New Star Wars book reveals what happened immediately after the Return of the Jedi ending

C-3PO, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

Star Wars' Leia Organa learned that Darth Vader was her father towards the end of Return of the Jedi, but the film never really allowed itself the time to explore her reaction. Now, a new Lucasfilm book is set to change all that.

Titled The Princess and the Scoundrel, the novel was penned by Beth Revis, and will finally clue fans in on the princess's state of mind after Luke Skywalker told her the truth about himself and their dad. An except published by the studio picks up in the wake of the Battle of Endor, as a clearly conflicted Leia talks with Luke after he burned Vader's body in a funeral pyre. 

Welcoming of Luke being her sibling, Leia can't understand why he so easily accepts that Vader is their close relation. Leia reflects on the interrogation she endured at Vader's hands in A New Hope, and ultimately puts their different attitudes down to the fact that "Luke had never been tortured by their biological father the way she had." 

Return of the Jedi essentially forcing Leia to swallow admittedly bad news, and jump right back into the action, follows on from her having to do the same when she discovered that Alderaan had been destroyed in the first Star Wars movie. But this new piece of canon also checks out when you consider the character's level-headedness in the fight against the Empire. 

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.