10 Things You Did Not Know About Corellia
Each planet in the Star Wars universe is very different from each other. Their unique terrain and history give rise to a plethora of characters from all over the galaxy. Corellia, located in the galaxy’s Core Worlds, is no exception. In fact, Corellia is very important in the Star Wars universe. It is the capital planet of the Corellian System, which include Selonia, Drall, Tralus, and Talus, also known as the Five Brothers (with Corellia being the Eldest Brother). Many characters hailed from Corellia, making more important to Star Wars lore than other planets. Here are some things that you may not know about Corellia.
10. Han Solo Is From Corellia
Han Solo grew up on Corellia, and dreamed of leaving and becoming a pilot. His life and adventures on the planet were shown in the beginning of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Han Solo is not the only one from Corellia. The list also include Qi’ra, Wedge Antilles, Crix Madine, BoShek, bounty hunters Dengar and Mercurial Swift, along with Jedi younglings Kalifa and Petro among several others. They all played important roles in the Star Wars universe in movies, television shows, books, and comics.
9. Corellia Is A Hub For Starships
Many ships were built on Corellia. The Empire used their multiple shipyards to build Imperial starships, TIE Fighters, and Star Destroyers. Of course, our favorite Star Wars ship, the Millennium Falcon was also built here. Corellian ships were known to be fast, and usually faster than many of the other ships in the galaxy. They also had a reputation for being better made as well. This was probably why the Millennium Falcon had a tendency to look like junk, and yet managed to surprise fans at every turn with how well she held together to make record breaking runs through space (not to mention the Kessel Run). The Corellian shipyards also manufactured many other starships such as the CR90 corvette, Corellian Gunship, and the Corellian Dreadnaught. The busy Corellian space hub gave rise to many ace pilots as well.
8. Corellia Has More Than One Terrain
Corellia has several types of terrain throughout the 11,000-kilometer-in-diameter planet. Not only does it have sprawling urban centers, it is also covered in greenery comprised of rolling hills, dense forests, lush fields, and vast seas, as well as mountain peaks and crystal swamps. Corellia has a temperate climate, which allows for this balance of nature and urban city. Corellia’s famous shipyards are located in Coronet City.
7. Corellia Has A Diverse Population
It goes without saying that most planets in the Star Wars universe have quite a diverse population. Corellia is no exception to this rule. In addition to a large human population, there are also several alien species that call Corellia home: Besalisks, Barbadelans, Grindalids, Kel Dor, Czerialans, Rodians, Pa’lowicks, Twi’leks, Sullustans, and Ugor. Corellia also has its share of native fauna: Corellian hounds, Corellian grass snake, Corellian sand panther, and fleek eels.
6. Corellia Used to Have A Monarchy
In the early years of the planet, Corellia was ruled by a monarchy. The inhabitants of Corellia were known for their wanderlust and space exploration. Before discovery of space travel, Corellians would go on ocean voyages throughout their planet to discover new continents. The Corellian royalty would sponsored space exploration and colonization efforts to help expand their civilization among the stars. They settled on thousands of worlds and were very influential in pioneering many of the galaxy’s major hyperspace routes. While their royal family eventually faded away, their power in the galaxy slowly waned, and Corellia became a planet known for extensive poverty and crime, their inhabitants never forgot that wanderlust. This is probably why Han Solo felt so drawn to explore the galaxy.
5. Corellia Is Home To Several Crime Syndicates
After the Corellian royalty faded away, Corellia became a den of pick-pockets and crime operatives. There were several crime syndicates that operated within Coronet City. One of these was Lady Proxima’s White Worms. The higher members of White Worms would use several street urchins, called scumrats, to do much of their dirty work. Two of these scumrats were actually Han Solo and Qi’ra. When we met them in Solo: A Star Wars Story, they were trying to escape Corellia and White Worms. Han was successful, but Qi’ra was captured. She would end climbing up the ladder of another crime syndicate, Crimson Dawn.
4. Coronet City Housed A Sith Lightsaber Deep Within The Archives
Coronet City has a series of archives beneath the prison, which hid a particular Sith lightsaber. In 5 ABY, during the New Republic Era, the Acolytes of the Beyond, a Dark Side cult, recruited Kiza and Oblivion to infiltrate and steal the lightsaber. Their heist was successful, and killed killed many Peace and Security Headquarters guards in the process. This lightsaber was probably a relic of when Corellia was invaded by the Sith Empire in 3640 BBY during the Galactic Republic Era.
3. Corellia Made Several Appearances In The Star Wars Universe Stories
Corellia may not be as featured as some of the planets in the Star Wars universe, but it is prominent in several of Star Wars spin-off media. These include Legends and multiple canon books and comics. Its first onscreen appearance was in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
2. Corellia In Solo: A Star Wars Story Was Modeled After Venice
When Lucasfilm/Disney decided to do a Han Solo origin story, it was inevitable that Corellia and Coronet City, in particular, would be featured in the movie. Set decorator Lee Sandales revealed in the DVD commentary that he based the film version of Coronet City and Corellia on the concept of an industrial Venice. Design supervisor James Clyne was tasked with designing a complete map of Corellia for the chase scene in the movie, which he did beautifully. Ironically, scenes of Corellia ended up being filmed in Southampton, England instead of Venice, Italy.
1. Han Solo May Be Royalty
The following information is now Legends since Solo: A Star Wars Story had established that the last name Solo was made up by the Imperial recruitment officer.
In the era of the Galactic Republic in 150 BBY, the Royal House of Solo founded a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. They were in favor of an amenable unrestricted commerce, and it became a business-supported regime known as the Diktat. However, once the Republic shifted into the Empire, the Solo regime changed. When the Imperials eventually took over Corellia, Thracken Sal-Solo, who just happened to be Han Solo’s cousin, began to plot a secession to take over the government. There was much infighting throughout the government during the reign of the Empire. Finally, during the New Republic Era, Thracken Sal-Solo, leader of the Human League, was able to gain control of Corellian government and declared himself Diktat. He was ruthless and his reign was not popular. He was eventually impeached but kept trying to return to power. He was finally assassinated by his cousin, Han Solo, with the help of Boba Fett and Mirta Gev. Han Solo may have some claim to Corellia “throne.” However, he never showed any desire to stay on his home planet, preferring instead to travel the galaxy.
Source: Wookieepedia, Screen Rant