re: Why do new Star Wars movies constantly use sand locations?

it’s cheap and easy

you don’t have to build anything or use cgi.
you don’t have to tell the actors to imagine anything.

and most of all, you don’t have to come up with any new idea for what an alien civilization looks like.

if you put it somewhere new, someone has to actually come up with an idea on what a civilization in that new place would be like. then you have to actually create something visual that looks legit.

or you can just use sand.
free and deserted so you can have as big of a set as you want.