The heroes of Disney‘s Star Wars Rebels will meet one of the most famous faces in the galaxy when the series returns on Jan. 20.
In the upcoming episode, the rebels will meet Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, who travels to the main characters’ base of operations to “bring ships for the rebel fleet.”
Star Wars Rebels, now in its second season on Disney XD, follows the adventures of a small band of heroes as they link up with the nascent rebellion against the Galactic Empire.
At this point in the timeline—five years before the events of 1977’s A New Hope—Leia still represents Alderaan in the Imperial Senate, but she and her father covertly support the rebel movement by using their diplomatic activities as cover to move ships and material to the rebels.
“We thought we had an opportunity to show her learning to be a leader, experimenting with the personality that becomes the stronger, more resolute character you see in A New Hope,” executive producer Dave Filoni told TV Insider. “One of the complex challenges of depicting Leia in Rebels is that we have to remind the audience that at this point she is part of the Empire. She doesn’t believe in the Empire, but she is acting the part, almost [as] a double agent.”
The Jan. 20 episode, “A Princess in Lothal,” will mark Leia’s only appearance in Star Wars Rebels season 2. She will be voiced by Julie Dolan, who played her in a recent video game.
Due to its placement on the Star Wars timeline, Rebels has already brought in several original trilogy characters, including Yoda, Lando Calrissian, and Darth Vader.
H/T TV Insider | Photo via Lucasfilm
