In-universe, Coruscant is a politically and strategically important planet, serving as the capital and seat of government for the Republic[2] and the Galactic Empire, as well as the headquarters of the Jedi Order.

[8] In Lucas's 1975 draft, Adventures of the Starkiller as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars, the capital planet of Alderaan is described as a floating city in the clouds, "suspended in a sea of cirrus methane.

[11] In Lucas's third draft, the Imperial City of Alderaan became the homeworld of the Sith Lords, where Darth Vader held Princess Leia captive.

By the fourth draft, scenes on the Imperial capital planet had been moved to a space station called the Death Star and the name of Alderaan was given to a peaceful world destroyed by the Empire.

This mythic planet was covered by dry fields, linked to the birth of the Jedi, and the location of a planned assassination attempt by Cade Skywalker on Darth Krayt.

[13] Production artwork produced by Ralph McQuarrie for Return of the Jedi included some unrealized designs for the imperial capital, Had Abbadon.

Artist Doug Chiang was tasked with designing the imperial city for which he turned to McQuarrie's original concept art.

Chiang created a more urban, apocalyptic environment for the street level, taking inspiration from Ridley Scott's 1982 hit film Blade Runner.

[17] Coruscant is the location of a sequence added to the 1997 Special Edition release of Return of the Jedi, its first onscreen appearance.

[18] Coruscant was prominently featured in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as the location of the Galactic Republic Senate building and the central Jedi Temple.

The planet's cityscape is then prominently featured throughout much of the movie with Chancellor Palpatine's office as well as the Senate building being the primary two settings on Coruscant.

In Obi-Wan Kenobi, Coruscant makes its first extensive live-action appearance in the Star Wars saga since the prequel trilogy.

Count Dooku and Mace Windu attend the funeral of Council Member Katri at the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka Tano is shown extensively training for combat in the same location, and the final lightsaber duel between Master Yaddle and Count Dooku takes place in Darth Sidious' manufacturing-district lair.

In one scene, Dooku remarks upon the fact that Coruscant is a planet of "Steel and Stone", lacking much in the way of wild nature; Qui-Gon Jinn, who was born there, had never seen a tree before visiting the Jedi Temple for the first time as a boy.

On Coruscant, we are re-introduced to Dr. Penn Pershing and Elia Kane, a former communications officer on Moff Gideon's cruiser, who are now revealed to be a part of the New Republic Amnesty program.

In Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, players can visit Coruscant's Federal and Uscru Districts.

In the prologue of the comic series Dark Empire (1991), set after the original film trilogy, Coruscant is ravaged by battles between warring Imperial factions.

Concept art by Ralph McQuarrie served as the basis for the pyramidal Imperial Palace, depicted in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1995) by Kevin J. Anderson, which claims it is "the largest structure on Coruscant, perhaps on any planet".

The Alien Protection Zone is referenced as a walled ghetto on Coruscant of an unknown location, housing the planet's non-human population.

Coruscant also appears as one of the in–ride "destination planets" in the theme park attraction Star Tours – The Adventures Continue in Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.