Here’s why Princess Leia was at the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One

Many have asked what exactly was Princess Leia doing at the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One, and now we have our answer. Read on!

Rogue One won its fair share of praise from fans and critics alike, all the while racking up a huge haul at the box office. As prequel, Rogue One was always set to have some familiar characters show up, and it was quite the extensive list. But in a movie filled with appearances from characters such as Grand Moff Tarkin, Lord Vader, and Bail Organa, one returning characters brief appearance has drawn the ire of fans, or at the very least, their questions.

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

Princess Leia’s one scene appearance sent the fanboys into a fit, with some less than happy with her digital recreation (something Lucasfilm as decided against for Episode IX), while others have wondered what she was doing there in the first place. And while we can’t comment on the former bit, Lucasfilm Story Group gatekeeper Pablo Hidalgo  gave us some insight into Leia’s presence at the Battle of Scarif on the Star Wars Show:

"The plan was always that Leia was going to go to Tatooine to pick up Obi-Wan and Raddus was going to escort her. Then the news of Scarif came in, and that was deemed more important."

Interesting. Not exactly sure why Leia would need an escort, but it does seem like an at least plausible explanation. Hidalgo went on to explain that at the time, the Rebellion was rather short on capital ships, and that Admiral Raddus’ ship, the Profundity, was the only warship in the Rebellion fleet.

That lines up with what we saw in the Original Trilogy, where in A New Hope the Rebellion fleet was restricted to fighters, while in Empire Strikes Back we saw some capital ships, before finally a proper fleet appeared in Return of the Jedi. 

More from Dork Side of the Force

• Daniel José Older named a High Republic Adventures character after someone special
• How animation changed Star Wars: Ewoks and Droids
• Kelleran Beq comes to Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
• The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal becomes No. 1 on IMDb’s Starmeter for 2023
• Unwrapping the Star Wars LEGO Advent Calendar: Day 7

So do we count ourselves satisfied by Hidalgo’s explanation? Let us know!