According to J.W. Rinzler’s “The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” the shooting of this scene was treated as a top-secret operation. It was a “partial” sequence, which meant certain elements would be added somewhere down the line. What most people didn’t know was that the full scene wouldn’t be seen for another five years.
The set was built near the Chott el Jerrid salt lake. Per Rinzler, the location was listed as “Tatooine Homestead (Moisture Farm),” which should sound awfully familiar to die-hard “Star Wars” fans. There was also a prop involved, a “newborn baby doll” dubbed “A.N. Other.” Up-and-coming actor Joel Edgerton, who played Owen Lars in “Attack of the Clones,” was on hand, as was Ewan McGregor’s body double Breeden Phillip.
Yes, they were shooting the handing off of infant Luke to Uncle Owen, who will raise the young Jedi as his own until he’s burnt to a crisp in the first act of “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.”
Per Rinzler, the scene only one-eighth of a script page (indeed, it’s a blink-and-miss-it moment in “Revenge of the Sith”), so it was clever and incredibly economical of Lucas to get this scene before flying out of Tunisia.