Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villany: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Star War’s Mos Eisley

Most Star Wars fans know Mos Eisley spaceport to be the legendary meeting ground where Luke Skywalker met Han Solo and Chewbacca. Beyond this is a spaceport full of secrets and tidbits of information the movies glosses over, leaving fans to find out more on their own.

From hidden easter eggs in the background to characters with deep backstories, Mos Eisley has its fill of Star Wars lore waiting to be discovered. With that, here are 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Mos Eisley.

10 Just Passing By

Fans of the Nintendo 64 game Shadows of the Empire know Dash Rendar to be a sneaky smuggler like Han Solo. In the anniversary edition of New Hope, fans can catch a glimpse of his ship, the Outrider leaving a docking bay on Tatooine as Obi-Wan and Luke arrive. The ship appears on the left side of the street and leaves slowly, giving fans a brief window at the ship’s first cinematic debut. It’s quick but a fun nod to a beloved character from one of the most famous Star Wars games released by LucasArts.

9 That Giant Crashed Ship (Dowager Queen)

A signature piece of Mos Eisley is a crashed ship in the spaceports central square. Though the movie doesn’t touch on its background or identity, the extended universe does. The ship was known as the Dowager Queen and was owned by the Hutts as a colony ship.

During its landing, the ship was caught in a sandstorm that destroyed the central power system, crash landing it into Mos Eisley where it’s been left to rot.

8 Cantina Name (Chalmun’s Cantina)

The Cantina in Mos Eisley featured some freaky aliens and an even better live band, somebody get Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes a contract. Though the visit to the space bar is quick, there’s an abundance of history and lore imbued in its wall, starting with the name and origin of the hot spot.

Named after it’s Wookie owner, the bar is known as Chalmun’s Cantina after he bought it with gambling money earned on Ord Mantell.  After the Wookie’s passing, the bar’s ownership passed to its grumpy bartender, Wuher, who isn’t a fan of droids.

7 No Droids For A Reason

Poor C3P0 and R2D2 just wanted a drink with Obi-Wan and Luke but were denied entry to Chalmun’s Cantina. The reason? Bartenders were wary of droids because of the temporary presence of the Empire during the Galactic Rebellion.

Protocol and tracking droids were known to frequent the bars of Mos Eisley, tracking down outlaws and rebel conspirators. In retaliation, bartenders forbid droids from entering with beam rays that stopped droids from entering.

6 Destruction And Rebuilding

Mos Eisley may be the armpit of the galaxy (As Lando Calrissian calls it) but it’s seen some action from time to time. After Jabba’s death, the Hutt family struck back by bombing the popular cantina. For a while, the town was chaotic with constant fighting taking place. Eventually, the bar was rebuilt and resumed its role as a popular bar for pilots who came and went.

5 Wuher’s PTSD

More on the owners and bartenders of Chalmun’s Cantina, Wuher has some interesting backstory. The cantina denies droids entry, with Wuher’s hatred toward them fueling his rules.

During the Clone Wars Wuher witnessed the worst of the separatist’s droids, scarring him for life. His distrust of the droids inspired him to live by his rule of denying dorids entry, allowing his PTSD to rule over his bar.

4 Jango Fett Arena

The legendary bounty hunter has frequented the desert planet from time to time, including a mission in the Nintendo GameCube Game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Just outside of Jabba’s safehouse in Mos Eisley is a fighting pit where giant monsters and aliens would fight it out gladiator style. The arena is called Jango Fett Arena, in honor of the Mandalorian bounty hunter whose presence demands respect.

3 Jabba’s Residence

Jabba’s palace is outside the city limits of Mos Eisley, but that doesn’t mean this is his only residence. Near Chalmun’s Cantina is a Jabba’s part-time residence known as the Desilijic Complex. The original owner was Gardulla the Hutt, who would meet with his accountant here from time to time to settle arrangements.

Aside from living quarters the residence housed some of the Hutt’s valuables and served as an alternate location for meetings.

2 Imperial Base

It may come to a surprise to learn that the Empire had a garrison in Mos Eisley during the Galactic Civil War. Darth Vader oversaw the production of the garrison as it would prove to be a vital piece in closing in on the Rebels. However, the rebels were clever enough to send Luke and a few friends to infiltrate and destroy the place. Despite its small size the garrison base was supposed to be effective in its resupplying efforts, but it was shortlived.

1 Hotels and Casinos

Mos Eisley is not so easy on the eye, but it does have some places for the rich and wealthy. In the New Quarter area of Mos Eisely (the touristy area as it’s known) are some of the spaceports nicer buildings with accommodations for those looking for a nicer stay during their time in the desert.

The Hutts were known to frequent these places as gambling was a common method of making a profit in outer rim territories like Tatooine. Mos Espa, where Anakin grew up, featured a similar economy, minus the pod racing.

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