Summary SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT A piece of concept art for the original Star Wars has recently been brought to light which shows an amalgamation of three iconic planets in the franchise, proving Lucas' ever-changing vision. In the early days of the conception of the original Star Wars, much of the art was illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie.
As with every concept artist, however, McQuarrie's designs were greatly influenced by George Lucas' vision for the Star Wars franchise. As such, McQuarrie's art reflected the ideas Lucas had during the pre-production of 1977's Star Wars. One piece of art by McQuarrie has recently surfaced online in a tweet by Phil Szostak that features elements from three different Star Wars planets, what became Alderaan, Coruscant, and Bespin.
Lucas Made A Mistake Not Showing Us Alderaan's Surface This early concept art for Alderaan brings to light the mistakes Lucas made regarding the planet in the original Star Wars. Before Alderaan's destruction by the Death Star, the surface of the planet had not been shown. Apart from small glimpses in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Obi-Wan Kenobi, much of Alderaan is still largely unknown to the Star Wars fanbase.
If Aldeeran had been the focus of the first act of Star Wars, the audience would have felt a greater emotional connection to the planet and its people. This would then have elicited a much greater emotional response from the audience when Alderaan was inevitably destroyed. Similarly, it would also have made the audience empathize with Leia much easier, as her pain is shared by viewers who have come to care more about Alderaan and its citizens.
Making Alderaan Earth-like subliminally creates this link, even if the audience spent no time on the planet before its destruction. In this way, Alderaan's destruction is still a tragic moment in Star Wars. However, there is no denying that the planet has been severely underutilized since its introduction in 1977 with the original Star Wars.