Carrie Fisher portrayed Leia Organa in the Star Wars saga in a way that left a lasting mark through the decades. Here are Fisher’s top 10 moments from the Star Wars saga.
The Star Wars movies started with a Princess asking for help. But that princess turned out to be so much more.
She didn’t wear a crown, but owned an iron will. She was spunky, bold and opened her heart to a scoundrel. Leia Organa is one of the most iconic characters in movie history and Carrie Fisher brought her to life in such a profound way.
Fisher gave little girls a role model. She wasn’t a damsel in distress, but a woman who did the saving. She didn’t just shine on the screen as much as she did off of it either. Fisher appeared in six movies – five in the flesh – in the Star Wars saga.
She was also in Star Wars: Episode IX, which came out in December 2019. However, due to Fisher’s passing, she will be in the movie using previously shot footage from The Force Awakens and possibly,The Last Jedi.
We take a look at the top-10 Carrie Fisher moments from the Star Wars movies, even knowing she had so many more.
10. Flying through space – The Last Jedi
Through the Star Wars saga, Leia never showed much aptitude with the Force. She is Force sensitive as we know, but this was the biggest show of the Force Leia demonstrated throughout the saga.
The moment was also heart racing because Fisher had died before the movie came out and it left many Star Wars fans wondering just what would happen to her.
This could have been a moment where Leia died, but instead she managed to float herself through space and back onto a ship, which saved her life.
It wasn’t a favorite moment for many, but it was a big moment.
9. Leia Meets Wicket – Return of the Jedi
Leia crashed her speeder on Endor’s forest moon, which could have spelled trouble or her, but instead she wound up meeting Wicket, who helped the rebellion in the Battle of Endor. Everything about that scene screams Carrie Fisher’s perfection in the role of Leia.
From her saltiness at getting poked with the spear to her eye roll and perfect sigh once she sees Wicket.
Then, the disarming smile.
Fisher’s smoothness highlights the scene as does her maturity. You can see the growth in her character from when we first met her as a feisty princess who didn’t want anyone’s help – other than Obi-Wan – to a woman embracing what it takes to get the job done.
You can tell Leia liked Wicket because she is never one to hide her feelings – and the Ewoks are pretty cute. If she didn’t like you, she could throw out great insults and you would know it. Thankfully, Wicket was not on the end of one of her tirades.
8. A Rogue One cameo
Carrie Fisher’s appearance in Rogue One wasn’t really a cameo. Yes, it was her at the end of the film, but it was done through CGI to get a 19-year-old Leia into the role and have a tie to A New Hope.
Leia is given the plans to the Death Star in her wardrobe from the first Star Wars film. It was done with a mixture of motion capture and CGI (see video above), but it works because Fisher’s portrayal of Leia makes that moment so impactful.
She utters one word, “hope.”
It ties directly into the next movie in the Star Wars timeline with A New Hope.
Fisher was so impressed by the ending, she not only gave her approval of the CGI work, but thought unseen footage was being used instead. That’s all it takes for Fisher to steal a scene – one word and plenty of nostalgia.
7. Getting out of prison – A New Hope
Imagine rescuing a princess from prison only for her to insult you.
That was Princess Leia. As Luke Skywalker ran into her cell dressed as a stormtrooper, she leans up and looks at Luke with amusement and a little confusion.
“Aren’t you a little short to be a stormtrooper?” Leia asks him.
She then wastes no time and leads Luke out of the cell and throws verbal jabs with Han Solo. Ah, Fisher was so full of zest, we should have known what we were in for.
The scene also showed Leia was not afraid to mix it up. She didn’t run from the fight, but ran toward the battle. Then, when it looked as though the three of them were pinned down by stormtroopers, Leia saved herself telling the ‘flyboy’ exactly what he needed to do.
The scene also shows Han’s attraction to Leia, but that’s another part of the story.
Leia showed great courage and managed to inspire little girls across the galaxy.
6. Leia insults Tarkin and Vader – A New Hope
Leia was queen of the insults on Star Wars. She was able to lay them down with ease even in the face of danger. One of the best insults she leveled came at Tarkin with Darth Vader on her back.
Granted, the scene wound up being awful with Tarkin destroying her home world of Alderaan, but Leia would not take being captured as a passive prisoner. When she was brought on to the bridge of the ship by Vader, she stood her ground.
“Governor Tarkin, I should have expected to find you holding Vader’s leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought onboard,” Leia said.
She managed to insult Tarkin and Vader in one quip.
Though, afterward, Tarkin punished her by destroying her homeworld of Alderaan showing her the power of the Death Star. That still didn’t kill Leia’s spirit. She still managed to hurl insults at her foes – and even Han Solo at times – throughout the original trilogy.
The best thing about Leia’s insults – she is not just bark. Leia backs up her words and will fight with anyone.
But we also like it when she can cut Tarkin or Vader down with a few choice words, a nasty stare and a raised eyebrow.
5. Leia and Han’s first kiss – Empire Strikes Back
Leia and Han Solo both had their walls up. Leia, whose sole mission was to help the rebels bring down the empire, and Han, who tried to figure out how to get the biggest score without getting caught.
They both ran into each other’s path and were thrown a curve neither saw coming.
While Han is a “scoundrel,” we know that he doesn’t really play when it comes to the heart. He didn’t chase after Leia because of the conquest, but found someone who was an equal, someone who would keep him honest, and someone who was honest with him.
In Han, Leia found a man with a good heart despite his gruff exterior, someone who would fight the good fight along her side.
But that first kiss didn’t come easy. Han had to turn up the charm, Leia had to pull back her wall. Han left himself a little vulnerable, which allowed the two of them to finally come together.
While the scene lasted only a moment because of C-3PO’s fantastic timing, it was one that Star Wars fans knew would resonate.
And Leia sneaking off afterward to leave Han wanting more was so perfect. It left us all waiting to see what would happen next.
4. “Nerf herder!” – Empire Strikes Back
What’s a better term of endearment than a “nerf herder”? In the Star Wars universe there are no sweeter words than that when coming from Leia.
Leia threw daggers at Han Solo when she yelled at him, “Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy looking nerf herder?” in The Empire Strikes Back. Leia and Han trade shots throughout the series, but Carrie Fisher got the last laugh in this scene.
Especially when she turns and give Luke a big, fat kiss. Granted, at the time no one knew they were siblings, so poor Luke was used by Leia to get Han riled up – and it worked.
But where exactly did the nerf herder insult come from?
It was revealed decades later in the Marvel Comic’s Star Wars #17, Han Solo lost their money in a game of Sabacc and decided to get it back by smuggling.
In this case, he smuggled a herd a nerfs, which kind of look like yaks. It was a moment Leia didn’t forget, and was hanging on to that insult for the right time.
This outburst was just one of several between the two future lovers, but the most memorable throughout the Star Wars saga.
However, what makes it fun is how Fisher makes it seems as though she came up with every word in that moment. It was a line thrown out for fun, but shows her quick wit and charm in the same breath.
3. “I love you. … I know” – Empire Strikes Back
When Leia finally professes her love to Han Solo, we all expected Han to respond with his own admission of love. But instead the scruffy nerd herder says, “I know.”
It was the perfect moment between the two even though Han Solo is about to be frozen in carbonite. They didn’t know if they would see each other again, so they shared their feelings in the way only they could.
Leia was desperate to let Han know how she felt because she knew it could be her only chance at ever telling him. While Han couldn’t let Leia go away with tears in her eyes. Even though he loved her back, he would rather see with a smile as he gets sent into the pit.
While this tends to be looked at more of a scene for Han Solo, it works because of both Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher – and everything they built to that point.
Of course, that’s what makes the scene on the Endor’s Forest Moon work even better. When the Stormtroopers come up on Han and Leia, he says, “I love you.”
She replies with a sly smile, “I know.”
2. Solo and Leia reunited – The Force Awakens
Between The Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, a lot happened to Leia and Han Solo. They got married, had a kid and then separated. Leia remained with the Rebellion fighting the same fight from 30 years ago, while Han went back to being a smuggler and getting in trouble with Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon.
When The Force Awakens started, it was obvious there were problems between Han and Leia. Then when they finally see each other, it was the meet-up we all held our collective breaths for. They were old and withered, tired and sad. Yet, Han still had a that boyish smile while Leia still had a light in her eyes.
They stood a few feet apart but it might as well have been a chasm because they had their son between them, but their son who went to the Dark Side and there was nothing either one of them was able to do about it.
It was one of the few moments Han Solo looked vulnerable as the woman he loved stood before him and he had to tell her he saw Ben.
Each scene with Leia and Han in The Force Awakens was full of so much emotion, it’s too bad they didn’t have more time together.
1. Message to Obi-Wan – A New Hope
The moment that started it all, Leia in a hologram coming from R2-D2’s projector asking Obi-Wan Kenobi for help. Helen of Troy was the face that launched 1,000 ships, but Leia was the woman that destroyed an empire.
Her dire message was seen by the people who mattered, first Luke Skywalker and then Ben Kenobi.
It was that image – long white dress, hair in cinnamon roll buns – that spread around and ignited the rebellion. Luke fell for the woman in that hologram, not realizing yet it was his own sister he was seeing for the first time.
Carrie Fisher was able to convey a sense of urgency and hope all in one, quick scene that was replayed over and over.
It also told us about her fiery spirit since she was willing to put herself out there even knowing what Darth Vader and the Empire would do to her if she was caught.
The top moment for Leia in the Star Wars saga was this video that started a chain of events that change the galaxy. It left us wanting to know more about her – and we were not disappointed.
Carrie Fisher’s legacy began with Star Wars, creating one of the most memorable characters in film history. The fun, the light, the fire inside of her was captured for generations to enjoy.