Tatooine might be the most iconic planet in the entire Star Wars universe, and it’s been host to some of the franchise’s most significant and memorable moments. From Anakin Skywalker’s childhood up through the very end of the Skywalker Saga, the desert world has always played a major role in the overarching story of Star Wars. It may be the farthest planet from the “bright center of the universe,” as Luke Skywalker claims, but Tatooine remains at the very heart of Star Wars.
For a planet with so much narrative significance, however, it doesn’t exactly look the part. Tatooine’s twin suns and harsh climate mean no water on the planet’s surface, forcing denizens to farm moisture out of the atmosphere just to survive. What few settlements there are have frequently been hives of scum and villainy, and the Hutts ruled Tatooine’s underworld for much of its history in often brutal fashion. Beyond the towns, the Dune Sea offers little solace, holding countless deadly creatures and tribes of Tusken Raiders, who aren’t exactly welcoming to most wanderers.
Despite all this, the Star Wars story has always weaved in and out of Tatooine. The Skywalker Saga began and ended there, and a whole tome's worth of major events took place in between. In the interest of time, this list will only include events with some sort of greater significance in the Star Wars mythos.
The Birth Of Anakin Skywalker
Every story has a beginning, and the Skywalker saga’s beginning occurred on Tatooine (albeit off-screen). While the exact nature of Anakin’s fatherless conception and birth is still unknown, the general idea is understood – the Force, in response to its warped use by the Sith’s Rule of Two and the Jedi’s strict dogma, created Anakin Skywalker. Or Darth Plagueis created him? Again, it’s not entirely clear.
What is clear is the impact Anakin’s birth had on the Star Wars universe. Everything that followed – from the Jedi Purge and the rise of the Empire, to Palpatine’s demise, resurrection, and second genuine demise – pivoted around Anakin and the prophecy that surrounded him. It all started on Tatooine.
The Escape Of Queen Pe Amidala
The first chronological on-screen visit to Tatooine came in The Phantom Menace. After fleeing the Trade Federation’s occupation of Naboo, Queen Amidala and her Jedi escort landed on the Outer Rim world to hide, refuel, repair. This seemingly random landing sparked several major happenings.
First, it saw the very first instance of a human placing first in a pod race. The Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY shocked the podracing world, not only because of odds-favorite Sebulba’s lackluster performance, but also because of the nine-year-old boy who claimed the gold medal. Obviously, this event had ramifications for the core Star Wars, but it also had an impact of the galactic sports world as well.
Second, it saw the first confrontation between a Jedi Knight and a Sith Lord in a millennium. Darth Maul’s mission to Tatooine ended a prolonged era of secrecy and hiding from the Sith, and his appearance to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan marked the beginning of the end for the Jedi Order as it was.
Lastly and most importantly, the arrival of Amidala and her party led to Anakin’s discovery by the Jedi and his subsequent departure from Tatooine. Without it, his fate could have been very different. The fate of the galaxy could have been quite different as well. But of course, the encounter was destined to occur.
The Return Of Anakin Skywalker
A decade after leaving Tatooine, Anakin returned with Pe to search for his mother. This homecoming marked his first major turn toward the dark side in his slaughtering of a tribe of Sand People, following his mother’s death at their hands. It sets up Anakin’s tendencies surrounding loss, his capacity for violence and vengeance, and his disagreements with elements of the Jedi code. All of these become huge factors in Anakin's eventual fall.
The Arrival Of Luke Skywalker
After the birth of Luke and Leia Skywalker, the babies were split up and hidden to protect them from Vader and the Emperor. Leia became Leia Organa and grew up on Alderaan, while Luke was sent to live with Anakin’s stepbrother Owen and his wife Beru on Tatooine. There he is watched over by an exiled Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke’s upbringing on Tatooine is obviously important for story reasons, but it’s also significant thematically. The parallelism between Anakin and Luke (and eventually Rey) is central to Star Wars’ cyclical story structure, and a lot of that parallelism is drawn from their mutual childhoods on Tatooine.
The Death Of Darth Maul
After being wildly underutilized in the core Star Wars films, Darth Maul saw a massive resurgence in The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. His animated arcs saw him survive his duel in Phantom Menace, reunite with his brother Savage, and go on a murder spree across the galaxy, killing Jedi and gathering various underworld forces to his cause. Through all this, Maul had one core objective – take revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi.
After numerous showdowns, chases, abductions, and killing Obi-Wan’s former lover, the two meet for the last time in the Rebels episode “Twin Suns” – on Tatooine. It’s easily the most famous and applauded episode of the entire show, and the final duel between Obi-Wan and Maul – ending in the Sith’s death – is something every Star Wars fan should see. It gives incredible dimension to a character who was essentially invented for a single fight, and it gives Obi-Wan a beautiful arc as well.
The Search For Obi-Wan Kenobi
For years, Obi-Wan lived peacefully in exile on Tatooine, keeping the young Luke Skywalker under a watchful and protective eye. That all changed when, in desperation, Princess Leia sent R2-D2 and C-3PO to the planet’s surface to find Obi-Wan and ask him to deliver the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance. The droids succeeded in this venture, and Luke’s adventures began.
Obviously, the droids’ arrival had major repercussions for Luke (the deaths of Skywalker's aunt and uncle and his departure from Tatooine) and subsequently the galaxy. It also seemed to impact life at large on Tatooine, according to The Mandalorian. In the season 2 episode “The Marshal,” Cobb Vanth relays how Tatooine was occupied by Imperial forces through much of the Galactic Civil War, likely due in part to the deployment in search of R2 and 3PO.
The Rescue Of Han Solo And The Death Of Jabba The Hutt
For decades, Jabba the Hutt ruled the scattered settlements of Tatooine from the planet’s shady underworld. The Hutts ran the slave trade in the days before the Empire, as well as the podracing circuit, gambling, and smuggling trade. They also ran protection rackets and solicited “water taxes,” establishing themselves as the heads of the crime world and the de facto government of the planet.
Much of that balance was upset shortly before the fall of the Empire, when the mission to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt’s Palace ended in the gangster’s death. Jabba was a feared and fearsome force across the galaxy, and his demise would have sent ripple effects far beyond the Dune Sea. And of course, Han’s rescue eventually led to the birth of Ben Solo, who played a major role in the era of the New Republic and beyond.
The Killing Of The Krayt Dragon
This particular event may not seem as significant to galactic history as the others on this list, but it has some fairly substantive ramifications. Most notably, it marks the first official declaration of peace between the Tusken Raiders and residents of Tatooine settlements. The cooperation between Mos Pelgo and the Sand People is unprecedented, and it could bode well for the planet’s future if it lasts.
Din Djarin’s visit to Mos Pelgo is also significant because of his acquisition of Boba Fett’s Mandalorian battle armor. The famed bounty hunter and last living clone of Jango Fett played a notable role through much of the Skywalker Saga, and his return from the dead could have larger galactic effects. It’s also the first known instance of someone surviving a Sarlacc.
The Burial Of Luke And Leia’s Lightsabers
This is another event that’s more significant thematically than narratively, but it’s significant nonetheless. As the Skywalker Saga began on Tatooine, so it ends as well. While not a universally beloved ending to the story (which could also be said about all of The Rise of Skywalker), Rey returning to the Skywalker moisture farm to bury Luke and Leia’s lightsabers offers a sense of closure on an extended era of Star Wars. Regardless of how you feel about the moment itself, one thing is certain – it feels right that Tatooine remains central to Star Wars right through to the end.
