In episode six of Andor season 2, we are reintroduced to a pivotal character in the Star Wars saga, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan. Actor Benjamin Bratt now plays the character, replacing Jimmy Smits, who played Bail in all live-action appearances previously. The appearance of Bail Organa has us asking, just where the heck is his daughter, Princess Leia Organa? The events of Andor’s second-to-last batch of episodes take place 2 BBY, so two years before the Battle of Yavin. We know that Leia, at this point, is a junior Imperial senator. And we also know she’s already helping the rebels. Yet Bail makes no mention of her at all.
We already know that Leia won’t appear in the Andor series. The young actress who played her in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vivien Lyra Blair, confirmed that Lucasfilm didn’t ask her back. But to be fair, she’s only 12 years old right now. By the time of Andor’s last few episodes, Leia is around 17-19 years old. So a teenage actress likely would have been cast anyway. And understandably, the Andor production just didn’t want to wade into the waters of recasting the late Carrie Fisher around the age she was when Leia first appeared. But it still feels odd there’s not even mention of Leia at all, given her importance to the saga.
The only instance in official onscreen canon we have of a pre-A New Hope/Rogue One Leia Organa besides Obi-Wan Kenobi is the Star Wars Rebels episode “A Princess on Lothal.” In that episode, a 15-year-old Leia is running missions as a representative of her father’s office as Senator of Alderaan, secretly aiding different rebel cells. This is where she meets the crew of the Ghost, and they have an adventure together. While her brother Luke is still playing with his T-16 on Tatooine, Leia is already deep in the fight. And this is why the lack of any mention of her is a bit puzzling.
There may be, however, an indirect reference to Leia by Bail Organa in episode nine. When Mon Mothma is about to make her speech in the Senate against Palpatine’s role in the Ghorman massacre, she assumes her longtime ally Bail is about to take a public stand and leave with her. But Bail informs her the time is not right for him to leave for Yavin 4 yet, he has too much to lose. We know Bail Organa is not a coward, so we think a safe assumption is that he fears his exposure as a rebel sympathizer might endanger Leia. He knows she’s the daughter of Anakin Skywalker, and the possible last hope for a new Jedi Order. He can’t be selfish and risk her safety just yet.
Is there still hope for a mention of Princess Leia before the series wraps up? Perhaps. The final few episodes of Andor will link up directly to the events of Rogue One. By this point, she’s on the rebel frontlines, with her starcruiser the Tantive IV on Yavin 4 base. She’s part of the battle of Scarif after all. Yes, we know she won’t appear on screen. But hopefully, we at least hear a mention of the junior senator from Alderaan. Because this young princess is about to change the course of galactic events.
Content shared from nerdist.com.