Why Coruscant looks so weird in Andor

Is it just me, or does Coruscant look a little weird in Andor Episode 4? I think it was on purpose, and I'll explain why on today's Star Wars lore video!

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[masonlaw]

Honestly I'm just glad they finally acknowledged that coruscant exists for once.

[chrminid]

Coruscant is a planet with a global urban landscape, so it makes sense that there’s some architectural differences as you go from place to place…

[neofulcrum]

It certainly looks sterile, oppressive and drab. Makes sense given the empire took over.

[jonathanmalone]

Didn't the planet also take a mauling from space debris and such during the battle of Coruscant? The Separatists even landed some troops to secure the Chancllor. The rebuilding during the Imperial Era would explain a lot.

[RJALEXANDER]

The whole planet is a cityscape with thousands of years of history behind it. There should be variance, it would be very boring if every district looked identical.

[daschwah]

What’s interesting is that this is totally how I imagined it when first reading the Zahn books back in the 90s. Grey, sharp, brutalist and totally aligned with the Empire’s lack of aesthetic charm in terms of the vehicles and structures we’d seen in the OT.

[elnar]

Also in prequels they often show Coruscant in warm sun light or glittering lights of a mega city at night. Every reflective surface shines. Whereas in Andor they use the cloudy white/grey sky and monotone lighting to emphasize how sterile the city has become. Even the decorative metallic edges on the buildings in that shot where Mon walked up of her car looked bleached. I think it's a smart artistic/filming choice.

[SonicHalo]

It looks different because this is Coruscant in the Empire, not the Republic. Much like how all the Clone Troopers were told to remove their colors on their armor, the color and life is drained away. Now it is darker colder and it is reminiscent of the Soviet era.

[Amazetbm]

In the prequels we saw mostly the upper levels. They had an Art Deco/Streamline Moderne inspired style. In Andor some of the buildings have a Brutalist Architecture...especially as we descent lower into the city. Those style buildings were used quite a bit in late 60s to mid 70s SciFi shows & movies...especially the dystopian kind.

[animesith]

The appearance fits the description perfectly from the book Tarkin. Soon after the empire rose, drastic changes came to the Coruscant cityscape with buildings stripped of its elegant adornings in favor of more sleek and block like designs.

[GreyLion]

I really love how the interior of the ISB building evokes that 70's Star Wars vibe. That's attention to detail and source material.

[TriforceOfCaz]

One thing this design of Coruscant made me think of is the high-rises in somewhere like New York, which fits with the motif of the wealthy elite class that we're seeing. Mon Mothma, even seems to be hiding behind the facade of the Star Wars equivalent of a wealthy Manhattan socialite who has liberal views but doesn't really do that much to advance them, in order to try an hide her true nature (seeming like an annoyance but not a direct threat.)

[jessetaran]

The fact that we’ve only seen it so far in broad daylight adds to its creepiness, it’s just so stark. I hope we do see it at night and other times of day in the series, but I hope they can find a way to keep that feeling if so

[ShaneReuter]

i personally think it’s just the style. in the prequels coruscant was always shown at golden hour or beautiful times while andor is just showing coruscant as it lives and breathes on any regular old day. I do love that they made the buildings in that aerial shot so similar to New York. there was one or two that felt straight out of a like a neo-new york

[zackmarkham]

The Andor Coruscant looks like New York, heavy on the 1920's and 1930's art-deco architecture. I LOVE it!

[jovankandola]

I think it also comes down to the cgi, with today’s technology it is able to look way more realistic as a planet and city, but back in the prequels everything has sort of a sheen and shininess to it, both still look good though

[Alkzo]

I love this scene when the adjunct inspector takes the elevator and we see the light fades as it go deeper and deeper in the underground districts, which are poor. It makes a link with his life generally going down after the events on Ferrix

[tortugulaproductions]

Also the use of practical sets made coruscant feel so so different and much more real. In the prequels coruscant had a much more glossed and saturated tone to them. Vibrant CGI buildings and dramatic sunsets etc. Here it seems at least some of the buildings/structures are actually real which drastically changes the feel of the planet. For me this change is good, although I do love the prequels.

I don't know where the security building is on the planet relative to the other locations we've seen in the past, but I think it's also important to keep in mind that we've really only spent time in a couple buildings so far. It makes sense to me that the imperial security headquarters would be particularly imperial, and that the various different places we saw in the may past still have their unique vibes. But if this is symbolic of a larger shift on coruscant, that also makes sense to me and I welcome it. We've seen many worlds change throughout the history of starwars, so new developments on coruscant feel right to me.

[rc]

I'm just happy to see Coruscant again besides it's a planet wide city some places are bound to look different.

[johnecoapollo]

I am just thanking the Force that we got Coruscant back. That orbital shot made me want to cry, it was so beautiful