Theory: Tatooine Is Home To One Of The Galaxy's Largest Force Nexuses
What if I told you that part of the reason why the planet of Tatooine happens to be in most Star Wars saga films, and is featured in the episodes of various different series is that Tatooine just happens to be one of the most important planets in the galaxy?
When Star Wars came out in theaters in 1977, it introduced a desolate desert planet where, basically, all we knew was that Luke Skywalker wanted desperately to leave the moisture farm, and Obi-Wan Kenobi lived way in the desert all alone. The most exciting thing about Tatooine in A New Hope is the spaceport, Mos Eisley, which features the famous cantina scene along with the infamous confrontation between Han and Greedo. Star Wars fans may have thought they were done with that strange and not very exciting desert planet when the Millennium Falcon blasted off into space carrying Luke and Obi-Wan out to adventure, but they were very wrong. Tatooine kept showing up, as if it were calling the characters there, and may be more important than we originally thought.
Currently Tatooine is one of the most desolate planets in the galaxy. According to the canonical Ultimate Star Wars, it was at one time ages ago covered in lush greenery, but an unknown cataclysm reduced it to the desert wasteland that fans know and love (or hate, I suppose, if you believe sand is coarse and gets everywhere). It is extremely sparsely populated, with only about 200,000 sentient lifeforms on the planet, counting Tusken Raiders and Jawas. There’s really nothing particularly interesting about this Outer Rim dust ball that is orbiting two stars and has been stripped of most major resources from mining companies that have long since abandoned it. The only other thing that makes this planet interesting is Jabba the Hutt’s vast criminal empire, which Boba Fett does appear to be taking over in the tease for The Book of Boba Fett now that he’s escaped the sarlacc pit.
Tatooine has found itself to be a key player in many galactic events, however. Anakin Skywalker is from there. He also meets Padme Amidala there. Luke is taken back to Tatooine by Obi-Wan Kenobi to be hidden from his father, Anakin turned Darth Vader. Obi-Wan finally kills Maul on this planet, as well. The whole Skywalker saga comes to an end in The Rise of Skywalker with Rey burying Luke and Leia’s lightsabers at Uncle Owen’s abandoned moisture farm that Luke grew up on.
In Legends, it comes up even more frequently in the lives of other Jedi, including Anakin Solo, Tahiri Veila, Jaden Korr, and more. But why does it keep showing up, and why are so many characters drawn to it when they never want to return? The answer could be related to a Force nexus that shows up on other planets in the galaxy.
Throughout the Jedi myths, there are different planets in the galaxy that are home to key waypoints, where key lines of Force energy converge and form a nexus. According to Star Wars Rebels, the Jedi Temple on Lothal is established on a nexus. Lothal is another Outer Rim planet that is largely ignored by everyone until the rise of the Galactic Empire when Emperor Palpatine becomes secretly interested in the planet due to the forgotten nexus on it.
Lothal has a variety of unique creatures on the planet that are highly Force-sensitive due to this power, including the Loth-wolves. The planet is also Ezra Bridger’s home, and he is an incredibly powerful Jedi.
Tatooine and Lothal, two planets that are sparsely populated, forgotten, and removed from the larger issues of the rest of the galaxy, and yet they produce some of most powerful Jedi who end up changing the direction of history.
The similarities between Lothal and Tatooine may go even further. It’s entirely possible that there is a Force nexus on Tatooine as well. Since the Lothal Jedi Temple and Force nexus are mostly forgotten, Tatooine’s could be as well. A Jedi Temple could have been established there, but then forgotten over time. Given the planet’s lack of many sentient life forms and the fact that the landscape is mostly desert, it could be really easy to lose a temple there. Or perhaps, the Force nexus hasn’t even been discovered yet. This could also explain how in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Shmi Skywalker tells Qui-Gon Jinn about how Anakin is born without a father. Perhaps the Force nexus and the strong connection that the planet potentially has with the Force could have something to do with it.
A Force nexus could definitely explain why Tatooine, a backwater criminal stronghold without much to offer, keeps showing up in the stories and drawing characters to it. There may be more there than meets the eye. With the many upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series on the horizon, we could very well find out what Tatooine’s secret is, and why it shows up in particularly major moments and produces many major characters in the Star Wars universe.
Source(s): CBR