The Andor trailer proved the new show isn’t going to be like any Star Wars series before it. While it had quite a few familiar faces, there doesn’t seem to be as much of an emphasis on crossovers and cameos as other Star Wars shows have had. Instead, the series is taking its time over 24 episodes to tell the isolated story of how Cassian Andor gets caught up in the Rebellion.
Fans, however, are fixating on a strangely familiar face from the trailer, and the most plausible explanation of her identity could change Star Wars forever.
Redditor u/crippled_trash_can pointed out a strange figure in the trailer, a young woman who says “This is what revolution looks like” in a British accent and walks down a hallway in a veil. The post points out she resembles Princess Leia, and suggests the character could actually be the Alderaanian princess.
The timeline works. Andor Season 1 takes place five years before the original trilogy, so Leia would be about 14. This character looks a bit older than that, but teenagers always look older than their age in TV shows. Padme was 14 in The Phantom Menace when Natalie Portman was 16, so an older look runs in the fictional family.
However, there are a few details that could sink this theory. The accent is one, as Carrie Fisher’s Leia had only the slightest mid-Atlantic lilt in the original series. The second is the fact that this character has a name in the subtitles of the trailer. This would usually be enough to write off the theory altogether, but the name listed is “Kleya,” which sounds like a fake name Princess Leia would make up in a panic.
Other fans are suggesting the character’s very appearance in the trailer is enough to discount the theory. Leia had a major role in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but there was no sign of her until the actual premiere of the series. Maybe Leia is hiding in plain sight this time, or maybe this mysterious character just has another purpose.
The Inverse Analysis — Could this character actually be a young Princess Leia? There are arguments both ways, but it’s not inconceivable to believe that she started working for the Rebellion at an early age. If Padme could be a queen at 14, why couldn’t her daughter be a spy? Leia’s always been spunky, so why wouldn’t she dive into deep cover at the first chance she gets? We’ll find out next month just what Kleya’s deal is.
Andor premieres September 21, 2022 on Disney+.
