It seems that George Lucas originally intended to reveal Princess Leia as the real Chosen One in the climactic conclusion of his Star Wars Sequels narrative.
As we’ve learned over the years, the creator had several treatments for a potential continuation of the Skywalker Saga. These mostly involved a new generation of heroes who would work closely with legacy characters such as Luke, Leia and Han to defeat a fresh threat. Of course, Disney has received a lot of hate and criticism over their handling of the Sequel Trilogy, but to their credit, most of what they did actually works in parallel with what Lucas originally envisioned.
For one thing, these movies would depict the founding of a new Jedi Order by Luke Skywalker, not to mention a “fallen son,” whom we saw in the form of Ben Solo. According to Star Wars Archives Episode 1-3 The Prequels, though, which compiles a set of interviews on the director’s canceled trilogy, Lucas wanted Darth Maul to be the main villain of the story as opposed to Sheev Palpatine or Supreme Leader Snoke. Additionally, the publication teases a twist for the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga, with Leia being revealed as the Chosen One.
“By the end of the trilogy Luke would’ve rebuilt much of the Jedi, and we would have the renewal of the New Republic, with Leia, Senator Organa, becoming the Supreme Chancellor in charge of everything. So she ended up being the Chosen One,” the book reads.
Ever since the Prequels came out, there’ve been a lot of fan theories on the nature of the Chosen One. The character’s identity became even more confusing with The Rise of Skywalker, though, when the story seemingly confirmed that the prophecy doesn’t revolve around a single person, since Rey was the one who ultimately killed Emperor Palpatine and brought balance to the Force.
Of course, we’ll never know how this would’ve unfolded in the plot of Lucas’ Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, but I think it’s safe to say that having Carrie Fisher’s Leia Skywalker as the ultimate savior of the galaxy is something that most fans would get behind.
