Tatooine Disappearing Soon...

Northwest of the city of Tozeur, deep in Tunisia's Sahara desert, is an abandoned settlement of about 20 buildings that are partly submerged by the sand. Strangely familiar, they remind you of something alien you might see in a galaxy far, far away... it is the set George Lucas created for Tatooine, the birthplace of Anakin Skywalker. Thanks to the Tunisian government, is has remained intact, up to now.

Lorenz (center) with colleagues at the Mos Espa
site in Tunisia in 2009.

Today, the sand dunes of the Sahara are starting the process of claiming Tatooine as one more of the lost cities that lie under its sands. If you want to be a witness to what is surely an important piece of film history, you are running out of time. According to a 41-page scientific study from John Hopkins University's Ralph D. Lorenz and other scientists from University of Sousse, Brigham Young University, University of Idaho, and the Universita' d'Annunzio, the Tatooine set is starting to be covered by a sand dune moving at a rate of 4 cm per day.

It seems Tatooine is facing a threat far more serious than the Empire...

The Star Wars #1 - George Lucas' Original Screenplay

Creators: (W) Victor Gischler (A) Juan Ferreyra (CA) Dave Johnson

Before Star Wars, there was The Star Wars! J.W. Rinzler and Mike Mayhew present this authorized adaptation of George Lucas’s rough-draft screenplay of what would eventually become a motion picture that would change the world! High adventure and derring-do from longer ago, in a galaxy even further away!

Available in regular, variant and ultravariant covers, Dark Horse offers customers the official adaptation of George Lucas's original Star Wars screenplay. Written J.W. Rinzler, executive editor at LucasBooks, The Star Wars tells the intergalactic tale of good versus evil featuring the popular characters that made the franchise legendary.

“While researching in the Lucasfilm Archives I’ve found many treasures—but one which truly astounded me was George’s rough draft for The Star Wars. His first complete imaginings were hallucinating to read—mind blowing,” said writer J.W. Rinzler. “While working with George on another book project, I once asked if we could adapt his rough draft. He was hesitant. Years later, with Dark Horse’s invaluable help, we showed him a few drawn and colored pages of what it might look like. He gave us the okay.”