Lothal

"Look no further than Lothal if you want to see what happens when the Empire takes control of an entire world. The Empire shows up and makes people who have lived here for generations go into refugee settlements like Tarkintown... and then, to make things even worse, turns their family farms into strip mines to dig for ore and crystals!"

- From Sabine Wren's journal

Lothal was a planet in the Outer Rim Territories. It was in a state of economic disrepair and invited the Galactic Empire on the promise of prosperity and security.

The world was several minutes away from the planet Garel via hyperspace travel.

History
In ancient times, the Jedi Order established a Jedi Temple on Lothal, hidden within the planet surface. The entrance could only be exposed through use of the Force.

Lothal was settled during the last decades of the Galactic Republic. However, following the reformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, Lothal was exploited by the Empire. In addition to exploiting the rich minerals, including scarce kyber crystals, the Empire also hoped to establish a new hyperspace route.

There were few options for young citizens on the planet, apart from being recruited to join the Stormtroopers, Imperial pilot flight school or having to work at the capital's Sienar Fleet Systems factory, building TIE fighters. Lothal was also home to Sienar Systems Advanced Projects Laboratory, located in Central City. The planet was chosen for the research division as it provided plenty of open space for testing new spacecraft and other technologies for the Empire. The previously self-sufficient farming communities gradually became usurped by Imperial materials mining and factory complexes. These factories also polluted Lothal's skies and waterways. During the Imperial occupation of the world, a rebellion began to grow as the local inhabitants grew unsatisfied with the Empire's practices.

Behind the scenes
"Where Ezra lives, where we meet him, the prairie that he lives on, the city, the town that it's adjacent to&mdash;all of that, literally down to what the alleys look like in the town&mdash;was inspired by Ralph's original art."

- Star Wars Rebels executive producer Simon Kinberg

After StarWars.com's reveal of the planet Lothal and its Sienar factory, a website called www.sienarfleetsystems.com appeared. It consists of only an image presented as an advert/propaganda poster for Sienar Fleet Systems on Lothal. This website has now been "vandalised" with pro-Rebellion graffitt.

Lothal's visual look is based directly off of concept paintings done by Ralph McQuarrie. These same paintings were used in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe to illustrate portions of Alderaan.