Star Wars left the small screen earlier this year when Star Wars Rebels aired its series finale (and dropped some major bombshells before the end), but the galaxy far, far away won't stay off TV for long. New animated series Star Wars Resistance will debut this fall, and a number of movie characters -- including Poe Dameron, among others -- will appear. It has now been announced that one of the most iconic characters of the Star Wars saga has a part to play as well. Leia will appear!
The news that Leia will have a part to play in Star Wars Resistance broke thanks to voice actress Rachel Butera on Twitter shortly after the very first trailer finally hit the web. On the one hand, it's not altogether surprising that Leia herself will appear on the new show. We've known for a while that Resistance will be set before the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and it would make sense for Leia to be around the action while Poe and Co. are racing are in sequel-era X-wings.
That said, Leia didn't appear in the trailer, and there was always the chance that Leia was busy elsewhere than the thick of the growing Resistance. The Clone Wars may have followed huge movie characters around, but Rebels told the stories of an original group of characters. Resistance could have done more or less the same thing. Star Wars Resistance will mark the second time that Leia has appeared in TV animation, with the first being a one-off episode of Star Wars Rebels Season 2 when she was voiced by Julie Dolan.
Confirmation that Leia will have a presence on the new show should be reassuring to fans who were worried that they'd get to see more Star Wars without getting to see more Leia, although Leia will appear in the third film in the sequel trilogy with Carrie Fisher in her iconic role despite her death in 2016. It should be interesting to see how the Leia of Resistance compares to the Leia who first appeared in The Force Awakens.
A lot may depend on just how big the time gap is between Resistance and The Force Awakens. According to a plot description that has now been deleted, the new show will be set "about six months before The Force Awakens." We'll likely have to wait until closer to the official premiere date this fall to get more details about the timeline.
Personally, I wouldn't be shocked if the actual gap is longer than six months. Half a year in the timeline doesn't leave much time for the show. The Clone Wars and Rebels had a span of years before Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, respectively. If there's any hope for Resistance to last for more than a year or two with developed characters, the show may need more than six months for the action to go down.
We'll have to wait and see. Star Wars Resistance will premiere on Sunday, October 7 at 10 p.m. ET on Disney Channel. For some viewing options set elsewhere than the galaxy far, far away, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
