The film that rewired Hollywood was shot on a shoestring in three wildly different places: a scorching Tunisian desert, a Guatemalan jungle temple, and a chilly soundstage in Hertfordshire. There was no Tatooine, no Yavin, no Death Star – just Matmata, Tikal and Elstree, held together by George Lucas and a lot of nerve.
Where was Star Wars filmed?
Principal photography ran across Tunisia (the desert planet Tatooine), Elstree Studios in England (nearly every interior), Shepperton Studios (the rebel hangar), Death Valley in California (extra Tatooine landscapes), and Tikal in Guatemala (the jungle moon of Yavin 4). The Tunisian shoot in 1976 was famously chaotic – freak rainstorms, broken droids and a crew who thought the whole thing was doomed.
What’s remarkable is how little of the finished film is “real”. The vast bulk of A New Hope is soundstage work at Elstree; the location days were short, cheap and often miserable. Yet those few dusty exteriors gave the galaxy its lived-in texture, and several of them are still standing.
Every Star Wars location, explained
Elstree Studios, Borehamwood – the whole galaxy on nine stages
Almost every interior – the Death Star corridors, the Millennium Falcon, the trash compactor, Obi-Wan’s hermitage, the Lars homestead kitchen and Chalmun’s Cantina – was built at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. The Death Star sets were struck long ago (the conference room was demolished in 1989), but the lot went on to host Indiana Jones and Kubrick’s The Shining.
Matmata, Tunisia – the Lars homestead
Luke’s underground home is the Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata, a real troglodyte hotel dug into the earth. It still trades on its Star Wars fame – you can eat, and sleep, in Luke’s living room to this day.
Sidi Bouhlel – “Star Wars Canyon”
The ravine where the Jawas ambush R2-D2 and a Krayt dragon skeleton bleaches in the sun is Sidi Bouhlel, a canyon near Tozeur nicknamed “Star Wars Canyon” by locals. Spielberg liked it enough to reuse it for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Djerba and the southern desert – Mos Eisley
The exteriors of Mos Eisley spaceport and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s dwelling were shot around the island of Djerba and the deep south near Tataouine – a town whose name Lucas simply borrowed for the planet.
Death Valley, California – the Jundland Wastes
Back in the States, Death Valley (Inyo County) supplied extra Tatooine vistas, including Artoo trundling through the wastes and the panoramas over Mos Eisley.
Tikal, Guatemala – the moon of Yavin 4
The rebel base is the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, near Flores in Petรฉn. The shot of the Massassi temples rising above the rainforest canopy is Temple IV at Tikal – no set, no matte, just Guatemala.
Shepperton Studios – the rebel hangar and medal ceremony
The enormous rebel hangar and the closing throne-room ceremony were staged on the huge H Stage at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, one of the few spaces in Britain big enough to hold them.
Planning a visit
Tunisia is the pilgrimage. The Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata is a working hotel you can actually stay in, and desert tour operators run Star Wars circuits taking in Sidi Bouhlel, Ong Jemel and the surviving Mos Espa set from the prequels. Tikal in Guatemala is a UNESCO World Heritage site reachable from Flores. In England, both London-area studios are working lots, so admire them from the gate.
