Some cool concept art for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has depicted the desert planet of Pasaana as a wetland environment instead.
Concept art is always fascinating, giving fans an insight into what could have been. When it comes to Star Wars, locations and characters quite often end up quite different from the early mock-ups and this was the case also for The Rise of Skywalker’s Pasaana planet.
Pasaana was the desert location where Rey and the crew meet Lando, find the Sith dagger, heal the snake, and where Rey unleashes force lightning for the first time when tussling with Kylo Ren.
But Pasaana wasn’t always meant to be a desert. Concept artist Phil Saunders has shared a piece of art that depicts the planet as a wetland, giving it a very different vibe indeed.
Saunders provided the following description: “This was a concept for a shipping lane crossing the wetland planet that ultimately became the desert planet of Pasaana. The speeder chase would have started in the village to the left and involved a game of chicken between the keels of these hydrofoil freighters before veering off into the mangroves to the right (more on that later!) The underwater waterfall in the trench was inspired by a natural feature off the coast of the island of Mauritius. The freighters are an homage to the cargo ships on Hoth in TESB.”
This would certainly have changed the atmosphere of Pasaana and given a nice change from familiar desert landscapes. Lucasfilm has a long history of re-purposing old concept art and ideas in future stories so perhaps we will come across a wetland planet in The Mandalorian or another story.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
