Coruscant
Our only glimpse of Coruscant in the original trilogy was in the Return of the Jedi: Special Edition at the end. In Episode 1, however, Coruscant will be one of the three main worlds we see. Coruscant, also known as the Imperial Center, was given its name by author Timothy Zahn in his post-ROTJ novel trilogy. George Lucas accepted the name, and pronounces it "COR-oos-awnt". The name applies both to the planet and to the city, which covers the planet's entire surface.
The city's look is described as a combination of older architecture and a modern, sleek look, and is comprised largely of one to two mile high skyscrapers. The external shots are a combination of models, matte paintings, and computer graphics. The indoor shots use a combination of "real" sets and computer generated sets. All the filming for these scenes is being done at Leavesden Studios, England. More pictures of Coruscant can be found in our Prequels Pictures section and also in our main Multimedia section. The Official Star Wars Site (www.starwars.com) also has a number of production sketches and a feature on Coruscant, as does Star Wars Insider #34.

Jedi Council tower The Jedi Council Tower
For quite sometime, we have been telling you about a Jedi Council on Coruscant which we heard about from our spy Valorum. More recently, the Official Star Wars Site added a feature about the Jedi Council, confirming this. According to Valorum, the Council consists of twelve important Jedi. To read more about them, see our Jedi Council page.

The Senate Hall
We have been hearing from our sources about another location on Coruscant that may be of some importance in Episode 1: the Senate Hall. Nothing official is known, but by most accounts, this is a vast chamber, and will likely be done with the aid of computer graphics. It is here that we would likely see Chancellor Valorum and Senator Palpatine. Here are some of scoops we've had on this location:

6/25/98 - Bothan Spy also pointed out something cool he saw in the ROTJ Special Edition. Remember the pictures from the set he sent us a while back? The ones from the Senate chamber? Well, take a look at the booths. The senators sit in them, and they float down to the senate chamber floor. You can see the original pic here. Well, in the Mos Eisley celebration scene at the end of the ROTJ: Special Edition, look at what's floating in the middle of the screen here and the middle of the screen here. Notice the people standing on the floating platform? Bothan says that they are likely not the same thing, but they are similar in form and function. Interesting!

12/05/97 - One of our sources described a large set which we are led to believe may be the Senate Hall. "it was very grey with lots of paneling details. The floating pods had control decks in them. The catwalk led to what will be (in the film) the entrance to the main building/structure where the chamber is situated. The chamber to either side of the catwalk (where the pods are based) had a high wall." Pictures of these "floating pods" can be found in our Spoilers section. Some of our sources believe them to be control decks (for members of the Senate?), while others believe they are small ships due to their mobility.

11/18/97 - Bothan Spy sent us some on-set pictures of the Senate Pods or voting booths:

9/17/97 - Our sources have told us that one of the sets at Leavesden is the Senate chamber. It seems to be a lot of marble. A lot of the sets will have CGI additions later.

3/17/98 - NEW PREQUEL STUFF FROM BRITISH MAG!!!

Adam Leach just sent us some scans from the newest British Star Wars magazine. Click on the thumbnails to view a larger version.

• A set picture from Palpatine's quarters on Coruscant. with Lucas and several of the other crew members (left to right) Art Director Phil Harvey, 3rd Assistant Director Ben Howarth, Camera Operator Trevor Coop, 1st assistant Director Chris Newman and Director of Photograpy David Tattersall.

• A pic of another indoor set (at right) with 2nd assistant Director Janet Nielsen. The set matches the pictures we know are from the Senate Set (note the chairs in the fore-ground)


© 1997 LucasFilm Ltd.

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