The Tantive IV Alderaan Diplomatic Envoy (also referred to by its model as the CR90 Corellian corvette or simply as the Rebel Blockade Runner) is a fictional spaceship in the Star Wars film series. Designed by the Corellian Engineering Corporation (CEC), the highly modified CR90 corvette is designed to be utilitarian, durable, modular, with its simplistic interiors featuring subtle luxury for Alderaan officials. It was used by Leia Organa in the original Star Wars film and was the first vessel audiences saw when Star Wars premiered in 1977. Other CR90 Corellian corvettes, which share the Tantive IV's design, appear in Return of the Jedi and in the Star Wars Expanded Universe's books, comics, TV series, and games.
Origin and design
The ship's design stems from initial concepts for the Millennium Falcon. When Space: 1999 featured a ship called an Eagle Transporter with an appearance similar to the Industrial Light & Magic's Falcon design, the model makers redesigned the Falcon and adapted the initial design for the Tantive IV. The revised model was scaled down, with replacements for outsized components and a different cockpit. This also explains the 194-centimeter model's intricacy, which would have been necessary for depicting the prominent Falcon. Although not visible in the first Star Wars film, modelmakers hung a miniature Playboy centerfold on the cockpit's starboard bulkhead. The Tantive IV was the last model completed for the film. A smaller 16-inch model was also made for the shot of the craft receding into the distance. A separate model was needed for this because of the limited length of the Dykstraflex track used. That model has lights for the eleven engines to give the illusion of exhausts. The miniature model was in the collection of Grant McCune until he died in 2010 and it was then sold at auction in 2015 for a record sum of $450,000.
The model was altered slightly for Return of the Jedi, with the addition of windows along the ship's spine and larger weapons. These modifications were removed in the 1990s. The Republic cruiser in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was designed to be reminiscent of the Tantive IVs shape.
Depiction
The Tantive IV first appears in the opening of Star Wars as it is captured by the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Devastator over Tatooine. The ship was carrying Princess Leia and the plans for the Empire's Death Star battle station. Leia had taken the ship to Tatooine to recruit the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to join the rebellion. Unable to find Kenobi herself, Leia gives the plans and a message to R2-D2, who escapes with C-3PO in an escape pod and lands on Tatooine. According to the Star Wars Encyclopedia, the ship was subsequently destroyed by Darth Vader; this plotline is now part of the non-canon Legends timeline.
The vessel appears at the end of Rogue One (2016), with the film's final scenes depicting how the Death Star plans reached the ship and Leia beginning their journey to Tatooine. The film's novelization further states that the ship was meant to take part in the Battle of Scarif, but had been docked for repairs aboard Admiral Raddus' ship, the MC75 Star Cruiser Profundity. Once the battle was finished, the ship would head to Tatooine to deliver Bail Organa's request for help to Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Tantive IV was forced to launch before repairs were completed due to the capture of the Profundity and in order to protect the newly stolen Death Star plans from Darth Vader. Although they were able to elude Vader initially, damage sustained during the escape and the still-unrepaired malfunctions allowed Vader's ship to disable and catch them above Tatooine.
The ship makes a return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as the center of the Resistance's base and during the final battle on Exegol as part of the Resistance's initial attack fleet. It was one of the ships hit by Darth Sidious's Force lightning assault, and although the fate of the ship and its pilot, Nien Nunb, are not mentioned in the movie, it is presumed to be destroyed and Nunb lost. This supposition was confirmed by the novelization's author, Rae Carson.