10 Things You Didn’t Know About Princess Leia

Almost everyone knows about Princess Leia OrganaOne of the most iconic characters in Star WarsBut there are many facts and pieces of trivia about her character that even longtime fans may not be aware of. Initially presented as the princess who needed to be rescued in A new hopeLeia quickly proved to be a determined fighter, a complex leader, and a woman not afraid to put a villain like Han Solo in his place. She was also fiercely loyal to her friends, loved by those who knew her, and adored by generations of Star Wars Fans.

However, Leia’s story reaches far beyond these Star Wars Movies in the realm of television shows, books, comics, etc. Her character also changed quite a bit during the development of the original Star Wars Trilogy, and her path diverged in different Star Wars timelines. These pieces of information add greater depth to Leia’s character and make her role in the Star Wars Franchise more engaging to examine. 10 Star Wars Facts about Princess Leia offer the most interesting trivia that viewers may not have known.

10

Leia is not supposed to be Luke’s sister

It was originally going to be a different character

Return of the Jedi It was revealed that Princess Leia was Luke Skywalker’s twin sister, but that wasn’t the original plan. According to Gary Kurtz, who produced A new hope And The empire strikes backLuke’s sister was initially a new character training to be a Jedi on the other side of the galaxy. She would have appeared later in the sequel trilogy, but when Lucas decided not to make more films, he needed to wrap up lingering plot threads in Return of the Jedi. Therefore, Leia became Luke’s sister, and this backstory was expanded in the prequel trilogy.

Lucas’ unused material for the original trilogy makes it even more clear that this was not planned. While Leia only briefly kissed Luke to make Han Solo jealous The empire strikes backA deleted scene shows them being much more intimate right before he and the others walk into the room. An early script also has Anakin Skywalker’s Force Ghost reveal the existence of Luke’s sister, Nellith Skywalker, whose location he wants to share to prevent Darth Vader from taking the information from Luke’s mind. There is no telling how Leia’s story would have changed if she wasn’t Luke’s sister.

9

Leia’s story was very different in legends

Especially after Return of the Jedi

Long before she was General Organa in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Leia’s post-Return of the Jedi The story was told through several books, comics and video games in the original Star Wars Expanded Universe. To give the filmmakers creative freedom, Disney and Lucasfilm rebranded the EU. Like “Legends” in 2014 and reboot the official Star Wars Canon. Leia’s entire story after the Battle of Endor is set, and while there are many similarities, there are some notable differences:

While the biggest comparisons between canon and legends are still Return of the JediThere have been changes to Leia’s story throughout the timeline. The new canon Star Wars Comics have the benefit of hindsight with the original trilogy, putting less romantic emphasis on Luke and Leia and more on her relationship with Han. The Obi-Wan Kenobi Series made a radical change by revealing that Leia had met Ben Kenobi 10 years earlier A new hope. Unlike the EU, where Lucas wouldn’t allow writers to kill Luke, Han or Leia, her death was shown in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

8

How much it reminds her of her mother

Where did the images and feelings come from?

Since the release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the SithFans wondered how Leah could remember her mother. in Return of the JediLeia told Luke that her mother “…died when I was very young.”Implies she knew you for at least a couple of years. However, the prequel trilogy revealed that Padmé Amidala died immediately after giving birth, meaning that Leia had no time to form even the vague memories described to Luke. George Lucas acknowledged this discrepancy in the DVD commentary but felt it was the most powerful way to end Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars Books and comics have provided possible explanations for Leia’s memories in Return of the Jedi. The 2015 comic miniseries Star Wars: Princess Leia By Mark Waid and Terry Dodson Leia visits Naboo, where she briefly feels as if a mural of Queen Amidala has turned to look at her with sadness. in Star Wars: Shattered Empire By Greg Rucka, she revisits Naboo and senses the presence of Darth Maul from decades before. This suggests that Leia may have a Force ability called psychometry, which allows the user to sense the history of places, objects, and people.

7

A Leah of many names

Much more than just “Princess Leia”

Known only as “Princess Leia” in the original Star Wars trilogy, her name has changed several times during the franchise. Given Leia’s family history of being a secret Skywalker, getting adopted by an Organa, and later marrying a Solo, it’s understandable that her name would go through several combinations. Most of this story is the same in Star Wars Canon and Legends, but there are some interesting exceptions:

• Leia’s last name, Organa, was mentioned in the novelization and the script but not on screen.

• She became Leia Organa Solo after marrying Han Solo.

• Her birth name was Leia Amidala Skywalker.

  • This was first mentioned in the US Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith Visual Dictionary by James Luceno, who is now Legends.

  • It is also mentioned in the 2016 edition of the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia But removed in the 2021 edition, making it unclear whether it is still canon.

• A 2009 Wizards of the West Coast: Star Wars miniature set called her “Leia Skywalker, Jedi Knight.”

Viewers who have only seen the movies would not be interested in most of the name changes, except that Leia’s last name is mentioned several times in the sequel trilogy. While Leia was married to Han Solo in canon, they had separated before Star Wars: The Force AwakensMaking it hard to fully think of her as a solo. Even C-3PO is thrown off by having to refer to her new title of “General” rather than Princess, so Star Wars Fans could be forgiven for simply calling her “Leia.”

6

Leia’s accent change was intentional (apparently)

There’s a reason Leia is currently British

One of the most peculiar aspects of A new hope Is Leia switching between her normal speaking voice in some scenes and a more proper voice in others. Most notably, her accent seems very British during her interaction with Grand Moff Tarkin, at least until she starts begging him not to destroy Alderaan. Carrie Fisher later explained that she took inspiration from Peter Cushing’s performance, as the two had a similar speaking style in their scene together.

Rather than leave this as a quirk, author Claudia Gray decided to acknowledge it in her 2016 novel Star Wars: Bloodline. Leia tells herself how she once imitated Tarkin’s accent to mock him on the Death Star, which makes sense since he teased and called her “charming to the last”. This simultaneously provides an in-universe explanation for Leia’s accent change while referencing Fisher intentionally copying Cushing during filming.

5

Leia’s parents turned the galaxy against her

Forever haunted by the legacy of Darth Vader

Unlike these Star Wars Legends timeline, the galaxy never learned that Darth Vader was Luke and Leia’s father, at least until the worst possible moment. in Star Wars: Bloodline By Claudia Grey, Leia befriends a senator from a rival political party named Ransolm Casterfo, who hated Vader and Emperor Palpatine for the death of his parents. This made him feel betrayed when he discovered evidence that Leia was Vader’s biological daughter, which he announced to the New Republic Senate just as she was nominated for first senator. Her career in shambles, Leia withdrew her nomination and later resigned.

With only a few New Republic senators still supporting her in secret, Leia decides to form the Resistance after learning about the First Order infiltrating the government. Leia’s tarnished reputation also explains some aspects of these Star Wars Sequel trilogy, from no one showing up to help her in the battle of Krait to her desperate desire to make Luke the symbol of hope (despite being trained as a Jedi himself). It makes Leia’s story more tragic, turned on by the galaxy she helped save because of a man she refused to acknowledge as her father.

4

Leia was one of the youngest senators in history

Her mother would be proud

Given Leia’s time in A new hope And her membership in the Imperial Senate, viewers may not realize that both her character and actor are only 19. Not only that, but Leia also joined the Apprentice Legislature at 16, which prepared her to take her father’s place in the Senate. Once before A new hope. Because of this, Leia is perhaps the youngest person to serve in the Republic or the Imperial Senate Star Wars.

In this way, Leia takes after her mother, Padmé Amidala, who joined Naboo’s Legislative Youth Program at 12, was elected Queen at 14, and became a Senator at 18. However, Padmé was directly appointed to the Senate by Queen Reillata , while Leia was the youngest elected senator. Even after the destruction of her home world, Leia continued to represent the Alderaan sector in the New Republic Senate for several decades.

3

Leia’s parents did not want her in the rebellion

But she is not one to take no for an answer

Despite Bail and Breha Organa trusting Leia as a princess and aspiring senator from a young age, they initially do not want her involved in the rebellion. This caused a distance between Leah and her parents, and for a long time, she did not understand what caused it. When she was 16, Leia finally discovered that her father was a leader in the Rebellion and was keeping the truth from Leia for her own protection.

While her parents were extremely reluctant at first, Leia eventually convinced them to let her help in the fight to save the galaxy. This helped mend their strained relationship and brought the three of them closer than ever before, culminating in Leia’s Day of Requirement, a traditional ceremony where she is officially recognized as heir to the throne of Alderaan. Leia primarily helped by carrying out diplomatic missions that served as cover for rebel activity, but when her parents died with Aderaan, Leia took on a much larger role in the rebellion.

2

Episode IX was originally going to be Leia’s movie

A different plan before Carrie Fisher’s passing

The final film in the Skywalker saga was originally called Star Wars: Duel of the Fates and would be written and directed by Colin Trevorrow. His version of Episode IX Would have been Leia’s movie, much like Star Wars: The Force Awakens Is Han Solo’s movie and Star Wars: The Last Jedi was Luke Skywalker’s. However, Trevorrow was eventually removed from the project due to creative differences with Disney and Lucasfilm, and JJ Abrams wrote a new script that became Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Carrie Fisher’s passing in 2016 meant that the final movie was limited in how much Leia could do, but the first draft of Duel of the Fates gave her a bigger role in the story. Some things were the same as in the last movie, from Leia guiding Rey to asking Lando Calrissian to help the resistance, but the story had no limits on how to use her. The most notable difference is that Leia didn’t die at first Duel of the Fates script, which was finalized around the same time as Fisher’s death.

1

Han isn’t the only one frozen in carbonite

Give Lee greater urgency to free him

Han Solo is the one Star Wars Character known for being frozen in carbonite, but it turns out he’s not the only rebel to suffer that fate. The 2020 Star Wars Charles Soule’s comic series revealed that the rebels returned to Cloud City shortly after The empire strikes backAnd Leia went to the carbon-freezing chamber to figure out how she would eventually free Han. Unfortunately, the Empire had begun to adopt this as a new method for transporting prisoners, so when storm troopers captured her, Leia experienced the agony of carbon-freezing first hand.

Nearly five decades after her first appearance, Princess Leia remains one of the best Star Wars Characters and a Feminist Icon in Science Fiction. The original trilogy already made her a compelling character, but subsequent sequels, spinoffs and tie-ins have made her even more engaging to follow. like Star Wars Continuing to expand rapidly through each storytelling medium, new releases will surely reveal even more facts and trivia that fans didn’t know about Princess Leia.