Princess Leia is hitting the scene of Star Wars Rebels season 2 — and as a new clip suggests, she’s going to make quite a splash.
The sneak peek of the teenaged Princess Leia (voiced by Julie Dolan) comes from Star Wars Rebels season 2, episode 12, “A Princess on Lothal.” With three years to go before the events of A New Hope, Leia is just Ezra’s age — but her introduction makes it clear that she knows who’s boss.
Hint: It’s definitely not Ezra.
Leia’s introduction on Star Wars Rebels season 2 was announced earlier this week, and no one seems more excited than executive producer Dave Filoni.
“There really is no other character quite like her,” he Filoni. “To quote The Force Awakens’ Lor San Tekka, ‘She’ll always be royalty to me.'”
But bringing the Princess into the already-complicated scene of Star Wars Rebels required a delicate hand from Filoni and the production team.
“One of the complex challenges of depicting Leia in Star Wars Rebels is that we have to remind the audience that she is part of the Empire at this point,” Filoni says. “She doesn’t believe in the Empire, but she is acting the part, almost as a double agent. The Empire sees her as a privileged princess who runs mercy missions to wayward worlds, but in truth she is much stronger and more dangerous than they imagine.”
Heck yeah, she is.
“An aide to Bail Organa (Princess Leia Organa) is sent to Lothal with ships for the rebel fleet,” Disney XD says of the episode. “But an Imperial lockdown forces the rebels to create a new plan to steal the vehicles.”
“A Princess on Lothal” will be the only episode in which Leia appears in season two – but fans can certainly preserve the hope that the indomitable Princess/diplomat/badass will make an appearance in season 3.
Star Wars Rebels season 2, episode 12, “A Princess on Lothal,” airs on Jan. 20 at 9:00 p.m. on Disney XD.