49 Years Ago, George Lucas Secretly Set Up An Incredible Star Wars Prequel We Still Haven’t Seen

The Star Wars franchise has grown exponentially since the original film premiered back in 1977. Across multiple mediums, an abundance of sequels, prequels, and spinoffs have been produced, fleshing out all corners of the galaxy far, far away. So many Star Wars stories have been produced over the decades that fans can track down an answer to just about any question they can think of. We even know details like how Han Solo got his last name. Though so much has been revealed over nearly 50 years of history, there are still some bits and pieces that largely remain a mystery. In some cases, that’s for the best, but there are instances where fans would like to learn more.

Much of Princess Leia’s life has been chronicled in one way or another. Outside of her appearances in the Skywalker Saga films, the character has been featured in an assortment of novels, comics, and television shows. On screen, viewers have seen Leia be everything from a precocious child in need of being rescued (her memorable supporting role in Obi-Wan Kenobi) to an experienced, hardened general, but through it all, there’s still one thing about Leia fans have been waiting to see. And it’s something that was teased back in Star Wars: A New Hope.

George Lucas Set Up a Princess Leia Prequel Early In A New Hope

A New Hope begins, of course, with its iconic opening sequence that sees the Empire seize control of Tantive IV and capture Princess Leia. As the Imperials prepare to board the ship, C-3PO says to R2-D2 that there “will be no escape for the princess this time,” implying that Leia has a series of daring escapes under her belt. When A New Hope was released, this was just a bit of world-building dialogue in line with Star Wars‘ in medias res approach, throwing audiences into the middle of an ongoing conflict. Audiences in 1977 weren’t expected to think much of it — just that Leia has a history fighting against the Empire. But now that Star Wars is what it is today, we can’t help but wonder what those close calls entailed.

In Leia’s other on-screen appearances, there isn’t anything that even approaches the scale of being deliberately hunted down by a Star Destroyer. On Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia is too young to be embarking on dangerous missions on behalf of the Rebellion. She’s a target for the Inquisitors, but only so they can use her as bait to draw out Obi-Wan. Her lone appearance on Rebels is in the episode “A Princess on Lothal,” where she successfully helps the Ghost crew steal Hammerhead corvettes. This involves a fight against some stormtroopers and an Imperial walker, but Leia isn’t fleeing for her life by episode’s end. Plus, C-3PO wasn’t around for these incidents, so he probably didn’t have any knowledge of the events.

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The way Threepio says his line to Artoo suggests the droids were around for the close calls that took place off screen. During her time in the Imperial Senate, Leia looked for ways to help the Rebellion in secret, and we know that Bail Organa trusted her to handle certain tasks (there’s a reason why he gave her the all-important mission of bringing the Death Star plans to Obi-Wan on Tatooine). It’s certainly possible that prior to A New Hope, Bail had given his adoptive daughter similar assignments, which typically ended with Leia narrowly escaping danger.

Another bit of dialogue in A New Hope potentially sheds light on what might have taken place. When Leia is brought before Darth Vader on Tantive IV, the Sith Lord says “you weren’t on any mercy mission this time,” implying that the Empire is well aware of who Leia is and what her activities are. The Imperials might have even suspected Leia was part of the Rebel Alliance but were just unable to find definitive proof because she always found ways to escape, disguising her actions as part of whatever mercy mission she was on.

Will We Ever See Leia’s Early Missions for the Rebellion?

Being the last to take the baton of the stolen Death Star plans and run is one of one on the danger scale, but whatever Leia was up to in the time leading up to A New Hope, it must have been monumental. Otherwise, Threepio probably wouldn’t find it appropriate to compare those missions to the predicament of being tracked down by a Star Destroyer. If Leia was busy risking life and limb before then, there’s the potential there for some exciting stories to tell. Leia remains a beloved, fan-favorite character, and fans would enjoy seeing some of her earliest exploits, further fleshing out her already rich history and role with the Rebellion.

It’s fun to speculate what kinds of missions Leia took part in (perhaps some sort of espionage that involved sabotaging Imperial operations), but the even bigger thing to theorize about is if we will ever get a chance to see what exactly transpired before A New Hope. It seems highly unlikely one of Leia’s dangerous missions will ever be depicted on screen. When looking at Lucasfilm’s slate of upcoming movies and TV shows, there isn’t a place where a young Leia would be a natural fit. The stories the studio is looking to tell are set outside of the Galactic Civil War era, and after Solo: A Star Wars Story backfired, odds are Lucasfilm wouldn’t be interested in investing in a Leia prequel movie or series.

Still, there could be a way to bring Leia’s early missions to the spotlight. One of the advantages of having a cross-medium franchise is the ability to tell smaller stories through avenues like books and comics. Material that may not be substantial enough to build an entire movie around can be great ground to explore in publications. A comic series depicting Leia’s life with the Rebellion before A New Hope has a lot of potential, further developing Leia’s dynamic with Bail and highlighting how Leia became a fearless, determined leader. Despite being 19 during the events of A New Hope, Leia is mature well beyond her years and never seems to be over her head. That means she must have gone through some grueling experiences that molded her into a fierce fighter, and it would be great to see that chapter of Leia’s life.

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