The Star Wars films are starting to dig a little deeper into the backstories of its
most popular characters, starting with a Han Solo prequel that features Alden Ehrenreich
in the role originally played by Harrison Ford.
If that film is successful enough, it'll likely increase interest in peeks at some of the
other characters' pasts — and who has a more interesting history than Princess Leia
Organa?
Sure, we got to see how her parents got together during the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but
there are a lot of dots still to connect.
Like, who taught her the secret Jedi art of space-insults?
"I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain."
The late, great Carrie Fisher unquestionably made the role her own, and left some big boots
to fill with her untimely passing in December 2016.
Re-casting Leia would be about more than just tracking down a doppelgänger for Fisher.
The actress would have to have some wit, sass, and class to offer, too.
Here are a few young actresses who might just be equipped to pick up the old blaster and
bring Leia back to life.
Millie Bobby Brown
Stranger Things starlet Millie Bobby Brown has already put her hat into the ring by declaring
that she'd love to play a young Princess Leia in a prequel.
Thanks to her breakout role as Eleven in Netflix's sci-fi sensation, Brown has already proven
she can hold her own in an on-screen fight.
And her time on shows like ABC's Once Upon a Time had her grappling with the sort of
high fantasy and science fiction world that any young Leia would encounter in a new Star
Wars movie.
That means she's used to tackling tough scripts filled with weird character names and alien
species from around the galaxy.
"I couldn't say 'demogorgon' at first.
It was like, 'dum dum duhhh.'"
Even better, Brown's got the same brown eyes and hair as Leia, along with similar facial
bone structure, so it's easy to picture her adopting the role without a hitch.
Rowan Blanchard
Another young actress who looks like a ringer for young Leia is Girl Meets World star Rowan
Blanchard.
Like Brown, Blanchard has already had her fair share of high-action moments on screen,
thanks to her turn in Spy Kids 4 — and she's also one to watch right now, as she'll star
in Ava Duvernay's live-action adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, giving her fantasy cred
as well as a major platform from which to launch her film career.
"The world has presented me with an opportunity."
Perhaps most importantly, Blanchard also seems to have a youthful sense of wisdom and wit
that would be an absolute necessity for playing young Leia.
Mackenzie Foy
She might be best known for her work as a half-vampire love child in The Twilight Saga's
final film, but Mackenzie Foy has also proven herself a capable young talent on the rise:
she shared the screen with Matthew McConaughey in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar and she
has a lead role in Lasse Hallström's upcoming take on The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.
In much the way the young Carrie Fisher carried herself with a sense of self-confidence and
capability mixed with softness, Foy has the same kind of steady composure that could suit
a new take on the Princess.
Kiernan Shipka
Throughout Mad Men's six seasons, Kiernan Shipka grew into the secret MVP of the series,
especially where its youngest cast members were concerned.
While the actors playing her brother Bobby came and went without much fuss, Shipka blossomed
into an important presence on the show as Sally, sturdily running counter to her parents'
selfish behavior before subtly adopting some of their traits.
Shipka can not only deliver a sharp-tongued line like nobody's business …
"You think you could take me."
"Heh.
I think I could."
"Well, you're wrong."
...but she's also able to impart nuance and curiosity to situations to enrich a scene
that might otherwise fall flat.
A Princess Leia backstory would need those traits in abundance, so she might just be
a good match for the movie.
Sophia Lillis
She might not be a household name just yet, but Sophia Lillis is also well on her way
to becoming an important young actress.
She not only possesses the same kind of stoicism that helped define Leia onscreen, but she's
also starring in the new film adaptation of Stephen King's It as the unconquerable Beverly
Marsh.
That means she'll start to be on the star track sooner than later.
She's also another close visual ringer for young Carrie Fisher — a pair of brown contacts
and those signature cinnamon bun locks are all it'd take to make the transformation complete.
Of course, as good as any of those options could be, there's really only one young actress
who could truly do the role the justice it deserves...
Billie Lourd
The fact that Billie Lourd is Fisher's own daughter means she certainly deserves more
than a little consideration.
From what we've seen of her screen appearances in Scream Queens and other roles, she also
seems to have inherited Fisher's signature tenacity and deep sense of humor.
Lourd made a cameo appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and told reporters, "I wish
I played a young princess."
Who better to manage her mother's legacy than Lourd?
Plus, let's face it.
She's Leia's closest look-alike.
It's actually kinda spooky how similar they are.
"I try to do my own thing, but when I'm wearing something like *this* it's kind of hard to
escape the comparison."
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