While many Star Wars fans have their opinion on just which Force-sensitive person was referred to as the "last Jedi" in Episode VIII of George Lucas's Star Wars Saga, the names mentioned probably don't include Leia Organa. But in a recent interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Todd Fisher (actress Carrie Fisher's brother) reveals that Leia was actually who was in mind for a large Jedi character arc in Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker.
Apparently Leia would have doubled-down on the powerful connection to the Force she wielded in The Last Jedi and even wielded her own lightsaber. This echoes sentiments by Master Yoda, who in the recent novel Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View revealed he wanted to train Leia to take on Vader, not Luke. However, when J.J. Abrams once again took over the series from Rian Johnson, he had just eight minutes of footage to be used in the wake of Carrie Fisher's death to create a fitting story arc for the princess-turned-general. Let's break down the 5 reasons Leia would have made a great Jedi, and 5 why it wasn't her destiny.
WHY SHE WOULD HAVE MADE A GREAT JEDI: SHE'S STRONG IN THE FORCE
Star Wars fans were unprepared for one particular scene in The Last Jedi, when Leia used The Force to propel herself from the cold vacuum of space into a nearby starship's hangar bay. The tremendous display showcased what many fans had always known; Leia was strong in the Force. By virtue of being Anakin Skywalker's daughter and Luke's twin, she was every bit as gifted as he, but used her strength for different purposes.
In the classic trilogy, she was able to resist an Imperial interrogation probe, hear Luke's distress call on Cloud City, and sense his location on the Death Star. She heeds the wisdom of the Force, sensing others' feelings, intentions, and motivations, which has made her an exceptional leader for the Resistance, but would have made her a powerfully attuned Jedi.
WHY IT WASN'T HER DESTINY: SHE MADE A GREAT POLITICIAN
Though Leia was raised as a member of the royal family on Alderaan, and given every privilege and luxury afforded to the daughter of Bail Organa, she chose to follow in his footsteps (and inadvertently, the footsteps of her real mother, Padme Amidala).
As one of the youngest Senators ever elected and an aid to her father, Leia was able to keep up appearances as a goodwill relief ambassador during the Empire's skirmishes with the Rebel Alliance, while secretly being the operative providing the Rebels supplies. The ruse worked well in Star Wars Rebels (where she used Force Persuasion on several occasions), but ultimately Alderaan's part in the scheme doomed it when the Empire built its Death Star.
WHY SHE WOULD HAVE MADE A GREAT JEDI: HER COMPASSION
One of the tenants of the Jedi Path concerns having respect for all life forms, and believing in the vitality of all living things connected to The Force. A prerequisite for a Jedi to be One with the Force is having compassion, or as Anakin Skywalker once defined it, "unconditional love".
Leia has always had a great deal of compassion for the star systems under the heel of the Galactic Empire. Unable to stand idly by while countless worlds suffered, she labored in the Senate to protest the way the Empire pillaged planets for their resources and enslaved indigenous aliens. As a Jedi Knight in the Old Republic, she would have certainly been a prestigious diplomat.
WHY IT WASN'T HER DESTINY: SHE MADE A GREAT MILITARY LEADER
Ever since her teenage years, Leia Organa trained to become the military leader we see her as in the Rebel Alliance and also the Resistance. First as her father's aid, then after his death as one of the primary figures leading the Rebel Alliance he supported.
She's briefed countless missions for the burgeoning Rebel Fleet, as well as undertaken several herself. She never sends anyone to do anything she wouldn't do herself, and her bravery and fearlessness in the face of dramatic odds made her a popular commander among her troops.
WHY SHE WOULD HAVE MADE A GREAT JEDI: HER OPTIMISM
If there's one singular trait the Skywalker men share, it's their penchant for complaining about things they cannot change, and doing very little about the things they can. Anakin Skywalker didn't begin his early life as a pessimist, but he became disillusioned with the Jedi Order and the Old Republic as he got older.
His son Luke also felt that there was no possible way to defeat the Galactic Empire or defeat Darth Vader, but Leia always believed both were possible. She remained steadfastly optimistic for decades, and it was her firm belief in hope that kept the forces of darkness at bay. Had she been a Jedi, it's hard to believe she would ever be tempted by the Dark Side.
WHY IT WASN'T HER DESTINY: SHE'S TOO OUTSPOKEN
The Jedi Path, like any fundamentalist belief system, relied on its followers to be fairly compliant. A Jedi needed to adhere to the doctrine of the Jedi Order to successfully function within the confines of its teachings. Those Jedi that strayed from its dogma, such as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Count Dooku, and Anakin Skywalker, were not well received.
Leia has always been too forward-thinking and too outspoken to adhere to such a confining belief system. It's why the regimental mindset of the Empire constantly underestimated her. She was practical, adaptive, and innovative, even if she did occasionally put her foot in her mouth. Her high spirits meant that she had the courage of her convictions in all situations, even the most grim. Besides, she talked back to Darth Vader and lived!
WHY SHE WOULD HAVE MADE A GREAT JEDI: HER SENSE OF JUSTICE
Despite her lofty upbringing, Leia has never felt more comfortable than when she's mingling with the common citizens of the galaxy. She may have grown up a princess, but she has always fought for the liberty and freedom of all the galaxy's inhabitants, even when it put her and her family in the gravest danger.
Her sense of justice for all, especially when it wasn't beneficial for her, would have made her a noble Jedi in the vein of Qui-Gon Jinn who felt compelled to rescue Anakin Skywalker from a slave's existence. Best of all, she would have ensured there was less talking and more doing in the Jedi Council.
WHY IT WASN'T HER DESTINY: SHE MADE A GREAT SPY
One of the advantages inherent in her birthright was being able to participate in covert operations for the Rebel Alliance without the Empire having a clue. While she was fulfilling her duties as an ambassador and providing diplomatic relief to impoverished systems under Imperial rule, she was also proving a capable spy.
She was able to rally several sympathetic systems to Adleraan's support of the Rebels, and was instrumental in getting the stolen plans for the Death Star into the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Without her hiding the plans in R2-D2, the Rebel Alliance might never have defeated the Empire.
WHY SHE WOULD HAVE MADE A GREAT JEDI: SHE WAS ALMOST LUKE SKYWALKER
While Star Wars creator George Lucas had many versions of the Star Wars Saga floating around in his head, an early draft included making the character that would become Luke Skywalker a girl. She would have had all of Luke's inherent Jedi powers, and been given her own lightsaber.
That plot became one with two twins sharing equal abilities, before it turned into the boy being given the plot of learning to become a Jedi, and the girl going into politics. Lucas always imagined Leia had a connection to the Force however, she simply used her abilities in the political arena for negotiating and mitigating peace.
WHY IT WASN'T HER DESTINY: SHE IS BOUND BY DUTY
Since Leia was a teenager, resisting oppression and evil was her calling, and a recent edition of Marvel's Star Wars comic shed light on the reason her duty bound her to the Rebel Alliance and not the Jedi Order. Luke and Leia find themselves on Jedha, the location of the last Jedi Temple the Empire mined for its Kyber crystals.
Luke informs Leia he's going to go to the temple because he "feels" he has to learn about the Jedi, which Leia dismisses as irresponsible. She explains she "feels things" too, but doesn't act on them impulsively because she made a commitment to the Rebellion. "We don't all get to be dreamers," she says. Her self-sacrifice is exactly what would have made her a great Jedi, but a better symbol of hope.