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In a Galaxy Far, Far Away. . .

Or maybe not! The makers of Star Wars have found backdrops for their imaginary planets—right here on Earth.

    The Wadi Rum desert is one of the harshest places on Earth. It’s in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan. Temperatures can climb above 100 degrees. The sun bakes everything in sight. 

    But last fall, the Wadi Rum was alive with activity. Robots rolled through the orange sand. A giant, furry creature named Chewbacca stomped around in the heat. For several weeks, the Wadi Rum was not just a desert on Earth. It was the Star Wars planet Pasaana.

    A film crew was making The Rise of Skywalker. It’s the last movie in the famous series. For the crew, it wasn’t an easy job. They had to build roads into the desert. They huddled in tents during sandstorms. Actors sweated through chase scenes. 

    Of course, they all could have stayed home. They could have filmed the movie in a Hollywood studio. Computer graphics experts would have added the landscapes in the background later. But the movie’s director—the person who leads all the actors and crew members—wanted everything to look real. He wanted sand in people’s hair and sun in their eyes. 

Over the years, the creators of Star Wars have made us believe in dozens of imaginary planets. They’ve had help from some strange places right here on Earth. Here’s a quick tour of a few.

    The Wadi Rum desert is in Jordan. That’s a country in the Middle East. This desert is very hot. The temperatures can be more than 100 degrees. It is one of the harshest places on Earth.

    Last fall, the Wadi Rum became something else. It became Pasaana. That’s a planet in Star Wars. Robots rolled through the sand. A giant creature named Chewbacca stomped around. 

    A film crew was making The Rise of Skywalker. It’s the last movie in the series. Filming in the desert was hard. Actors sweated during their scenes. When sandstorms hit, the crew had to wait in tents.

    They could have stayed home. They could have filmed the movie in a studio. Computer graphics experts could have worked on the movie later. They could have added the landscapes. The director of a movie is the person who leads all the actors and the crew. The director of this movie wanted everything to look real. He wanted sand in people’s hair. He wanted sun in their eyes. 

    The world of Star Wars has many different planets. They seem real to viewers. That’s because they are strange places found on Earth. Here are a few.

    The Wadi Rum desert, in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan, is one of the harshest places on Earth. Temperatures can climb above 100 degrees, and the sun bakes everything in sight.

    But last fall, the Wadi Rum came to life with activity. Robots rolled through the orange sand, and a giant, furry creature named Chewbacca stomped around in the heat. For several weeks, the Wadi Rum was not just a desert on Earth—it was the Star Wars planet Pasaana.

    A film crew was making The Rise of Skywalker, the last movie in the famous series. The job was a major challenge for the crew. They had to build roads into the desert and huddle in tents during sandstorms. The actors sweated through chase scenes. 

    Of course, they all could have stayed home and filmed the movie in a Hollywood studio. The landscapes could have been added to the background later by computer graphics experts. But the movie’s director—the person who leads all the actors and crew members—wanted everything to look real, with sand in the actors’ hair and sun shining in their eyes. 

    Over the years, the creators of Star Wars have made dozens of imaginary planets seem real. How? With help from some strange places right here on Earth. Here’s a quick tour of
a few.

1- The Planet: Ahch-To 

The Real Place: Skellig Michael, Ireland 

Jim McMahon/Mapman ® 

    In The Last Jedi, the character Luke Skywalker hides out on the distant planet Ahch-To. But Ahch-To is actually about seven miles off the coast of Ireland. 

    It’s a rocky island called Skellig Michael.

    Skellig Michael rises 715 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 1,500 years ago, a group of Irish monks rowed to the island. They carved more than 600 stairs into the rock. At the top, they built a home out of stone. Luke lives in the huts that the monks once lived in. 

    Today, thousands of seabirds nest on Skellig Michael. Star Wars creators thought one species was really cute: the puffin. It inspired the porgs, the little creatures that live with Luke on Ahch-To.

    The character Luke Skywalker appears in The Force Awakens. He is found on a distant planet. The planet is called Ahch-To. But this planet is actually a rocky island. It’s called Skellig Michael. It rises up 715 feet. It is about 7 miles off the coast of Ireland. 

    Nearly 1,500 years ago, a group of Irish monks rowed to the island. At the top, they built a home out of stone. Luke lives in that home. 

    Thousands of birds live on the island. One species is very cute: the puffin. It inspired the porgs. Those are the little creatures that live with Luke.

    In The Force Awakens, the character Luke Skywalker is found hiding out on the distant planet Ahch-To. But Ahch-To is actually a rocky island called Skellig Michael, about 7 miles off the coast of Ireland. 

    Skellig Michael rises 715 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 1,500 years ago, a group of Irish monks rowed to the island and carved more than 600 stairs into the rock. At the top, they built a home out of stone. Luke lives in the huts that the monks once lived in. 

    Today, Skellig Michael is home to thousands of seabirds. One species, the puffin, seemed especially cute to the creators of Star Wars. The porgs, the little creatures that live with Luke on Ahch-To, were inspired by the puffin.

Chris Hill/National Geographic Image Collection RF/Getty Images (Skellig Michael); Jonathan Olley ©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. (The Last Jedi)

2- The Planet: Hoth 

The Real Place: Hardanger Glacier in Norway 

Jim McMahon/Mapman ® 

    If you love Star Wars, you’ll remember the icy planet Hoth. It’s in The Empire Strikes Back. But you don’t have to be a fan to be amazed by the planet’s real-life location. 

The Hoth scenes were filmed on the Hardanger Glacier in Norway. A glacier is a field of ice and snow that stays frozen all year. There are no roads leading to Hardanger. Visitors travel by train—if they dare. Deep cracks called crevasses are hidden in the ice. 

No one on the Star Wars crew fell into a crevasse. But the worst storm in 50 years blew in while they were there. The weather didn’t stop them. They needed to shoot a scene of Luke escaping from an ice monster’s cave. So they filmed him walking out of the hotel door into the storm!

    The Hoth scenes were filmed on the Hardanger Glacier. It’s in Norway. A glacier is a field of ice and snow. It stays frozen all year. 

    No roads lead to Hardanger. You get there by train—if you dare. Crevasses are hidden in the ice. A crevasse is a deep crack.

    No one on the Star Wars crew fell into a crevasse. But a rough storm blew in. The weather didn’t stop the crew. They needed to shoot a scene with Luke. In the scene, he escapes from an ice monster’s cave. So they filmed him walking out the hotel door into the storm!

    If you love Star Wars, you’ll remember the icy planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. But you don’t have to be a fan to be amazed by the planet’s real-life location. 

    The Hoth scenes were filmed in Norway on the Hardanger Glacier, a field of ice and snow that stays frozen all year. No roads lead to Hardanger, so visitors must travel by train—if they dare. Deep cracks called crevasses are hidden in the ice.

    No one on the Star Wars crew fell into a crevasse, but the worst storm in 50 years blew in while they were there. However, the weather didn’t halt production. The crew needed to shoot a scene of Luke escaping from an ice monster’s cave. So they filmed him emerging from the hotel’s door into the storm!

Foap AB/Alamy Stock Photo (Norway); © 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation, TM & Copyright/courtesy Everett Collection (Hoth)

3-  The Planet: Crait 

The Real Place: Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia 

Jim McMahon/Mapman ® 

    The end of The Last Jedi takes you to the planet Crait. Giant robots from the evil First Order attack across a huge, white field. The field is extremely bright. Surely it can’t be real?

    But it is. The Crait scenes were filmed on the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Salar de Uyuni was once covered with salt-water lakes. Thousands of years ago, the water dried up. It left behind 10 billion tons of salt in a field the size of Connecticut. 

    In the rainy season, this flat, white field floods with water. The water reflects the sky. It turns the salt flats into the world’s largest mirror—and the coolest battlefield in the galaxy.

    The Last Jedi takes you to the planet Crait. Giant robots attack on a huge, white field. The field is very bright. It can’t be real—right?

    It is. The scenes were filmed on the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni. They are in Bolivia. That’s a country in South America. Salar de Uyuni used to be covered with saltwater lakes. Thousands of years ago, the water dried up. It left a field of salt the size of Connecticut. 

    In the rainy season, this area fills with water. The water reflects the sky. It turns the salt flats into a huge mirror—and the coolest battlefield in the galaxy.

    The end of The Last Jedi takes you to the planet Crait. Giant robots from the evil First Order attack across a huge, white field that is extremely bright. It can’t possibly be real, right?

    But it is. The Crait scenes were filmed in Bolivia on the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni. Long ago, the area was covered with saltwater lakes. However, thousands of years ago, the water dried up, leaving behind 10 billion tons of salt in a field the size of Connecticut. 

    In the rainy season, this flat, white field floods with water, which reflects the sky. The water turns the salt flats into the world’s largest mirror—and the coolest battlefield in the galaxy.

Light & Magic/Lucasfilm..©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. (Crait); Prisma by Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (Bolivia)

Informational text

Searching For Wakanda

How do moviemakers find the perfect places to film? Ask Ilt Jones.

Courtesy Ilt Jones

Ilt Jones

    Until the 1970s, most movies and TV shows were filmed inside studios. Giant sets were built to look like faraway places. But today, many moviemakers like to film out in the world to make their movies look real. How did they find that creepy forest for Stranger Things? Or mountains for the imaginary country of Wakanda in Black Panther?

    That’s a job for people like Ilt Jones. He’s a location manager who searches for film locations. To find Wakanda, Jones traveled all over South Africa. He explored beaches. He climbed mountains. At one point, he saw a rhinoceros that was “as big as a bus.” 

    Location managers don’t just find the locations. They also set them up for filming. For one movie, Jones chose a location in the jungles of Vietnam. He had to take the equipment and crew there in tiny boats—on a river filled with snakes. 

    Still, not everything you see on-screen happens on location. Filmmakers often use computer-generated imagery (CGI). For example, most of Black Panther was shot in Georgia. CGI experts used photos from South Africa to create the backgrounds. 

    That made Jones’s job easier. But he would hate to see CGI take over completely. “I’m paid to find the most interesting, beautiful parts of the world,” he says. “It’s a great job.” 

    Until the 1970s, most movies were filmed inside studios. The same was true for TV shows. The studios had sets. The sets often looked like faraway places. But today, many moviemakers like to film out in the world. This helps their movies look real. How did they find that forest for Stranger Things? Or the mountains for Wakanda in Black Panther?

    A location manager is a person who searches for film locations. That’s Ilt Jones’s job. He found the location for Wakanda. He looked in South Africa. He went to beaches. He went to mountains. 

    Location managers help get the location ready for filming. For one movie, Jones picked a jungle in Vietnam. He had to take the equipment and crew to the jungle. They sailed on a river filled with snakes. 

    Not all movie scenes are shot on location. Filmmakers use computer-generated imagery (CGI) too. Most of Black Panther was shot in Georgia. CGI experts created the backgrounds. They used photos from South Africa.

    That made Jones’s job easier. But he doesn’t want films to be all CGI. “I’m paid to find the most interesting, beautiful parts of the world,” he says. “It’s a great job.”

    Until the 1970s, most movies and TV shows were filmed on giant sets inside studios. The sets were built to look like faraway places. But many moviemakers today like to film out in the world to make their movies look real. How did they find that creepy forest for Stranger Things? Or mountains for the imaginary country of Wakanda in Black Panther?

    That’s a job for people like Ilt Jones, a location manager for films. To find Wakanda, Jones traveled all over South Africa, exploring beaches and climbing mountains. At one point, he spotted a rhinoceros that was “as big as a bus.” 

    In addition to finding the locations for films, location managers also set them up for filming. For one movie, Jones selected a location in the jungles of Vietnam. He had to transport the equipment and crew there in tiny boats—on a river filled with snakes. 

    Still, not everything presented on-screen is filmed on location. Filmmakers regularly use computer-generated imagery (CGI). For example, most of Black Panther was shot in Georgia, but CGI experts used photos from South Africa to create the backgrounds. 

    That certainly made Jones’s job easier. Still, he would hate to see CGI take over completely. “I’m paid to find the most interesting, beautiful parts of the world,” says Jones. “It’s a great job.”

Film Frame..© Marvel Studios 2018 

This is Wakanda
The city is CGI—but the mountains are real!

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