Editing Tatooine (section)

==Development==
In his early drafts of the ''Star Wars'' story, author [[George Lucas]] changed the names of planets and characters several times. In his early [[film treatment|treatment]], Lucas opened the story on the fourth moon of the planet [[Utapau (Star Wars)|Utapau]], the home of a young warrior called Annikin Starkiller.{{sfn|Bouzereau|1998|pp=7–8}} In Lucas's rough draft, ''The Star Wars'' (1974), the escaping droids land in a desert on the planet Aquilae; in later drafts the planet again takes the name of Utapau.{{sfn|Bouzereau|1998|p=17}} Prior to production, early artwork commissioned by Lucas from [[Concept art|conceptual illustrator]] [[Ralph McQuarrie]] show robots lost on a desert world, scorched by twin suns and mysterious, masked [[Tusken Raiders]] riding large horned [[Bantha]]s.{{sfn|Hearn|2005|pp=87–92}}{{sfn|Titelman|1979|p=46}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Chris|title=How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise|date=September 30, 2014|publisher=Head of Zeus|isbn=9781784970451|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7GbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT137|access-date=9 May 2017}}{{page needed|date=January 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Hotel-sididriss.jpg|thumb|left|Hotel Sidi Driss, used for the Lars homestead scenes]]
George Lucas originally envisaged filming the Utapau/Tatooine scenes in [[Algeria]] (inspired by [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s 1975 film ''[[The Passenger (1975 film)|The Passenger]]''), [[Libya]] or [[Iran]], but these locations were rejected by [[20th Century Fox]]. When production began on ''Star Wars'', production designers [[John Barry (set designer)|John Barry]] and [[Robert Watts]] scouted for [[List of Star Wars filming locations|filming locations]] in [[Morocco]] and [[Tunisia]]. Lucas, accompanied by producer [[Gary Kurtz]] visited the Tunisian island of [[Djerba]] with them and were impressed by the desert landscape and the unusual architecture, and selected Tunisia to provide the desert planet setting. Lucas was also keen to shoot at the Hotel Sidi Driss in [[Matmata, Tunisia|Matmata]], a decision which extended the shoot, and consequently the budget, by a day. Filming in Tunisia began on March 22, 1976, and immediately ran into difficulty: the region was experiencing its first heavy rainfall in seven years, which disrupted the setting of an arid desert planet.{{sfn|Hearn|2005|p=102}} The Matmata hotel consisted of a [[wikt:troglodyte|troglodyte]] dwelling in a large hole in the ground. Combined with shots at [[Chott el Djerid]], near [[Nefta]], this formed the setting for the Lars homestead and moisture farm. The landing site for {{nowrap|[[C-3PO]]}} and {{nowrap|[[R2-D2]]'s}} escape pod was filmed in [[sand dunes]] at La Grande Dune, near Nefta, and exterior shots of [[Mos Eisley]] spaceport were shot on Djerba.{{sfn|Hearn|2005|p=116}}<ref name=tunisia-roughguide>{{cite book|title=Tunisia|year=2001|publisher=Rough Guides|location=London|isbn=9781858287485|author=Daniel Jacobs and Peter Morris|edition=6th|access-date=9 May 2017|page=319|chapter=Jedi Stomping Ground |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2By-NdV93AC&pg=PR177}}</ref><ref name=swlocs-dunes>{{cite web|title=The Dunes|url=http://www.starwarslocations.com/swarchive/GeographicStarWars2/dunes.htm|work=Star Wars locations|access-date=9 May 2017}}</ref> The name ''Tatooine'' is not actually mentioned in the final screenplay of ''Star Wars''—Lucas was still working on his fourth draft while scouting locations, and adapted the name from a town in southern Tunisia called [[Tataouine]] (French spelling, or ''Tataween'' spelling in [[Tunisian Arabic]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rinzler|first1=J. W.|title=The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film|year=2008|publisher=Ebury Press|isbn=9780091924997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKqMW5ChgScC|access-date=9 May 2017|page=99}}</ref>

Certain scenes filmed on Djerba [[deleted scene|were subsequently deleted]] from the [[Final cut privilege|final cut]] of the film in order to improve the narrative pace. The most significant material cut was a series of scenes set in the township of Anchorhead which served to introduce the characters of Luke Skywalker and [[Biggs Darklighter]].<ref name=Taraldsvik>{{cite book|last=Taraldsvik|first=Morten Schive|title=A Sci-Fi Movie Lexicon III|publisher=Lulu|isbn=9781445264653|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Scr6AQAAQBAJ&pg=PT109|access-date=April 23, 2015|chapter=Star Wars IV: A New Hope: Lost Scenes}}</ref> Lucas asked film editor [[Richard Chew]] to cut these scenes as they had been likened to "''[[American Graffiti]]'' in outer space" by Fox executives (in reference to Lucas's 1973 film).{{Sfn|Hearn|2005|p=106}}{{Sfn|Brooker|2009|p=18}}

[[File:Death Valley,19820817,Dante's View,to North.jpg|thumb|Dante's View, Death Valley, California]]
Footage filmed at Sidi Bouhlel in Tunisia was combined with 1977 [[second unit]] filming at [[Death Valley National Park]] in California to create the rocky canyon scenes featuring [[Jawa (Star Wars)|Jawas]] and [[Tusken Raiders]].{{sfn|Hearn|2005|p=109}}
<ref name=swlocs-deathvalley>{{cite web|title=Star Wars trek: Death Valley - April 2001|url=http://www.starwarslocations.com/article.php?story=20070923041409143|work=Star Wars Locations| date=November 17, 2010 |access-date=9 May 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Tatooinecity.jpg|thumb|Moisture vaporator sets from the prequel films left at [[Tozeur]]]]
When crews returned to Tunisia to film for the Star Wars prequel films in 1998, locations at Onk Jemal (Ong Jmal) in [[Tozeur]], [[Ksar Ouled Soltane]] and [[Ksar Hadada]], Ghomrassen were used for Tatooine scenes.<ref name=tunisia-roughguide /> Abandoned sets for the filming have been left in the desert but can be visited.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/kino-film/2013/04/11/star-wars-the-abandoned-movie-set/|title=Star Wars: The Abandoned Movie Set|website=Stuttgarter Zeitung|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419022144/http://blog.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/kino-film/2013/04/11/star-wars-the-abandoned-movie-set/ |archive-date=19 April 2013|access-date=9 May 2017}}</ref>