Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's desert planet Pasaana was much cooler in early concept art. The Star Wars franchise is no stranger to desert worlds, with Tatooine and Jakku playing prominent roles in the Skywalker saga. For the series' final installment, director J.J. Abrams and crew came up with another one: Pasaana, where Rey and her friends go to locate the Sith Wayfinder, picking up Luke Skywalker's trail that went cold long ago. It's on Pasaana the group runs into Lando Calrissian, convincing him to return to the Resistance during their brief encounter.
Abrams and company attempted to flesh out the Star Wars universe with Pasaana, which was home to the Aki-Aki and site of the Festival of Ancestors (taking place once every 42 years). Pasaana was also the stage for an exciting speeder chase sequence that harkened back to the original trilogy. Despite this, some found it to be a little disappointing the Star Wars filmmakers had selected a backdrop so similar to the previous movies. As it turns out, Pasaana was a very different planet at one point in the movie's development.
Concept artist Phil Saunders shared a Rise of Skywalker illustration on his ArtStation page, depicting an early version of Pasaana. In stark contrast from the barren desert landscape, this iteration is described as a "wetland planet" that has a shipping lane pirates frequent. Check out the drawing in the space below:
It's unclear why Pasaana was changed so drastically prior to production, but it would have been interesting if this idea remained in place. This is a different kind of location compared to other planets seen throughout the Star Wars films, and it likely would have made an eye-catching visual on the big screen. Saunders notes the aforementioned speeder chase would still have taken place on Pasaana, going from a village and eventually heading off into mangroves. The freighters depicted in the concept art probably would have made the set piece more tense, as they'd be another obstacle for the characters to avoid as they sped away from danger. From the sound of things, Saunders plans on revealing more about this Pasaana concept in the future, so it'll be fascinating to see if he sheds light on how things changed over time. This drawing is from 2017, the earliest days of Rise of Skywalker development (most likely shortly after Abrams was hired).
For those disappointed this idea never made it to the big screen, Star Wars has a history of revisiting concept art and adapting it in future projects. Multiple aspects and elements in Disney's movies and TV shows have their roots in Ralph McQuarrie's original concept art from the classic trilogy (i.e. Zeb from Star Wars Rebels was inspired by an early design for Chewbacca). It's definitely possible this wetland planet makes an appearance at some point down the line, especially since there are several new Star Wars movies and TV shows at various stages in development. The franchise can't always tell stories set on desert planets, so mixing it up might be a smart idea.
Source: Phil Saunders