ST Carrie Fisher (Leia) in Episode VII (Sad News posted on Page 269)

I would like to see Leia be strong in the Force and be able to use a lightsaber (back when Carrie was attending the London Academy of Dramatic Arts, she took fencing as an elective and apparently was very good at it), but not necessarily a full-time warrior.

 

A Jedi healer would be an appropriate role for her.

 

Really? Leia never did anything that remotely has anything to do with healing her entire life.

I would like to see the force used for healing wounds. But why would Leia of all people become a healer?

 

I think there's a better chance of Leia staying in politics and succumbing to the Dark Side then there is of her becoming a healer.

 

I'd prefer a Leia who, while strong in the force, is not a Jedi. There is a difference between having strong force potential and being specifically part of the order of the Jedi. I just like the idea that Leia continued on heavily in the galactic political arena, and never took a dedicated Jedi path. But she has considerable training and can manifest that, if need be. I think the audience would get a real kick out of being led to believe Leia isn't as strong as her brother, and yet in a pivotal moment throws down with some incredible Anakin-like force pushing/blocking or object throwing. I think a moment like that, with Leia revealing the full strength of her power by wielding the force strongly without a saber, could be a real goosebump experience.

 

Obviously as a woman there aren't many other things she can do. Maybe she could take over Yoda's role of training the younglings only without all the facing off against Sith Lords and such.

 

Exactly. Outside of maybe using the force to dust, cook, and change diapers at the same time, I don't see what good can come from a force sensitive female.

 

YOU ARE SO SEXIST! I'M TELLING ON YOU

 

I expect Leia will probably {shocker} have served the Alliance/Republic in some fashion and will be an excellent ambassador for the Alliance/New Republic. As resolving disputes is one of the forte's of the Jedi, I think she is perfect in this regard. Of course I also expect that she's undergone some sort of Jedi combat training as well, but she doesn't need to use those skills very much.

 

And for some reason, even as a big Leia fan, I don't find that appealing. Never have. I guess I'm just too married to the image of Leia with a nice, reliable blaster by her side.

For me, seeing Leia in saber combat has about as much appeal as seeing Han in the same arena. They've always just been blaster people to me, through and through. Outside of the bikini-that-God-built, my most enduring images of Ms. Organa are her grabbing the carbine in the corridors of the Death Star to save their asses, shooting at Boba Fett in a last ditch effort to save her man, and her own "I know" moment right before saving their asses once again.

 

If they do show Leia with a lightsaber, I suspect it'll be one of those, "You know, Luke, you've been trying to teach me how to use a lightsaber for twenty years now and it's not taking. Do you think I could go back to running the Galaxy now?"

 

Leia has a lightsaber middle finger.

 

See?? That could be kinda cool!

 

What is a Jedi healer? Is this an EU added class?

 

That was me, back as a kid/pre-teen in the 90s when I really got into Star Wars.

I longed to see Yoda with a saber, and while most people seemed so eager to see Anakin vs Obi Wan in the then just-dreamed-about PT, my dream duel was Yoda vs The Emperor.

So yeah, George Lucas was good to my inner child.

 

Leia wielding a lightsaber always seemed to EU-ish to me...if that makes any sense. I'd much prefer seeing her in a more diplomatic role, only using the Force here and there and perhaps using Jedi mind tricks on petty thugs. It would be cool to also see her unleash some crazy powerful Force powers alongside Luke in a pinch...I really hope this actually happens.

 

The image just popped into my head of Leia repeating the scene from ANH on the Falcon where Luke is training against the remote and Han cracking up as the remote zaps Leia on the behind.

 

Bugs! Bugs! Take them away, take them away!!!

I'm kinda undecided about Leia as a Jedi. On one hand it would be silly not to give her at least a little Force training after that conversation between her and Luke on Endor.

On the other hand, I'm trying to imagine Carrie Fisher with a lightsaber... Force powers like mind tricks and telekinesis are one thing, (plus I can see the actress getting countless mileage out of using it as a gag in interviews), lightsabers are something else.

That being said, if they could pull it off, it would be awesome.

 

And man, have you ever noticed what an *incredible* shot she is? If you actually pay attention, she gets a lot of hits when she's firing that blaster. I kinda geek out every time she fires and hits that bad guy on top of the Imperial walker in ROTJ. I think she might even be a better shot than Han (sorry, Han!)

 

I read that in Han's voice.