Sigourney Weaver Reveals Her Star Wars Character’s Links to Princess Leia
Sigourney Weaver, who plays the New Republic’s Colonel Ward in The Mandalorian and Grogu, has disclosed a personal relationship with one of the Rebellion’s most prominent icons, the late Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia, saying, “We go way back.”
Sigourney Weaver stars as New Republic Colonel Ward, a role created just for The Mandalorian and Grogu. Though little is known about Colonel Ward so far, the teasers for Star Wars’ upcoming film show that she will be in frequent communication with both Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu as she orders them on a risky mission to “prevent another war”.
Though Ward will be introduced to Star Wars audiences for the first time in The Mandalorian and Grogu, she is far from a newcomer. Ward, described in Empire’s May 2026 edition as a “military leader, crack pilot”, has a direct relationship to some of the Rebellion’s — and Star Wars’ — most iconic symbols, including the late Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia.
Ward, according to Lucasfilm co-president Dave Filoni, is part of a vital group of fearless female Rebel leaders that includes Leia, Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Hera Syndulla from Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka (Vanessa Marshall/Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Mon Mothma from Andor (Genevieve O’Reilly). According to Filoni, these ladies “really went through it” during the Age of Rebellion and helped battle and dismantle the Empire.
“To be playing someone from that time, from that history, who would have been a cohort of these guys, is a great honour,” Weaver remarked of her role in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Her role in Star Wars’ plot, like Leia’s, draws on a narrative subject that the actress is all too familiar with. “The 1970s were a time of upheaval, with widespread protests against the Vietnam War.” People experienced a sense of unity. It all makes sense to George Lucas, and I’m from the same generation.