Despite the vastness of the Star Wars galaxy, there's one planet that represents the franchise better than any other: Tatooine. However, this iconic desert planet was once far different from the one presented in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. And Star Wars: Episode III -Revenge of the Sith showed a glimpse of what could have been, with Tatooine's original name and design featuring as one of the movie's many planets.The look and feel of Star Wars all stem from the artist Ralph McQuarrie. His concept art for A New Hope is some of the best in the business, as he perfectly captured the unique Star Wars vibe for which the franchise would later be known. Many of his drawings were translated almost identically to screen, often showing the same shot composition and vehicle designs. Yet there are still plenty of drawings that never made the cut, including a piece for a subterranean city-planet named Utapau.
Utapau Was the Original Tatooine
In the first and second drafts of A New Hope, Tatooine was referred to as Utapau. While it was still said to be a desert planet, the surface was meant to be far flatter with cracks spread across the ground. With this, Ralph McQuarrie designed Utapua with a hard sandstone surface that was completely barren, but scattered about were huge cavernous sinkholes that housed cities inside.
It's unknown if George Lucas disliked the design or simply couldn't afford to recreate it, but he put the drawing aside in favor of the sand dunes and small huts of Tatooine. The name and concept of Tatooine soon became the one fans know and love to this day. Yet George Lucas wasn't ready to let go of Utapau, as he later tried to incorporate it into Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and then finally in Revenge of the Sith.
Star Wars' Naboo Was Almost Utapau
Much like the early drafts of A New Hope, Utapau once again appeared as an iconic planet in The Phantom Menace -- except this time, it was the original Naboo. It's unknown if the concept of subterranean cites was to be used for Naboo, but the original name, Utapau, appears in numerous versions of the script. But again, the name was tossed aside until finally, it had its place at the end of the prequel trilogy.
After General Grievous escapes the Battle of Coruscant during Revenge of the Sith's opening, he flees to the planet Utapau with the other Separatist leaders. Much like the original drawings, the planet has a wheat-colored savannah surface with large pits housing cities. And while the pits aren't quite as large and full of tech as the original drawing, it still pays an appropriate homage.
By the time of Revenge of the Sith's production, Ralph McQuarrie was far older and out of the business. And yet, his work was still being used to create the essence of Star Wars. The Star Wars Rebels show based much of its animated design on McQuarrie's concept art, and some creatures seen on The Mandalorian are direct recreations of his work from over 40 years ago.