“Never will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy”: Said a lead character of the globally acclaimed Star Wars franchise .
Star Wars fans are being warned by the authorities not to visit areas of Tunisia used as locations for the film series as many have become hotbeds of terrorist activity.
The small area of Tataouine, 60 miles from the Libyan border, has become a hideout for terrorists hoping to join Libyan terror networks.
Tataouine inspired the name of Anakin and Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine, and young Anakin’s home slave quarters in Episode I: The Phantom Menace are located in nearby Medenine. Many of the set dressings were left in place in the region after filming of Episodes I-III.
Two separate arms caches have been uncovered in Tataouine this month. Included in one of the stashes were rocket-propelled grenade launchers and over 20,000 ammunition rounds.
Three young men were arrested in the area prior to the recent attack at Tunis’ Bardo Museum. The terrorists were plotting their way into Libya.
Many locations in Tunisia were used in filming the multiple Star Wars films to date. The interiors of the Lars Homestead were filmed in Matmata, with the exteriors shot at nearby Nefta, also used for the Dune Sea and the Kryat Dragon Ridge. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s home in A New Hope and the famous Mos Eisley cantina are located in Djerba, and a road near Bouhlel Sdada is known as Star Wars Canyon because of how many scenes were shot there.
Many governments have warned against “all but essential travel” through the region due to heightened terrorist activities, so it looks as if fans won’t be able to visit the locations any time soon. Meanwhile, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Force Awakens recently wrapped up filming around the UK, with previous shoots taking place in Iceland and Abu Dhabi.
