Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Originally Had Palpatine in a Different Planet

Exegol might have been a central location in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, however, it seems like an early draft of the movie had Star Wars fans returning to Coruscant instead.

The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been offering Star Wars fans interesting details about what J.J. Abrams originally wanted for the third and final entry in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy (via Screen Rant), and it seems like the latest reveal shows us the alternative to Palpatine's hide-away planet Exegol – the very familiar Imperial Center, Coruscant.

According to the Star Wars art book, an early version of The Rise of Skywalker had Palpatine settling down in Coruscant instead of taking on an entirely new planet in the Uknown Regions.

"Instead of finding his way to Exegol, in the early November 2017 version of The Rise of Skywalker story, Kylo Ren instead takes his shuttle to a desolate, ash-covered Coruscant, the once-bustling city streets now overrun by giant wolves," The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker author Phil Szostak explains in the book's text, "Inside the abandoned Jedi Temple, Kylo takes a central elevator down to the temple's deepest level."

Coruscant would have definitely been an interesting choice for Abrams. The planet was the center of both the Galactic Republica and the Empire built by Palpatine. It would have made sense for the Emperor to decide to hide away in Coruscant – after all, no one would come looking for the supposedly dead Darth Sidious in a place so obvious.

We're not quite sure why Abrams decided against Coruscant. Perhaps because it was too heavy of a reference to add to the film.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available for streaming on Disney+.

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