Every week at SiftPop.com, we challenge our writers to come up with their favorite answer to a movie-related prompt, related to a recent release. This week, with the release of Dune: Part Two, we’re discussing some of our favorite fictional movie planets! Let us know your favorites @SiftPop!
The spice melange. There is only one planet in the known universe on which it can be found: Arrakis, home of the Fremen, whose eyes are blue because of their perpetual exposure to the spice. In Dune: Part One, Arrakis, where water is scarce and stillsuits are necessary, is the most consequential planet there is because of the spice, which aids in long life, grants prescience to those who can access it, and is necessary for interplanetary travel. And it’s the planet that the Atreides are ordered to take over by the Padishah Emperor. As harsh an environment as its sand dunes are beautiful, Arrakis is known to forge destinies and claim the lives and the water of those who don’t have the skills and know-how necessary to survive on such a planet. Denis Villeneuve and his cinematographer, Greig Fraser, shoot the planet with the reverence and fear it deserves, adamantly placing it among the greatest movie planets. (Robert Bouffard)
“Salt.” More than just a commentary about how a toxic portion of the Star Wars fandom still feels about Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi more than six years later, it’s also a descriptor of one of the best planets the franchise has ever featured: Crait. The intergalactic locale for the climactic showdown between the First Order and the Resistance in the middle entry of the recent sequel trilogy is one of the coolest visual planets put on screen. The shallow, white salt surface is easily displaced as speeders race across its surface or it’s bombarded with blaster fire, releasing puffs of the red dirt underneath. Though it may not have the depth of lore of other planets in the franchise, the striking color contrast, paired with Rian Johnson’s phenomenal eye for visuals, make for a planet that’s one of the hardest to overlook. (Jake Bourgeois)
One of the most famous fictional planets of all time. The one where we were introduced to Yoda, discovered the truth about the Skywalker family, and learned the ways of the force — Dagobah. From an aesthetics perspective, the entire world being a living swamp, a bog, is surprisingly beautiful. The foggy mist, the unique creatures: There’s a charming eeriness to it all. Add Yoda on top of this, and all of his quirky humor and wise sayings, and just down to the fun reversed sentence structure that he uses, makes him such an entertaining figure. All that, and then you still have the narrative implications of everything that takes place on this world. It’s where we learned that we do, or do not. There is no try. It’s how we found strength within, where we learned about what makes a family, whether through blood or love, and even where we caught a glimpse of the darkness within us all. How a different path is always around the corner, and how we have to temper ourselves and our decisions to stay in the light. Dagobah is awesome. Genuinely one of the greatest fictional planets in the history of cinema. (Heath Lynch)
Can a planet ever be cooler than Kurt Russell? The obvious answer is NO… which is why Marvel and James Gunn just made him Ego the Living Planet. Obviously. Joking aside, Ego the Living Planet is one of the most unique and cool fictional planets in the cinematic world. This begs a lot of questions… and even Drax awkwardly asked a few out loud. How can a planet have a kid? Well, when you can change into a being that looks like Russell, it is probably easy. Russell brings all his charisma and potential for intimidation to the table as he creates this dangerous and powerful entity. But if that wasn’t cool enough, we get to witness a colorful and vibrant planet full of strange occurrences and a true heart at the center. This double combo of location and antagonist is a unique addition to this wonderfully musical and odd sequel that stands out in the MCU landscape. (Shane Conto)
I’m certain that before the 2018 television series that shared its name, the most time we as an audience ever spent on the planet Krypton in any medium was in the 2013 film, Man of Steel. That story introduces an oligarchic Kryptonian society divided into houses, such as the House of El, and we find its people in a diplomatic panic mere hours before the destabilization of the planetary core results in its ultimate destruction. As illustrated in the movie, it’s a world usually depicted as the home of a fantastically advanced civilization, most often centuries beyond Earth’s own development. And while we can cobble together fleeting glimpses of its architecture, technology, and culture through various adaptations, seeing Krypton and spending time amongst its people is not what solidifies its importance to science fiction lore. In his original conception, Superman, the Last Son of Krypton, was intended as a metaphor for achieving the American dream as an immigrant, contributing to this nation, and standing out as a great citizen despite originating somewhere else. But what Superman became was a gift to the entire world, not merely confined to protect and/or represent one country, but rather to embody the very best of all of humanity and fight tirelessly to defend it. In superhero mythos, that gift could not have been bestowed upon our world had Krypton not fallen, had Jor-El, Father of Kal-El, not scraped together the final remaining resources of his dying planet to send us his only begotten child. (Jonathan Fedee)
As much as Earth is an important planet in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the fictional planet of Magrathea is just as important. Magrathea is a mystical planet that Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) is trying to find to gain some knowledge. What makes Magrathea an important planet for this list is the people who live there are a group of planet building industry. We come to find out they designed and built the Earth as a supercomputer for a group of hyper-intelligent beings to answer the ultimate question. Once Earth is destroyed, they must rebuild it as its calculations are not finished. In Douglas Adams Hitchhiker’s world, this planet is interesting to look at, especially going through their factory to see how a planet is made. The movie sticks to just showing you Earth with a few other planet designs in the background, but if you ever have time to read the book, there is great detail taken in how they design each planet they have built. (Austen Terry)
“Those aren’t mountains… They’re waves.” Those five words mark the onset of one of the most tense, stressful, and epic sequences ever put to film. Interstellar is filled to the brim with science fiction excellence, yet Miller’s Planet – an entirely water-based world with waves the height of skyscrapers – stands out as one of the most indelible additions to Christopher Nolan’s interplanetary tale. The sense of fear and “race against time” mentality for its characters creates a primal sort of terror that is only heightened when one witnesses the awe-inspiring scale of the visual effects work on display. (Foster Harlfinger)
There is a lot of hate for Star Trek Into Darkness — and it is understandable, with issues like the use of Khan and death-curing blood — but the care put into elements such as the design of the planet, Nibiru, alone make it an enjoyable movie regardless. Despite having no relevance to the universe other than a quick plot point, and getting only a few minutes of screen time, Nibiru is packed with gorgeous design and detail. Along with creating an entire species looking like papier-mâché people, they also invented a monstrous creature for a split-second gag and another fascinating tiny snail-like bug shown briefly on a branch before the focus shifts as the main characters sprint past. Seeing Spock explore the interior of a volcano with exploding lava is visually breathtaking. Also a feast for the eyes are the colors of the planet as the vibrant red forest is contrasted with white, and even greater contrast pops on the screen when the red forest opens to a vast blue ocean. They could have mailed it in for Nibiru, and given it only a few minutes of screen time, but instead they went all out. (Jason Mack)
Across the entire spectrum of science fiction, I can’t think of a planet I’d want to visit more than the fantastical world of Pandora. James Cameron has always had an incredible eye for visual spectacle, so it’s no surprise that when he released Avatar in 2009, Pandora immediately enraptured the minds of many. Drawn in by the incredible visual effects and perfect use of 3D filmmaking, who didn’t walk out of the theater wanting to run through the jungle with the Na’vi, or fly on a Banshee through the floating Hallelujah mountains? The landscapes, plants, and creatures were unlike anything I had ever seen before until Cameron somehow one-upped his world building and visual wonder thirteen years later in Avatar: The Way of Water.The coastal beaches and underwater reefs surrounding the home of the Metkayina tribe are stunningly beautiful, and I cannot wait to see what else the world of Pandora has to offer in future Avatar films. Pandora boasts some of the most beautiful landscapes, real or imagined, ever put to film, and it is a true shame that it doesn’t actually exist for us to visit and experience in real life (perhaps without the brutal exploitation of its natural resources). (Jake Hjort)
Trash. Both literal garbage and the human(oid) refuse of the universe somehow all ends up on Sakaar. When we visit Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is at a low point in his life. He’s lost his father, he’s lost his love interest, he’s lost his hammer, and he’s lost his place as the heir of Asgard. It is only by fighting his way off of a literal trash heap that he can return home and reclaim his birthright. But that’s only one aspect of the planet, because what better way to raise people up from the slums than to make them beat the tar out of each other? The gladiatorial games are the main event on Sakaar, pitting champion against challenger for a chance at a life of luxury away from the mess. Bounty hunters collect challengers among the refuse for their own paycheck, in return making sure the arena is packed to witness the champion take on every single New Doug who makes their appearance. All of this is orchestrated by The Grandmaster, and if your best and only source of entertainment is presided over by Jeff freakin’ Goldblum, you know your planet belongs on a list like this. (Chris Bakker)
Star Wars is known for a lot of things, but perhaps more than any other franchise, it’s known for its planets and the unique environments they host. Many of them are memorable, but the most memorable is Scarif from Rogue One. That may be heresy, but if you take into account how little time we spend on this planet, it certainly leaves a lasting impression. Taken over as an Imperial base (I’m sure there’s some really cool backstory in a book that I haven’t read), the planet is bittersweet with its combination of natural beauty and imperialization. It’s covered with water the most beautiful shade of blue which stretches as far as the eye can see, eventually merging with one of the most pure skies you have ever seen. The short stretches of beach are covered in natural greenery that make the planet feel like paradise for any trooper stationed there. As the final battle unfolds, the environment around it is destroyed in ways that we haven’t otherwise seen in Star Wars. When Scarif is eventually destroyed, we feel the loss for the characters on it, but also for the planet which you can only dream of visiting before its occupation. (Aaron Schweitzer)
Have you ever been hiking the Trona Pinnacles in California and thought, this place would look so much more beautiful if it was bathed in purple? Have you ever wanted to meet God? And better yet, have you ever wanted to ask him what on Earth he might need with a star ship? Well, good news! You no longer have to hostilely take control of the universal planet of peace, film a hostage video with the cinematography skills of a career cameraman and steal the flagship of the federation just to visit the beautiful planet of Sha Ka Ree! Just turn on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier written, directed, and starring William Shatner himself, who was not going to let the late great Leonard Nimoy get all the acclaim with his monstrously successful directorial entry in the Star Trek universe! Sit down, Dikembe Mutombo, I got this: “No, No, No!” Shatner will let you meet God on Sha Ka Ree, and if you’re lucky, blow him up with a Klingon Bird of Prey! There are rocks and smoke and an alien head that thinks it’s God, not to mention that the planet’s allegedly at the center of the galaxy! One of the most iconic of all the Star Trek planets, and this trip can be yours: Just pop in the DVD and let the movie take you to the BEST* planet on this list!
*The word best is delusional, no guarantee is implied. (Nick Ferro)
In 1986, following two seasons of the television series, The Transformers: The Movie hit theaters, finally introducing us to the Autobots’ home world of Cybertron. Overrun by the evil forces of the Decepticons, the Autobots are forced to occupy Cybertron’s two moons in hopes of taking back their beloved planet. Following an epic battle on Earth that leaves both factions’ leadership either dead or dying, the groups journey back into space in hopes of returning to Cybertron. Along the way, the Autobots end up separated and flung across space fleeing a new threat, a sentient planet named Unicron (Orson Welles), who consumes other planets to survive and unfortunately has sided with Decepticon forces intent on stripping Cybertron of its remaining resources. Plenty of sci-fi adventures take place on fantastical planets, but this is the first time I can ever recall the actual planet being the active protagonist with an agenda of destroying other celestial worlds in order to survive. Paired with the decision to cast the iconic tones of Orson Welles, you get one truly menacing villain… I mean can you imagine trying to stop a Transformer the size of Jupiter? But that’s exactly the challenge facing our favorite robots in disguise as they travel the Galaxy acquiring new friends and attempting to preserve Cybertron from the planet destroying behemoth, showing that planets are much more than just a setting. (Patrice Downing)