What about reusing the McQuarrie's version of Coruscant for an ancient sith world?

Had Abbadon looked way more ancient, creepy and ominous, almost like something out of a nightmare, in Ralph McQuarrie's art. Not as sterile as in the Prequels.

https://deadlystream.com/blogs/entry/136-blog-32-coruscant-as-envisioned-by-ralph-mcquarrie/

What about using this version for an ancient sith planet in a future show or movie?

 

Some of these were reused for the Clone Wars. Weren’t they the separatist capitol?

 

Hmm, Monument Plaza does look a little like Raxus.

Honestly I’d say the mostly flat cityscape dotted with clusters of towers looks fairly similar to the Coruscant we got on screen.

 

Indeed. Can someone explain how this isn't the same as actual Coruscant?

 

Agreed. The more sinister/dark fantasy/castle looking buildings would have suited the Empire pretty well, though. I imagine we would have seen some of that if Coruscant had appeared in the ST.

 

the McQ stuff does look more Gothic-y

 

We almost got this in The Rise of Skywalker. The Emperor’s base was originally set in an abandoned, ash-covered Coruscant. That concept was largely inspired by McQuarrie’s Had Abbadon. You can see some cool concepts of it here.



That later evolved into Exegol, only the cityscape changed to something more ancient, and it eventually evolved into only a single building. But I think we could assume that Exegol may have had more buildings at some point in the past. And Coruscant itself was once a Sith capital, so that planet could’ve looked more sinister before the rise of the Republic.

 

Think that especially these matte paintings would work great for an ancient (and possibly abandoned) Sith planet:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/...YpOchZu-t_GbRep3n6Eb6dYTwgKoMkcfRtBqu1Br95G&s

 

I think it's still pretty recognizable at least, and the prequels were better for their McQuarrie influence. I think we just never really got to see much of the darker side of the planet from the early EU when focused on the government and Jedi establishments. I think the biggest glimpse we got of the seedy underbelly was in Attack of the Clones, which definitely looks like the entertainment district of McQuarrie's art. The planet's so big that I think these depictions still could/should exist, since they're still thematically in line with the films. The only real change is toning down some of the art deco influence. Though it's easy to see why McQuarrie would be quick to reference Metropolis when it comes to crafting a dystopian sci-fi capital city.

It does definitely feel more uneasy. Especially the empty cityscapes; it has a very "liminal space" feel to it. You can conceive this is a city in decline with these grand structures barely having any traffic.

The only thing I wish would've made it onscreen was the Emperor's palace. It stands to reason that he has a massive monument to his power, and the creepy lava-filled underground throne room is just the embodiment of evil.

I remember the Emperor's castle being mentioned in early EU, and this is my headcanon of where the Emperor hangs out when he's isolated from the rest of the galaxy. I think Disney canon just turned the Emperor's castle into the Jedi Temple though.

 

The idea to make the Imperial Palace be the former Jedi Temple is actually something that came from the undeveloped Underworld TV series. So it presumably came from Lucas or was at least something he approved of.

But on the subject of the darker depictions of Coruscant, that’s something we would’ve really gotten to see not just in Underworld but, after it was shelved, in Lucas’s own sequel trilogy. And I think this would even have included something like the lava chamber, or at least something visually hellish. Because Maul’s lair would’ve been revealed to actually be in the Coruscant underworld, and with him already being visually a demonic archetype, it’s not unlikely Lucas would have played with those visuals.

It may also have connected to the idea that there was a Sith temple deep beneath the Jedi temple. Perhaps that would’ve been Maul’s base of operations, the home of the nascent new Sith Order masquerading as a criminal syndicate, and all of it literally beneath the growing new Republic government.

 

That's brilliant. I choose to believe that would've happened. It's too good not to.

 

I think having Maul's lair in the "basement" of Sidious' own "house" is a bit too much, but who knows what would have happened.

 

Could be a good sit-com tho.

 

Pablo Hidalgo did pretty much confirm Maul’s lair would’ve been in the Coruscant depths in the Lucas sequels earlier this year when he was talking about how Abrams later wanted to destroy Coruscant when he took over. Of course, that doesn’t mean Maul was necessarily there while the Emperor lived. He could’ve moved in at some point after Endor. But that would’ve been his base at least by the end of Episode VII.

 

I'm talking about his lair being right under the Jedi Temple/Imperial Palace.