Princess Leia Was Almost Played By Jodie Foster, But Here's Why That Didn't Happen

The late Carrie Fisher famously played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, but the part was originally offered to Jodie Foster. The Oscar-winning actress confirmed this rumor on an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, mentioning how Lucasfilm was originally eyeing someone younger for the part, which made her a fit. It didn't work out, though, because Foster had other acting commitments at the time.

"They were going for a younger Princess Leia but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn't want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract," she said (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Foster would have been only 13 and 14 when the original Star Wars was filmed before she turned 15 when the movie came out in 1977. Fisher, however, was 19 years old during the filming of the movie.

Foster, who now stars on the newest season of True Detective, said Lucasfilm did an "amazing job" with the Star Wars series. "I don't know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple," she said, jokingly referencing Fisher's famous braided hair that resembled a danish.

Fisher played Leia in the original Star Wars movies and came back to reprise the character, now a general, in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. She passed away in 2016, but she appeared in Rise of Skywalker through previously unused footage from The Force Awakens. Leia dies at the end of Rise of Skywalker. A young Leia was featured in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan, portrayed by Vivien Lyra Blair.

The Star Wars film series is set to continue with multiple upcoming films, including one that brings back Daisy Ridley as Rey. This film could take the Star Wars series in a "different direction."