George Lucas has always viewed Leia Organa as the true hero of Star Wars, and with good reason. When the first Star Wars movie released (later retitled A New Hope), Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker was introduced as the protagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy. It was, after all, his journey that was being chronicled, going from a boy living on a moisture farm to becoming one of the greatest Jedi the galaxy had ever seen. Along the way, he met Harrison Ford's Han Solo and Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa, and together these three would make up one of the most iconic fictional trios of all time. Despite Luke Skywalker’s status as Star Wars’ protagonist, however, George Lucas maintained Leia was A New Hope’s true hero.

https://screenrant.com/leia-true-hero-star-wars-george-lucas/