Star Wars fans will always remember Leia with the face of Carrie Fisher, but the actor having passed several years ago now allows the franchise a chance to respectfully explore the character in a new light and pay tribute to the late actor that brought her to life. In order to do justice to Carrie Fisher’s representation of the character, some time was needed to pass after the actor’s death so that fans and filmmakers alike could have time to mourn and reflect on Fisher’s performances.
The chance to pay tribute to Fisher and deeper explore the character in a film that was dedicated purely to Princess Leia would also cater more to female representation in the Star Wars universe, a trend that has only recently become popular among the franchise’s films. By focusing even more on who Leia was as her own independent force and how she contributed to the rebellion, the film could create a relatable and inspiring story that really details the character in a way that has not been seen before.
While there are many reasons that Leia would be a good option for a character that gets a movie of their own, because of what she represents, it is actually the events that she would have experienced in her lifetime that make her a character capable of filling a film’s worth of storyline. Further, it would probably even be easier for writers to focus on a younger version of Leia and explore her early life that lead to the character that fans are familiar with. Her character lived through several significant events in the universe and some of them, she even had personal connections to. Despite her experiences, many of the moments in which viewers encounter her in the early films are focusing on her dynamics with other characters, rather than her as an individual.
In the movies, Leia is always seen as part of the team, but there are stories that exist that focus entirely on her, just not in a film format yet. Several authors, like Claudia Gray, have written novels or stories that completely follow Leia, demonstrating that there is an interest and demand for Leia-based stories, as well as demonstrating that such a story can be woven together in a structure that is dense enough to explore details more thoroughly. One of the more obvious times of her life that could be focused on is the events in her relatively privileged life as princess that led to a role of influence and her radical resistance against the forces that oppressed so many people around her, especially in Alderaan.
It was common in the decades of the earlier films for women to often be used as accessory characters that don’t serve much of an influential role on their own in the film, other than giving way to or assisting the male protagonist’s journey. While Leia was always a strong female character for the times– given that she was a fighter and contributor to the resistance– she was not always represented in a light that was necessarily respectful towards her character.
There were several instances where Leia was represented in a sexual focus because of how she was dressed or viewed in some scenes, like the metal wire bikini look. While Leia is forced to wear this outfit as a slave, it was a power move by Jabba the Hutt that demoralized the character and even left the actor feeling anxious to have to wear it. Fortunately, viewers later get to watch her get revenge, which is exactly the kind of Leia moment fans want more of. Many of Leia’s looks, including the bikini, came to be iconic staples of the franchise in pop culture.
Nonetheless, these clearly male-written moments were often to the hesitation of Carrie Fisher. Fisher spoke out against the way that Leia was represented several times, often noting how jaded they wrote the character to make her appear as more of a “strong female”, or how Fisher wished she’d gotten more action scenes. It appears, even just from looking at her past interviews and statements, that Fisher would be in favor of a film that shone a more empowering and respectful light on Princess Leia-- one that allowed her to be strong, but also caring, and appealing to a broad audience without having to be sexy to do so.
If the franchise was to go through with a Leia movie, makers could address these concerns that Carrie had about the character. They could revive many of the most iconic Leia looks but with a more respectful approach, as well as create new ones. They could involve more action scenes to truly examine the evolution that Leia undergoes that leads to the powerful woman she becomes.
While a general picture of who Leia is has been painted in the prior films, there is plenty of room to explore the details of her character’s life that have not been discussed or have not been talked about in detail. Her strength and abilities as a fighter were touched on but could be expanded on much further. With more and more movies and shows being made with strong female characters, and as even Disney princesses are becoming more independent and inspiring, there couldn’t be a better time to make a Leia film. Not only would a Star Wars movie centered around her inspire women of the present, but it would demonstrate what women have to contribute to the future also.