The Star Wars sequel trilogy, leaves no question about Leia Organa's Force abilities, which are displayed in dramatic fashion in The Last Jedi. That movie sees the injured Resistance general propels herself through the vacuum of space, back to the safety of her damaged ship. But was Leia intended to be Force-sensitive from the start?
History would suggest the answer is no, but it might not be as simple as that. Major developments to Star Wars canon tend to occur on the fly, as the push and pull of the sequel trilogy makes painfully obvious. However, the most famous example is the revelation in the second draft of The Empire Strikes back that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father. That draft also revisited the idea of Leia being Luke's twin sister, something that had been discussed but was still up in the air before rewrites.
In retrospect, some fans have pointed to Leia's ability in The Empire Strikes Back to sense Luke's call for help from beneath Cloud City, and her confidence in Return of the Jedi that he survived the destruction of the Death Star II as early evidence of her Force sensitivity. Although the two instance were originally attributed to Luke's power, or some kind of twin connection, it's easy in hindsight to view them as the first instances in the films of Leia's Force sensitivity.
However, if we want to embrace retroactive continuity, there's a line of dialogue in the 1977 original film that provides an earlier potential clue to Leia's powers. Following her capture by Darth Vader, the young princess is transported to the Death Star in an effort to persuade her to reveal the location of the Rebel base. The interrogation, by the menacing IT-O droid, takes place off-screen, but Vader marvels to Grand Moff Tarkin, "Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable." Considering the mind-altering hallucinogen employed by the IT-O interrogator, that's unusual, if not borderline impossible. Unless, of course, the subject was adept at using the Force.
There are also some parallels with Rey, the sequel trilogy's protagonist. Leia and Rey are both children separated from their parents and their very identity. They're gifted with extraordinary power that literally courses through their bodies, but no real way to understand what it is or how to use it, outside of the occasional mention of mythology, in which they and those in their circles may not even believe. In their cases, the latent untrained Force seems to manifest itself in times of need, in a heightened version of abilities they already possess: extreme survival instinct, increased athletic ability, calmness under pressure and reliable intuition. Rey also repeatedly shows an ability to resist invasive methods of interrogation as a result of her Force abilities.
One could explain some of this away by pointing out that Leia was raised by her adoptive father, Bail Organa, who was well-acquainted with the Jedi and the Light Side, and a prominent figure in the machinations leading up to the Galactic Civil War. But by the time Leia was old enough to make sense of such things, the Jedi were all but extinct, their legend nearly 20 years in the past. Plus, children don't always follow their parents into politics and war, but Leia -- who is highly invested in the rebellion -- takes on much more risk and responsibility than seems reasonable for a teen princess. What if Bail sensed or even know about her Force ability all along, and only put her in peril because he knew she'd be able to overcome it? Although it's never explicit, the Leia in Star Wars: A New Hope is every bit as confident, courageous and supercharged as her twin brother. She just doesn't have a lightsaber.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong' o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film is now in theaters and will be on sale digitally on March 17 and physically on March 31.