Leia Gets a New Title in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

Carrie Fisher in ‘The Force Awakens’ (Lucasfilm)

She may be a Disney princess now, but you’d better call her “General.” In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, actress Carrie Fisher and Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams revealed that Princess Leia no longer goes by her royal title. Now, as fitting for a leader in the Rebellion, she has a military rank.

“She’s referred to as ‘General.’ But… there’s a moment in the movie where a character sort of slips and calls her ‘Princess,’” Abrams told EW. (Hmm… could it be the same character who once sarcastically called her “your worshipfulness?”)

Related: Decoding the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Teasers and Trailers

Leia’s new rank is a long time coming. By Return of the Jedi and the Battle of Endor, Han Solo had been promoted from Captain to General, while Luke Skywalker was being called “Commander Skywalker” at the Hoth base in The Empire Strikes Back. But while Leia remained steadfast in her role as leader, she was still referred to as “Princess” throughout the original trilogy.

Fisher jokingly gave EW an alternate honorific for Leia — “People should say, ‘Hey! You! My one true joy!’” — but she and Abrams also acknowledged that Leia’s journey in The Force Awakens is a serious one. (It’s something we might have guessed from her and Han’s mournful embrace in the full-length trailer.) Fisher describes her character as “solitary. Under a lot of pressure. Committed as ever to her cause, but I would imagine feeling somewhat defeated, tired, and pissed.”

Watch the trailer: