatAftermath: Empire's EndReveals About the NewStar WarsUniverse ".Gizmodo.RetrievedFebruary 22,2017.
  15. ^McDonagh, Tim (2016).Star Wars: Galactic Maps.Disney–Lucasfilm Press. pp. 13, 44.ISBN978-1368003063.
  16. ^Older, Daniel José (17 April 2018).Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel.Random House Worlds.ISBN978-0525622130.
  17. ^Carey, Craig Robert (2003).Coruscant and the Core Worlds.Wizards of the Coast.
  18. ^Baver, Kristin."SWCC 2019: 9 Things We Learned from 'The Mandalorian' Panel".StarWars.Lucasfilm.Retrieved4 November2023.
  19. ^Robb, Brian J. (2012).A Brief Guide to Star Wars.London: Hachette.ISBN9781780335834.Retrieved18 January2017.
  20. ^Daley, Brian(1995).Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama.London: Titan.ISBN9781852866280.
  21. ^Monagle, Matthew (May 24, 2017)."Remembering the 'Star Wars' Radio Drama".ScreenCrush.RetrievedMarch 10,2020.
  22. ^Slavicsek 1994,pp. xii, 13.
  23. ^Slavicsek 1994,p. 320.
  24. ^Lucas, George (2011) [1976].A New Hope: Star Wars: Episode IV.Random House.p. 113.ISBN978-0-345-34146-4.
  25. ^abcAnderson 1995,p. 189.
  26. ^abcdWallace, Kolins & McKinney 1998,pp. 6–7.
  27. ^Anderson 1995,pp. 193–94.
  28. ^Anderson 1995,pp. 192, 195.
  29. ^Anderson 1995,pp. 198–201.
  30. ^Slavicsek 1994,p. 12.
  31. ^Klein, Christopher (December 17, 2015)."The Real History That Inspired 'Star Wars'".History.RetrievedDecember 30,2018.
  32. ^Ed. Michael A. Allen, Justin S. Vaughn. Poli Sci Fi: An Introduction to Political Science through Science Fiction // Routledge, 2016
  33. ^Ed. Max Brooks, John Amble, ML Cavanaugh, Jaym Gates. Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict // Potomac Books, 2018

Sources

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Further reading

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