1. Sernpidal
SPOILER ALERT: There's really only one reason to include this little-mentioned planet on this list. But it's a big reason. Chewbacca dies there. In a book set about 30 years after Return of the Jedi, a new alien threat blows this highly populated planet up. But not before Chewbacca, Han, and others try to evacuate as many people off the doomed planet as possible. Chewbacca, being awesome, keeps going back for more people and basically sacrifices himself. Han is sent into a spiraling depression, the enemy is taken even more seriously, and the book series' tone instantly becomes dark after the death of the original trilogy's favorite hairy monster. The new trilogy's enemy may or may not be the Praetorite Vong, but the symbolism of having a planet destroyed (like Alderaan) and killing a major original trilogy character at the same time would go a long way in making the new trilogy something more than a Disney money machine.
Was there a planet left out that you'd like to see? Tell us below in the comments.