Strong female leads weren't commonplace when Star Wars: A New Hope hit theatres back in the summer of 1977. However, the introduction of Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa changed all that. Suddenly, Hollywood had a woman to get behind; she's not just a part of the Rebel Alliance, she's a substantial part, and she's key to the rebel's defeat of Darth Vader and the loathsome Empire during the original trilogy.
Fisher returned as Leia in the sequel trilogy, too, though that muddied the waters and ended up being fairly controversial among fans. With that in mind, here are 10 ways in which her story could have played out differently.
She Could Have Trained As A Dark Side User
Leia's birth is depicted in 2005's Revenge of the Sith, with Padme Amidala giving birth shortly before her heartbreaking death. In the aftermath, she's then hidden from the Empire. Obi-Wan Kenobi takes her brother, Luke Skywalker, to Tatooine, and baby Leia goes with Bail Organa to be raised on the planet of Alderaan.
Had that not happened, though, she'd have likely been trained as a dark side user by both Vader and Palpatine. Kenobi and Organa hid the babies because they feared the Sith using them for their gain, and, given how Palpatine is desperate to turn Luke to his side, it's feasible Leia's story could have taken a dark turn before even starting.
She Could Have Killed Innocents
In A New Hope, Leia is captured by the Empire after hiding the plans to the first Death Star. She's then interrogated over the whereabouts of the Rebel base by Grand Moff Tarkin and tells the imperial kingpin it's based on Dantooine. This is a lie, something Tarkin senses, with the villain then proceeding to destroy Alderaan.
While the deaths of millions of people are sad for Leia, the fact she initially names Dantooine is a risky move. Had the Empire taken action, then many other innocent lives would have been lost. Ones without any involvement in the war, too.
Her Death Star Plan Could Have Failed
Leia is very much involved in the destruction of the first Death Star, acting as general as the Rebel fleet go on the attack and blow it to smithereens. In the end, it's a successful mission with Luke managing to fire the decisive shots. However, her plan very nearly backfired.
It most likely would have done, too, had Han Solo not turned up to save the day. Having initially quit to go back to his dodgy life of smuggling, Harrison Ford's character swoops in to hit Darth Vader and buy Luke the precious time he needs to fire the crucial shot. Leia's reputation would have changed considerably had that happened and her role as general would likely have come under immense scrutiny.
She Could Have Coupled Up With Luke
The first two movies of the original trilogy certainly suggest romance could be on the cards between Leia and Luke. Especially after their awkward kiss in The Empire Strikes Back, a scene that makes for pretty awkward viewing now given they're two of the most famous siblings in the galaxy.
That kiss, coupled with their fine chemistry, had many fans predicting they'd couple up despite Han's involvement. Yet, in the end, George Lucas opted to make them siblings, instead. It's a good thing that they only thing they exchanged was a kiss.
She Could Have Been A Prisoner Forever
Darth Vader has a change of heart during The Empire Strikes Back... a change from bad to worse. The Sith Lord initially tells Lando Calrissian that Leia, Chewbacca, C3-PO, and R2-D2 are to stay on the planet of Bespin for the rest of their days. However, after that, he then tells Lando to bring the quartet to his ship.
Either way, it looked as though they were all facing imprisonment for the rest of their days. Vader likely wouldn't have let Leia just run off into the sunset, instead preferring to keep a close eye on her so she won't try and plot the Empire's downfall. Fortunately, Luke's appearance on the scene changes things, and some clever work from Lando allows the main heroes to escape.
She Could Have Faced Darth Vader
Yoda's "there is another" quote from The Empire Strikes Back had many people excited ahead of the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983. In that blockbuster, it's established the powerful Jedi Knight was referring to Leia. In that movie, it emerges that she and Luke are brother and sister, meaning that she's blessed with the same force powers as Mark Hamill's character.
Had Luke failed in his fight against Vader and Palpatine, Leia would have been their last hope. She'd have had to take on an even greater role in the battle to bring the Empire down, likely going up against daddy Darth Vader himself. Luckily for her, Luke succeeds in redeeming his father and helping to get rid of Palpatine—until his return later down the line, that is...
She Could Have Become A Full-On Jedi
There have been several flashback or flashforward scenes in Star Wars over the years, ranging from Anakin Skywalker's dreams of his mother dying to Rey's visions of her parents leaving her on Jakku with Unkar Plutt. The Rise of Skywalker may just contain the most intriguing of all, however.
In that movie, it shows Leia training with Luke shortly before she gives birth to her son, Ben Solo. Luke then reveals how Leia was forced to cut her training short because she was pregnant, and, in the end, she never went back to it. That's a shame, as, if baby Ben hadn't come along, she could have ended up becoming just as powerful with the force as her brother.
She Could Have Hugged Chewbacca
When The Force Awakens came out in 2015, many fans were happy. It was seen as a solid, if slightly safe first entry to the sequel trilogy, which was praised for its visuals, new characters, and action sequences while also being accused of being a soft reboot of A New Hope. Yet, one thing most fans didn't like—even among those with positive views of the sci-fi blockbuster—was Leia's decision to snub Chewbacca after the death of Han Solo.
Given all they've gone through, this would have been a logical move. Instead, however, Leia hugs Rey, completely ignoring Chewie as the dejected Wookiee walks on by. Not cool Disney, not cool at all.
She Could Have Died In The Last Jedi
Fisher's tragic passing in December 2016 was a blow to Star Wars fans the world over, and, with two movies of the sequel trilogy to go at this point, it was unclear what would happen to her beloved character. Fortunately, she appeared in The Last Jedi, playing a significant role in that movie both as a distant mother to Kylo Ren and general of the Resistance.
At one point, it looked as though Leia would be killed off when she was briefly sucked into the vacuum of space following an attack from Kylo Ren and the First Order. Given Fisher was gone at this point, it definitely appeared as though Disney was going to go in that direction. In the end, however, they opted to keep Leia around for the finale.
She Could Have Had A Different Ending
In The Rise of Skywalker, Leia gives up her life to redeem Ben Solo and bright him back to the light side of the force. But, things would have ended very differently had Colin Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates script been used, instead.
That script had Leia being a central character instead of being on the fringes of things like she is in JJ Abrams' movie, and it also had Fisher's character ordering Rey to kill Kylo Ren, in what would have been a hugely emotional moment to see play out. Alas, it wasn't to be, with Disney choosing to go with something different, instead.