The Surprising History of Tatooine: From Sea to Sand

Tatooine's Ancient History

One unexpected source in Star Wars confirms in the canon what had been introduced long before in Legends: Tatooine was once a much more bearable planet and home to a sea teeming with life. First depicted in A New Hope and revisited in Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Tatooine is represented in the movies as a barren desert, one that famously filled Anakin Skywalker with a lifelong hatred of sand. It seems, however, the planet wasn't always that way. Long ago, the planet would have been unrecognizable.

Tatooine's ancient seas and a tree depicted in The Book of Boba Fett episode 2

A far cry from the bleak, dry home world of both Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Tatooine's Dune Sea was once much more aptly named. In Star Wars: The Mandalorian Junior Novel, author Joe Schreiber revealed a bit more about that history in the book. While covering the events of The Mandalorian season 1, episode 5 'Chapter 5: The Gunslinger', Schreiber writes about the history of Tatooine's ancient history from Din Djarin's perspective. For the archaeologists who studied its past, the Dune Sea contained countless secrets. Folklore held that, once, long before, it had been an actual sea, before the twin suns of Tatooine had dried it up and left it as it stood, hundreds of kilometers of blazing hot sand that stretched out in all directions. Bones of creatures long since extinct littered the dunes, and beneath them, perhaps, lay ancient kingdoms that had come and gone even before that.

Causes of Tatooine's Transformation

The reason for Tatooine's changed environment was very different in Legends. In Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Tatooine is described as '...a lush world where twin suns warm fair skies.' However, Dawn of the Jedi goes on to explain that Tatooine's transformation from a 'thriving planet' to a desolate wasteland was caused by an ancient species called the Rakata, who, in Legends, attempted to take over the planet and stripped it of its water resources through their acts of war. The Mandalorian junior novel suggests that in the canon, Tatooine's changes were more naturally occurring; the explanation was simply that the two suns had dried up the water that was once there.

Lars Homestead on Tatooine

When The Book of Boba Fett further confirmed that Tatooine was once an oceanic planet, that history was not elaborated upon. It seems that, at least for now, Star Wars does not intend to add to that backstory. However, 'never say never' is a good policy for Star Wars canon; if Darth Maul and Boba Fett can be brought back from the dead, an old war can certainly be uncovered. In fact, with the Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi movie in the works, a glimpse of Tatooine as the once vibrant planet of 25,000 years ago seems possible, particularly given the movie's name being taken directly from the Legends series. Nonetheless, the confirmation that Tatooine once looked more like Naboo is intriguing - and not just because of that one Star Wars line.

Concluding Thoughts

The recent revelations in the Star Wars canon have provided a fascinating glimpse into the ancient history of Tatooine, revealing a once vibrant planet that bore little resemblance to the desert world seen in the films. The changes in Tatooine's history, from a thriving oceanic planet to a desolate desert, have sparked discussions among fans and have raised questions about the impact of these revelations on the broader Star Wars universe. With the potential for further exploration of Tatooine's past in upcoming Star Wars media, the mysteries of this iconic planet are far from being fully uncovered.