How Old Was Princess Leia in Each Star Wars Movie?
Leia Organa is one of the most important characters in the entire storyline of Star Wars as she was one-half of the twins of the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, and was the mother of Ben Solo, who was one of the most important characters of the sequel trilogy. As such, she was around for six Star Wars movies that started all the way from her first appearance in ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.’
Because she was around in many different Star Wars movies, Princess Leia experienced many different events. Of course, we saw her when she was just a young princess in the original trilogy. But we also saw her when she was already a general leading the Resistance against the First Order in the sequels. So, with that said, let’s look at how old Princess Leia was in all of the Star Wars movies.
How old was Princess Leia in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’?
Other than the fact that Princess Leia appeared as a baby during the events of ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,’ she also appeared in a cameo appearance in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.’ However, Leia Organa in this movie was a CGI representation of the character so that they could make her young again. And that’s because the movie was released in 2016, just a few days before Carrie Fisher’s death.
So, in that regard, they had to recreate Fisher’s original Princess Leia look, as we know that the events of ‘Rogue One’ took place just days before the start of the events of ‘A New Hope.’ And we know Leia in ‘Rogue One’ was just days younger than in ‘A New Hope.’
Given that Leia was born on 19 BBY and that the events of ‘Rogue One’ took place just days before the Battle of Yavin, that would mean that Leia Organa was just 19 years old, as the Battle of Yavin is the “zero year” of the Star Wars universe. And she appeared in a cameo scene wherein she received the plans for the Death Star after the crew of Rogue One successfully stole them and transmitted them to the Rebels.
How old was Princess Leia in ‘A New Hope’?
In real-world chronology, Princess Leia first appeared in ‘A New Hope,’ wherein she was seen in the Rebel ship that carried the plans of the Death Star after the crew of the Rogue One stole them from the Empire. In this movie, she was a damsel in distress as Luke, Han, and Obi-Wan need to rescue her from the Death Star. But her leadership status was invaluable as the Rebels saw her as an inspirational figure that led them.
During the events of ‘A New Hope,’ Leia was just 19 years old because she was born on 19 BBY, and we know that the events of this movie took place on 0 BBY because the Battle of Yavin is called the zero year of Star Wars. As such, she was barely 20 when she lost her home to the Death Star as the super laser destroyed her homeworld of Alderaan.
How old was Princess Leia in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’?
There were three years between the events of ‘A New Hope’ and ‘Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.’ That’s because there were plenty of storylines between these two movies, as the Rebels had to leave Yavin and establish a new base on the freezing planet of Hoth. Of course, the Rebels also had to replenish their numbers during the three-year gap.
During the three-year gap between the two movies, the relationship between Leia and Han grew as it was clear that they were both attracted to one another. Of course, they finally admitted to one another that they loved each other, as Han Solo was encased in carbonite near the end of the movie when the Empire captured the Rebels and allowed Boba Fett to leave with Han so that he could take him back to Jabba the Hutt, who placed a bounty on his head for his debts.
Because there were three years between ‘A New Hope’ and ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ that would mean that the events of this movie took place on 3 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). Since three years went by since ‘A New Hope,’ that would mean that Leia Organa was 22 years old in ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’
How old was Princess Leia in ‘Return of the Jedi’?
‘Return of the Jedi’ was Leia Organa’s final appearance in the original Star Wars trilogy. In this movie, she and Luke went on a mission to save Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Of course, Luke needed to complete his training as a Jedi. As such, one year of preparation was needed for them to rescue Han from Jabba.
That would mean that the events of ‘Return of the Jedi’ took place on 4 ABY, which puts Leia’s age at 23 years old. Of course, during this film, we learned that Leia and Luke were siblings, which means they were the same age.
How old was Princess Leia in ‘The Force Awakens’?
During the events of ‘The Force Awakens,’ 30 years had already passed since the defeat of Emperor Palpatine and the Empire during the ‘Return of the Jedi.’ During that time, Leia and Han married and had a son named Ben Solo. Meanwhile, Luke started his new Jedi Order and took in Ben as one of his star pupils.
Of course, Ben eventually turned to the dark side and became Kylo Ren. His main goal was to search the galaxy for Luke Skywalker, who went into hiding. And it was only during the middle portion of the film that we saw Leia once more when she reunited with Han.
Given that 30 years had gone by since the fall of the Empire, Leia Organa was already 53 years old during the events of ‘The Fore Awakens.’ During those 30 years, she transitioned from being a princess and a politician to being a general that led the Resistance against the First Order.
How old was Princess Leia in ‘The Last Jedi’?
‘The Last Jedi’ was released in 2017, just one year after Carrie Fisher’s death. Nevertheless, Carrie had already shot all of the necessary scenes that were needed in that movie. And fans even thought Leia’s in-universe death would happen when she got shot out of her ship’s bridge and was about to freeze to death in space before she used the Force to fly through and make it back to the ship.
Of course, due to her weakened state, Leia spent almost the entire movie recovering. As such, she wasn’t featured often during the events of ‘The Last Jedi,’ which took place just days after the events of ‘The Force Awakens.’ Given that days have only gone by since the ending of ‘The Force Awakens,’ Princess Leia was still 53 years old in this movie.
How old was Princess Leia in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’?
One year went by between the events of ‘The Last Jedi’ and ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’ Between those two movies, Leia oversaw the training of Rey, who needed to complete her Jedi training to become strong enough to defeat Kylo Ren. And because Leia trained as a Jedi but never became a Jedi, she knew how to handle Rey’s training as she learned the ways of the Force under Luke.
Leia, of course, had minimal scenes in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ because Carrie Fisher was already dead when most of the movie was being filmed. In that regard, the scenes of Leia that were included in this movie were the ones that were shot before Fisher’s death. And we even saw Leia’s in-universe death in this movie.
While Kylo Ren and Rey were fighting, Leia tried to reach out to her son, who was several light years away. She used the Force to connect to Kylo, who felt his mother’s love and turned his back on the dark side to become Ben Solo again. Leia Organa exhausted herself when she used this power as she died at 54. But she was instrumental in the victory of the Resistance because she was the one who helped pull Ben Solo back to the side of the light.
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