A long time ago, the old Jedi Order was hosted here on Coruscant, predicting the way of life of all the Jedi. It was
ironically the first place to be destroyed decades ago as the Empire was on the rise. As the Empire was declining to its
present state, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker needed to establish a new location for his new Jedi Order, and to begin to train
future Jedi. He eventually built a new Jedi temple on Coruscant to remember some of the traditions of the Jedi, long ago.
On Coruscant, the primary goal for Jedi is to assign padawans to masters, test future Knights, and to have a guidance
into the Jedi for any future missions
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"The crowning finale to your Grand Galactic Tour is a visit to Imperial City itself, where you'll spend an entire week
of regal splendor in the cultural nucleus of the universe. Experience the finest the galaxy has to offer in the arts and
entertainment ... Live the magnificence of The Imperial City -- a once in a lifetime spectacle!"
Although built upon the material developed for Jedi, this book quietly held the first "modern" appearance of the
Imperial capital. Over the next few years, the megapolitan planet would thrive and grow in the pages of the expanded
universe.
1991 was a landmark year in Star Wars publishing. It saw the debut of Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, the first
spin-off novel to expand the Star Wars story beyond Return of the Jedi. Set five years after the Battle of Endor, Heir
reveals that the Rebel Alliance had formed a New Republic to replace the Galactic Empire. This new government ruled from
the former Imperial capital world.
Heir to the Empire would be the first story anywhere to use the city planet as a setting. Zahn used the original
descriptions from the Jedi scripts as a basis for the planet, though he was responsible for coining the world's new
name: Coruscant, a world that literally means "glittering."
Over the next few years, many of the novels and comics would be set on Coruscant. Some described the New Republic's
Senate Chambers. Others delved into the deep dank slums far beneath the planet's developed surface. Many of Ralph
McQuarrie's original sketches and production paintings -- along with a handful of new ones -- were showcased in The
Illustrated Star Wars Universe hardcover book.
In 1997, when Lucas returned to Star Wars to revamp the classic trilogy as the Special Edition, one of the key
changes he made was to the ending of Return of the Jedi. What was once an isolated celebration on the moon of Endor
would grow into a galaxy-wide festival of freedom. The final stop on that joyous tour would be the Imperial capital world.
The digital artists at Industrial Light & Magic made real a world of revelers tearing down Imperial statues as
fireworks burst in the skies over Coruscant. With the planet set to play a major role in Episode I, the Special Edition
ending was a special glimpse at this wonderful world. For Episode I, Lucas adopted the name used in Heir to the Empire,
Coruscant. What began as a handful of sketches once set aside, and then became a setting for numerous novels, finally
appeared as an unforgettable motion picture location. Or as the original tourism ad boasted, "a once in a lifetime
spectacle."
Coruscant will return in Episode II, and new locales of the cosmopolitan planet will be explored in 2002.
