A lot has happened in a galaxy far, far away. The last we saw of the heroes of the "Star Wars: Original Trilogy," they were joining the celebrations on Endor for the destruction of the Death Star and the end of the reign of Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire.
However, as we have already learned from sneak peeks at “The Force Awakens” and the trailers that have come out, the work of the Rebel Alliance - now called The Resistance - is far from over. The Empire, referred to as the New Order in the new film, has taken over the galaxy and the triumphant return of the Jedi is not yet as strong as it was when they were still leading the Jedi Council in the prequel trilogy.
As the heroes still struggle to return peace to the galaxy and balance to the Force, one of the many changes is apparently the designation of Leia Organa from Princess to General.
As one of the strongest leaders of the Rebel Alliance from the original films, it comes as no surprise that she continues to lead the Resistance against the New Order which is trying to continue Emperor Palpatine's and Darth Vader's work.
“She’s referred to as General. But ... there’s a moment in the movie where a character sort of slips and calls her ‘Princess,'” said co-writer and director of the film, J.J. Abrams.
It will certainly be good to see how the characters have evolved in the gap between “Return of The Jedi” and “The Force Awakens.” While Princess, er, General Leia Organa, has always been a fighter in her own right – a spy for the Rebel Alliance who became a political prisoner after she was caught smuggling plans for the original Death Star – now we will get to see how the many years of fighting for the side of good has taken its toll on the daughter of Anakin Skywalker.
According to Carrie Fisher herself, General Leia has become quite “solitary. Under a lot of pressure. Committed as ever to her cause, but I would imagine feeling somewhat defeated, tired and pissed.”
We can only imagine the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders plus the rumored pain of perhaps one (or two!) of her children being pulled towards different sides of the Force. Officially, the Organa-Solo twins have been written out of the "Star Wars" canon; however that doesn't stop many fans from speculating that the look of worry on her face in the final theatrical trailer, plus this revelation of her character being isolated from others, may be due to concern and forced separation from her own flesh and blood.
Whatever the case, we can't wait to see General Leia doing what she does best when “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” finally opens in theaters next month.
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