There are a lot of planets in the Star Wars universe, none of which seems to have more than one biome on them. For some reason, every planet is either an ice world, a desert world, a jungle world or, worst of all, a water world. And the definitive desert world in the Star Wars mythos is defintely Tatooine.
As one of the most infamous planets in Star Wars, there are surprising number of things about Tatooine that make absolutely no sense. For an Outer Rim dust ball, it sure ended up playing a rather sizeable role in a number of galactic affairs. It really shouldn't have held the key place in the universe and its major events that it did.
10 It Inexplicably Keeps Coming Up In The Story
The first Star Wars planet fans were introduced to back in 1977 was Tatooine. Many of the main heroic characters of the original trilogy met there. But Tatooine was also the place where Obi-Wan finally defeated Maul and where Anakin Skywalker was born. Plus, it's where Rey buried Luke and Leia's lightsabers.
These are just a few of the examples of how this planet keeps popping up in the current continuity. And that doesn't even take into account anything that happened there in the Legends. A surprising number of galaxy-altering events keep going down on Tatooine, and for no particular reason.
9 Jabba The Hutt Using It As A Headquarters
For decades, Jabba the Hutt was one of the most notorious gangsters in the galaxy— though that does seem to be the preferred profession for most Hutts. Jabba in particular was feared as he was incredibly ruthless. He took advantage of the Clone Wars and the rule of the Galactic Empire to expand his power base.
But the strange thing about Jabba was that he chose Tatooine as his de facto throne world. Like the vast majority of his race, Jabba was born on Nal Hutta, a damp, swampy world. Tatooine is the exact opposite of Nal Hutta. It must have been extremely uncomfortable for him to live in a perpetual desert.
8 Obi-Wan Taking An Infant Luke There
During the Clone Wars, Anakin maintained a secret marriage to Padmé Amidala, a senator from Naboo. Palpatine manipulated Anakin's constant fear and paranoia about that relationship to manipulate and mold Anakin into becoming his greatest apprentice: Darth Vader.
Anakin was unaware that Padmé's twins had survived their delivery. While Bail Organa took Leia to Alderaan to raise as his daughter, Obi-Wan took Luke to Anakin's home planet of Tatooine and dumped him with Anakin's family. It was a risky move to say the least.
7 Jedi Keep Showing Up There
Calling Tatooine sparselysley populated would be an understatement to say the least. There are maybe a couple of hundred thousand people on the entire planet, most of which are centered in a couple of settlements that are laughably referred to as "major."
Against all odds, Anakin Skywalker was from Tatooine, and grew up to become one to the most powerful Force users of all time. On top of that, Luke Skywalker grew up there, Obi-Wan lived there, and Rey returned there to close out the sequel trilogy. Jedi are inexplicably drawn to this otherwise unremarkable world.
6 Darth Vader Keeps Returning There
Speaking of Anakin Skywalker, his life kept bringing him back to Tatooine over and over again. After leaving the planet with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to train as a Jedi, he would return there to rescue his mother and slaughter the Tusken Raiders responsible for her death.
An early adventure in the Clone Wars would bring him back yet again. As Darth Vader, different missions would bring him back to Tatooine on more than one occasion. Simply put, Anakin couldn't ever seem to put Tatooine firmly in his rear view mirror.
5 It May Have Been A Lush Green Planet At One Point
Tatooine has two races who call Tatooine their native home: The Jawas and the Tusken Raiders. In the mythology of the Jawas, there is a belief that Tatooine used to be a planet rich in greenery and biodiversity, most of which was destroyed in the distant past by an unknown cataclysm.
There is little supporting evidence for this theory, but explaining that to a Jawa is almost impossible. It would be interesting to find out that this was the case and that Tatooine actually used to look like Naboo or Endor.
4 No One Did Anything About Slavery On The Planet
Tatooine does not have much to offer in the way of resources. At one point, there was a mining rush that led to a variety of companies setting up shop on the desolate world. But they quickly found out that minerals they were mining were only on the surface and were difficult to process at best.
When those same mining companies abandoned Tatooine, the only substantial industries left were crime and slavery. Under the rule of the Republic, slavery was highly illegal, but somehow Tatooine's well-known practices in that area were left to continue unimpeded.
3 The Planet Produced At Least Two Hit Bands
One of the commonalities between this galaxy long ago and far away and the real world is popular music. There are more than a few popular acts throughout the galaxy. And much like powerful Jedi, Tatooine has produced more hit bands than one might expect.
Both the Max Rebo Band as well as Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes called Tatooine home. They each had several hits on their own planet in addition to a respectable amount of success beyond that.
2 Why Boba Fett Never Left
In Return of the Jedi, renowned and feared bounty hunter appeared to die when a blind Han Solo accidentally knocked him into the Sarlaac pit. It was a rather ignominious way for a warrior of his caliber to go out. But fans long theorized he survived, and The Mandalorian recently confirmed that.
How Fett survived remains confusing, but why he stayed on Tatooine is even more perplexing. He had a ship and could have left whenever he wanted, yet he stayed behind despite there being nothing for him on the planet. The upcoming Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett might shed some light on that.
1 The Fact That People Live On Tatooine At All
Regardless of that the truth about Tatooine's distant past might be, the modern version of the planet is a massive desert. It's so hot and dry that people have to run moisture vaporators to collect enough water to actually survive on the desolate world.
The only reason to stay on Tatooine would be because someone was too poor to leave. It's a terrible planet that offers nothing to anyone who remains there except a long, dry life with little hope of moving on unless that person turns out to be a Jedi.