Cloud City

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Bespin

• 

From the Movies

Suspended high among the pastel clouds of Bespin, held aloft by huge repulsorlifts built into its curved frame, is a floating metropolis of sophisticated beauty and political freedom. Cloud City exists not only as a mining colony, extracting valuable Tibanna gas from the depths of the giant planet, but also as a sanctuary for those trying to escape the turmoil gripping the galaxy.

Though profitable, Cloud City is small enough not to be noticed by larger authorities such as the Mining Guild. It prospered under the capable stewardship of Baron-Administrator Lando Calrissian. Calrissian, assisted by his aide Lobot, contended with self-sufficiency issues and labor difficulties throughout his brief term.

The city is disk-shaped, with the upper concourse covered in circular landing platforms and towering spires. Beneath the city's belly is an immense spire that ends in a bulbous unipod. The interior corridors and plazas of the city are spotless white and chrome, providing an airy feel even when indoors.

These pristine malls conceal the industrial heart of Cloud City. The gas processing facilities, smelting rooms and carbon-freezing chambers of the airborne city aren't as aesthetically pleasing, but they are modern and efficient. In the heart of the outpost is an immense chasm filled with whipping winds that helps power and support Cloud City.

Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, the fugitive crew of the Millennium Falcon sought sanctuary on Cloud City. Sadly, the nefarious bounty hunter Boba Fett tracked the Falcon to Bespin. Fett contacted his Imperial clients, and was able to arrive on Cloud City before Han Solo, Leia Organa and the others. What was to be a haven instead became a trap. The Rebels were captured, and Han Solo was frozen in carbonite for delivery to the gangster Jabba the Hutt.

These terrible acts were but a prelude to an incredible confrontation between Jedi and Sith. Darth Vader used the suffering of the Rebels to lure young Luke Skywalker to Cloud City. Within the industrial innards of the cosmopolitan outpost, Skywalker and Vader dueled with lightsabers. Though Vader bested Luke in combat, he was unable to sway Skywalker to the dark side of the Force. Luke was maimed in the encounter, and his spirit broken by the horrific revelation that Vader was indeed his father.

Luke tumbled down Cloud City's central chasm, being swept by the winds into an open chute. The curving tunnel dropped Luke into the open air, but young Skywalker was able to grab onto a protruding weather vane on Cloud City's underbelly. There, Leia and Chewbacca -- liberated by Lando -- were able to rescue the young Jedi aboard the Millennium Falcon.

It was during these events that the Empire took control of Cloud City. Calrissian was barely able to warn the startled population about the occupation. Many fled the city before it was too late.

Life eventually returned to normal on Cloud City. Following the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor, Cloud City's populace was able to celebrate the return of freedom in the galaxy.

From the Expanded Universe

The Corellian eccentric Lord Ecclessis Figg first founded Cloud City. Originally the Floating Home complex, Cloud City was little more than a Tibanna gas mining and refinement plant. It served as Figg's base of operations for years, and slowly evolved into a cosmopolitan center. With the opening up of shops, restaurants, and of course, casinos, Cloud City eventually became a popular resort along the Corellian Trade Spine.

Cloud City is kept aloft with massive B/I repulsorlift engines. Huge tractor beams serve to anchor the city in place in Bespin's Life Zone, as well as to direct Tibanna into the various refinement and carbon-freezing plants aboard the station. These 16 pairs of massive Novaldex G47 tractor beam generators also draw heat to the thermo-converters that power the complex. To help secure Cloud City in the churning, intense windstorms that sometimes buffet the structure, a huge wind tunnel makes up the center of the city, stretching out below it in a long unipod and reactor stalk. This wind tunnel redirects dangerous gusts through the city, and also serves as a garbage dumping system.

The architecture of Cloud City is similar to Alderaanian classical, with many white and cream-colored spires. The metropolis is divided into quarters named after the compass points. Cloud City is further divided into levels, beginning with 0 for the upper plaza, and continuing down to 392, where the lowest of the tractor beam and repulsorlift generators are found. Levels 1-50 house the premiere hotels, spas, clubs, museums, and casinos. Levels 51-100 have high-income housing for merchants, executives, and other wealthy citizens. Levels 101-120 are where the city's administrative offices are found. Levels 121-160 are the seedy, crime-ridden levels of Cloud City, known as Port Town. Here there are industrial loading docks, casinos, bars, and underworld activity. Levels 161-220 hold the service sector housing. Levels 221-280 house the factories. Levels 281-370 are where the economic heart of Cloud City rests: the Tibanna gas processing plants and mining quarters. Levels 371-392 house the massive tractor beams and repulsorlift generators that keep the city aloft. The maze-like Ugnaught tunnels that crisscross the metropolis permeate all of these levels. The city is 16.2 kilometers in diameter, and 17.3 kilometers tall.

Cloud City's government is divided into three branches: the administrator, the Exex, and the Parliament of Guilds. The Wing Guard handles security and police duties on Cloud City. The last official census taken on Cloud City prior to its take-over by the Empire listed its total population at 5,427,080, not including droids. The largest single group of Cloud City's population is the service sector, with 1,297,080 people, including maintenance crews, security forces, cloud car taxi drivers, doctors and hospital staff, and others.

Once it took control of Cloud City, the Empire transformed the resort into a basic factory for Tibanna production. The new administrator, Captain Treece, brought back slaving practices, forcing the Ugnaught workers to toil to fill Imperial coffers. The Ugnaughts rebelled, however. Striking from secret floating platforms below Cloud City, the Ugnaughts lined the outpost with dangerous timer bombs. The remainder of Cloud City's populace was evacuated during the Ugnaught insurrection. Calrissian returned to find Cloud City a ghost town, and he helped the Ugnaughts rebel against Treece. Calrissian was unable to reclaim the city, however, until after the defeat of the Empire at Endor.

Much like the rest of the galaxy, Cloud City underwent great upheaval during the political chaos that followed in the wake of the Battle of Endor. As Lando began to diversify his business holdings, he again lost Cloud City, ironically in the same fashion that he acquired it -- in a sabacc game. Calrissian lost a rigged game to the disgusting Zorba the Hutt. Cloud City again suffered Imperial occupation during Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign to retake the Core Worlds from the New Republic. The Tibanna factories were pressed into service to supply the Imperial war machine with vital blaster gas.

When the last stubborn embers of the Galactic Civil War were finally snuffed with the signing of an historic peace accord between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant, outposts such as Cloud City prospered with a renewed sense of vitality. Tourism boomed and Cloud City started to cater to families, establishing wholesome entertainment venues to supplement its casinos and nightclubs.

Behind the Scenes

The original "city in the clouds" was actually the Imperial capital, on the planet Alderaan, as described in the very first rough draft of Star Wars. A metropolitan center was suspended impossibly high on a thin stalk within a sea of clouds. Early Ralph McQuarrie production paintings depict an unmistakable predecessor to Cloud City buzzed by prototype TIE fighters. When this version of the Imperial capital proved too costly to realize on the screen, the concept was scrapped only to be revisited again in The Empire Strikes Back as an out of-the-way mining colony.

ILM made Cloud City a reality through the use of miniatures and matte paintings. The interiors were filmed at Elstree Studios. The pristine floors and walls were maintained in immaculate condition by the crew constantly mopping and polishing the set between takes, and everyone having to wear cushioned shoes.

For the Special Edition release of The Empire Strikes Back, ILM digitally revisited Cloud City, creating a locale with a greater sense of scope and commotion. Previously static matte paintings were instead realized with moving digital models, allowing the computer-generated Millennium Falcon and cloud cars to actually weave in and out of the skyline. The interiors of the city were also spruced up, with the formerly claustrophobic corridors being digitally opened up to reveal breathtaking views of the city and the spectacular Bespin skies.