Editing Princess Leia (section)

==== ''Star Wars'' ====
Introduced in ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977), Princess Leia of Alderaan is a member of the Imperial Senate and a leader in the Rebel Alliance. She is captured when Darth Vader boards her ship, demanding that she reveal the location of stolen architectural plans for the Death Star, the [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Galactic Empire]]'s battle station. Before her interrogation, Leia hid the plans inside the [[droid (Star Wars)|droid]] [[R2-D2]], and sent him to find one of the last remaining Jedi, [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]]. Vader takes Leia to the Death Star and tortures her, but she offers him no information. The Death Star commander [[Grand Moff Tarkin]] threatens to destroy Alderaan unless she reveals the location of the Rebel base. She provides the location of an abandoned headquarters on Dantooine, but Tarkin obliterates Alderaan anyway. Leia is rescued by Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and [[Chewbacca]]. They escape aboard Han's ship, the ''[[Millennium Falcon]]''. After analyzing the Death Star schematics, the Rebels find a small weakness in the battle station, which allows Luke to destroy it with torpedoes launched from his [[X-wing fighter|X-wing]]. After the victory, Leia honors Luke, Han and Chewbacca for their heroism.[[File:Star Wars and the Power of Costume July 2018 13 (Princess Leia's white gown from Episode IV).jpg|thumb|upright|Princess Leia's white gown from the original ''Star Wars'' film]]In 2015, Alyssa Rosenberg of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' praised Leia's courage and resiliency while experiencing imprisonment, torture, and the destruction of her home planet.<ref name="WP Icon">{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Alyssa |date=May 4, 2015 |title=Princess Leia, political icon |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/05/04/princess-leia-political-icon/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729115718/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/05/04/princess-leia-political-icon/ |archive-date=July 29, 2021 |access-date=November 11, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Rosenberg also notes that while Han is almost immediately attracted to Leia, they end up in conflict because she insists on asserting command and he automatically resists, even as she proves herself to be worthy of it.<ref name="WP Icon"/>

Fisher told ''Rolling Stone'' in 1980 that in the original script, when Luke and Han arrive to rescue Leia, she is unconscious, her eyes are yellow and she is hanging upside down, imagery which alludes to the 1973 horror film ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]''. Fisher explained that the scene was changed because Chewbacca would have had to carry Leia for an extended period of time.<ref name="RS 1980">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/slaves-to-the-empire-the-star-wars-kids-talk-back-19800724 |title=Slaves to the Empire: The ''Star Wars'' Kids Talk Back |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |first=Timothy |last=White |date=July 24, 1980 |access-date=December 16, 2015 |archive-date=December 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220143256/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/slaves-to-the-empire-the-star-wars-kids-talk-back-19800724 |url-status=live }}</ref>