This One Genius Star Wars Change Would’ve Totally Fixed The Phantom Menace

When Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was first released, it wasn’t universally praised by fans. As excited as everyone was for the new chapter in Star Wars to finally happen, many weren’t thrilled at the new additions to the lore and the tone of the film. It was readily apparent that when George Lucas wrote the prequels, he wasn’t scared of shaking up the status quo and reinventing canon, going so far as to introduce controversial elements like the midi-chlorians. Many fans felt that these changes and choices led to the prequels feeling disconnected from the original trilogy. Since then, the entire prequels era has come a long way, having been rehabilitated in the eyes of fans through spinoff content like The Clone Wars. What was once a highly controversial film now sits squarely among the beloved pantheon of the originals. Through the benefit of hindsight, we now know that a simple change to The Phantom Menace could have done wonders to please longtime fans and brought a stronger sense of cohesion to the franchise.

As the Star Wars universe has continued to expand, it’s felt cheap the way Alderaan was handled in the original film. This planet’s greatest claim to fame was being the first planet destroyed by the Death Star, in a demonstration of the station’s awesome might. Even though Princess Leia claims it as her home planet, both she and the audience are given very little space to form any bond or connection to it. One small change to The Phantom Menace would have fixed that: if the movie remained the same, but the planet Naboo was Alderaan instead. Had this been the case, the weight of that first Death Star strike would have a far larger emotional impact, while bringing a stronger sense of cohesion to the Star Wars franchise.

A Great Disturbance in the Force

Naboo is a fan-favorite planet. Its beautiful vistas and iconic waterfalls are highlights of the franchise. If The Phantom Menace had been set on Alderaan rather than Naboo, none of that would have to change; only the name would need to be different. The planet, its culture, and aesthetic would remain untouched, while Alderaan’s name would have made it more significant in the lore. The most famous Alderaan citizen we know of is Princess Leia, who served as senator for the planet; changing Naboo to Alderaan feels even more natural when you recognize Leia’s famous hair buns would blend in cleanly with the established Nabooian fashion. Alderaan culture and designs aren’t explored at all in the films, so it would be no loss to the franchise for Alderaan and Naboo to mesh culturally and become one. The Gungans would still have tensions with the human aristocracy; the Trade Federation would still enforce their blockade; truly nothing else would change beyond the planet’s name and future. But the effect of that simple change would have a large impact on how the story is felt by audiences.

As it stands now, the destruction of Alderaan feels pretty shallow. We know it’s where Leia is from, and we are told that millions lived there. But we’re given no opportunity to form an attachment to the planet before it disintegrates. A New Hope doesn’t even give us a moment with Leia in grief and mourning over the loss of her entire world. However, if Naboo had been Alderaan, the audience wouldn’t have needed to see Leia’s grief; they would have felt it on their own.

By the time we reach A New Hope, fans following the story chronologically would already have a strong emotional bond to Alderaan. The destruction of Alderaan would have meant the loss of the iconic waterfalls, the temples, and their intricate art. It would have meant the extermination of the Gungan species and their culture as well. When Obi-Wan collapses from feeling the cries of millions of voices in terror, we would feel that same disturbance in the Force because we would have loved Alderaan the way we now love Naboo. In short, if Naboo had been Alderaan, the destruction of the planet would have had devastating emotional and narrative consequences, and really sell the apocalyptic stakes to the audience.

Rhymes & Shadows

The ramifications would be more than sentimental. Many key details from A New Hope would slot into place very nicely if we had started with Alderaan over Naboo. A major detail that would transfer over smoothly is Bail Organa’s adoption of Leia. We see that he was one of Padme’s most trusted allies in the senate, so it would make perfect sense then if both Padme and Bail were from Alderaan. It also means that Leia would be immersed in her mother’s culture and follow in her footsteps, even if she wasn’t aware of it at the time. George Lucas has described his films as “like poetry, it rhymes”; when young Anakin flew into the Trade Federation’s blockade and destroyed their battleship, it was a poetic verse to rhyme with Luke destroying the Death Star in the original film. Reuniting a Tatooine-raised Luke Skywalker with his Alderaan royal sister Leia would have had direct parallels to their parents, rhyming with how Anakin was a desert slave while Padme was a Queen.

The biggest benefit to the change, though, would be the recontextualization of The Phantom Menace and how it connects to the original trilogy. Knowing the doom that would come to Alderaan would hang a sense of inevitable tragedy over the original trilogy, more than what’s already there. The change would keep the narrative intact but would add an emotional weight to a pivotal moment in the lore. Like Darth Vader’s shadow looming over young Anakin, Alderaan’s shadow would be cast across the entire prequel trilogy.

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