Geonosis droid factories

These enormous manufacturing facilities were responsible for the large-scale production of droids, weaponry, and vehicles, catering to clandestine clients. The subterranean factories, isolated from the surface world, were maintained by flightless Geonosian worker drones. These drones tirelessly worked around the clock in an attempt to reach maximum output. This relentless pursuit of production efficiency often resulted in injury or death for many of the drones. The only priorities were speed and dependability.

Between work periods, the Geonosian workers found rest in storage recesses located along warm corridors. It is important to note that these workers did not truly sleep; they merely rested their optical sensors, and even a slight disturbance could rouse them. The Geonosian leaders recognized the advantage of having a multitude of ever-vigilant, yet expendable, eyes.

The Geonosian factories, which were excavated by a large number of worker drones, extended to depths exceeding a kilometer. To ensure a consistent supply of the necessary minerals, the Geonosians launched mining operations into orbit, extracting resources from the asteroid belt surrounding Geonosis. These raw materials were then smelted using laser technology and distributed throughout the factory to be molded into the desired forms.

The creation of the Separatist Droid Army was conducted in secrecy, free from the oversight of officials from the Galactic Republic.

Prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the worker drones undertook the excavation and construction of the factories, extending them to a depth of one kilometer.

Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, R2-D2, and C-3PO inadvertently entered the factory during their mission to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi. During this incident, Skywalker lost his first lightsaber, and C-3PO suffered decapitation. Archduke Poggle the Lesser oversaw the construction of a larger factory during the Clone Wars, which was subsequently attacked by Republic forces during the Second Battle of Geonosis.

Later, the Galactic Empire repurposed the factories for their project, which involved the construction of a massive space station superweapon known as the Death Star.

During the waning years of the Galactic Civil War, New Republic Special Forces Sergeant major Jom Barell piloted a gunship through a violent electrical storm to prevent the remnants of the Galactic Empire from reactivating the long-dormant droid foundries.

The droid factory concept was incorporated into the production at a later stage, being conceived and written into the narrative after the completion of principal photography. In the original screenplay, Anakin and Padmé infiltrated the Geonosian spire and encountered Count Dooku. In this initial version, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO remained aboard the Naboo starship. The inclusion of the droid factory not only introduced a new action sequence but also provided a visual representation of the scale of the burgeoning droid army. The scenes involving Anakin, Padmé, and the droids were filmed during additional photography sessions in 2001, primarily against bluescreen backdrops with minimal set construction. The Animatics Department populated the bluescreen areas with detailed, temporary renderings of the droid factory, previsualizing the environment that Industrial Light & Magic would ultimately create.

Ben Snow, one of the film's Visual Effects Supervisors, studied reference footage from an automobile factory and foundry located in Northern California to gain visual inspiration for the movements of automated machinery and the intense heat and steam atmospheric effects that his team would recreate.

Although much of the environment was computer-generated, specific machines and the surrounding walls of the droid factory were constructed as meticulously detailed and dramatically illuminated miniatures.