Almost as if J.J. Abrams read our mind, it seems that in the forthcoming Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, Leia will no longer be referred to as “Princess”—she will be called General.
Abrams told Entertainment Weekly in a Nov. 11 interview that Carrie Fisher’s character will hold the same rank in Episode VII that her love interest, Han Solo, and his good friend, Lando Calrissian, both officially received in Return of the Jedi, back in 1983. Leia, a princess of the former planet of Alderaan, was alternatively referred to as a rebel and as a senator throughout the original trilogy, but for most people the royal title was the one that stuck, despite the fact that Leia was so much more than a figurehead.
This isn’t the first indication that Leia would have a grander title in The Force Awakens. In trailers for the new film, Leia can be seen in a uniform that looks a lot like what the Rebel Alliance generals wore at the Battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.
In any case, someone has to lead the galaxy after the fall of the Empire, and what better choice for such a task than Leia?
“The stakes are pretty high in the story for her, so there’s not much goofing around where Leia’s concerned,” Abrams told Entertainment Weekly. “But it felt historic to have her, especially with Harrison [Ford], back in scenes together. I can only imagine the baggage that they bring to it, I’m just a fan who loves this stuff, but they’ve been living with it—and living in it—since ’77.”
For fans who aren’t also writing and directing the new film, the question remains: Will Leia be called general Solo, general Organa, or general Skywalker?