6

The estimated population of the planet Coruscant was well over 1 trillion, and the planet itself acted as the 'capital city' of the galaxy.

Why was there not more of a big deal made about the

destruction of Coruscant and all its inhabitants by the First Order's big new shiny laser?

RedCaio
  • 35,482
  • 29
  • 153
  • 281
Theyna
  • 1,478
  • 1
  • 13
  • 29

1 Answers1

17

Coruscant was not destroyed

The planets that were destroyed were Hosnian Prime and four other unnamed planets in the Hosnian system.

From the Alan Dean Foster novelization:

"General, the Republic Command — the entire Hosnian system — it's all...gone."

(Chapter XII)

And:

"Until the Hosnian system was eliminated, we didn't even know such a weapon existed."

(Chapter XIII)

So, there's no deal to be made concerning Coruscant.

Reaction to Hosnian massacre

As for the reaction to the destruction of Hosnian Prime and the other Hosnian planets, I feel it is necessary to point out that The Force Awakens takes place over the course of only a few days, and that the Resistance is very preoccupied during that time — especially after the destruction of the Hosnian system. We don't really have enough time to see or gauge any general reaction. Quite literally, the dust has not settled yet.

That being said, the novelization gives us some insight into Leia's feelings on the massacre:

First Alderaan, now the Hosnian system. No one, she knew, should have to be witness to the death of an entire world. She had been subjected to two. It must not be allowed to happen again.

(Chapter XII)

Her feelings are likely echoed throughout the Resistance.

Community
  • 1
Praxis
  • 111,024
  • 50
  • 512
  • 690
  • 2
    I simply assumed that it was Coruscant due to all the references of the republic being based there, but thanks for clearing that up – Theyna Dec 25 '15 at 09:26
  • @Theyna : No worries. The confusion is understandable. – Praxis Dec 25 '15 at 15:32
  • 3
    Yeah, it was not at all clear in the movie that the capital had moved to a new planet. I came out thinking Coruscant had been destroyed as well. – JK. Jan 05 '16 at 01:17
  • 2
    Indeed so did - looked like the right planet, similar buildings, was confusing and didn't realise until later it was some other system – RoguePlanetoid Jan 08 '16 at 14:37
  • Yeah, they skipped right over that important part. We didn't really even have time to care or understand about the new capital. There's a lot of details the movie just glosses over, which makes for bad storytelling. There are some good sources of more detail, like below, but that shouldn't be required reading for any moviegoer. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Coruscant#:~:text=Although%20the%20planet%20fell%20under,aid%20of%20the%20Jedi%20Knights. – Dan Csharpster Jun 07 '20 at 15:58
  • You might want to mention that in response to the Hosnian Massacre, the entire galaxy fielded an armada to destroy the Emperor and support the Resistance – Valorum Dec 13 '21 at 07:39
  • Leia was more right than she knew: after TLJ, she won’t know anyone else who witnessed the death of an entire world. – Silly but True Dec 13 '21 at 12:29