Bail Organa

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Bail Organa
Star Wars character
BailOrgana.jpeg
Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa in Revenge of the Sith (2005)
First appearance
Created byGeorge Lucas
Portrayed by
Voiced by
Information
Full nameBail Prestor Organa
GenderMale
TitleFirst Chairman and Viceroy
Occupation
  • Prince Consort to the Queen
  • Prime Minister of the High Court
  • First Chairman of the High Council
  • Imperial Senator of Alderaan
  • Co-founder of the Rebel Alliance
AffiliationGalactic Senate of the Grand Republic
Alliance to Restore the Republic
SpouseBreha Organa
ChildrenLeia Organa
(adoptive daughter)
HomeworldAlderaan

Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, mentioned in the original film, and portrayed by actor Jimmy Smits in prequels Attack of the Clones (2002), Revenge of the Sith (2005), and the anthology prequel film Rogue One (2016). Bail is married to Breha Organa, queen of the planet Alderaan, and serves as a senator of his planet in the Galactic Senate, where he is shown to be a friend with senator and former Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala. He also secretly serves as a member of the Rebel Alliance, of which he is a founding member. After Padmé dies, Bail and Breha adopt her daughter Leia Organa, a main character in the franchise.

Character[edit]

Creation and development[edit]

A 1974 script draft of the 1977 film Star Wars by George Lucas contains a character named Bail Antilles, a galactic trader who is first introduced on the planet Alderaan.[1] The name "Bail Antilles" would later be mentioned in The Phantom Menace as one of the candidates running for Supreme Chancellor of the Senate.

Princess Leia's father, named "Prestor", was introduced in the 1981 Star Wars radio drama and voiced by Stephen Elliott.[2] The character is named Bail Prestor Organa in the 1997 novel The Paradise Snare by A. C. Crispin.

Portrayal[edit]

Bail was portrayed by Jimmy Smits in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and Rogue One.[3] The character is voiced by Phil LaMarr in the 3D CGI animated television series The Clone Wars and Rebels.

Appearances[edit]

Film[edit]

Bail Organa's Senate robes from Episode III

Bail does not appear on the original film of the franchise, Star Wars (1977, later subtitled A New Hope), however he is still an important part of the plot, by being mentioned by his daughter Leia within the hologram that she sends to Tatooine hidden within the droid R2-D2. Within the hologram Leia pleas to Jedi in exile Obi-Wan Kenobi for help in delivering the plans of the planet-destroying Death Star space station, to her and her father Bail's home planet Alderaan. Within the hologram she says, "General Kenobi. Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope". Bail is implied to have died when Imperial Governor Grand Moff Tarkin, aboard the Death Star, orders Alderaan to be destroyed, while Bail's daughter Leia watches as a punishment for not revealing the secret location of the Rebel Alliance (as well as for Alderaan's support towards the Rebel Alliance). Darth Vader, who sided with the Empire, watches but does nothing to prevent Alderaan's destruction. Bail's absence from later sequels confirmed his death on Alderaan.

Bail does not appear in The Empire Strikes Back due to being deceased. While Bail is not mentioned directly in Return of the Jedi, the films expands upon some of his backstory from A New Hope, revealing Leia is not Bail's biological daughter. Instead Leia was adopted by Bail. Her biological father is Darth Vader, the fallen Jedi who had turned to the Dark Side; Anakin Skywalker. Leia's biological mother is mentioned but not given a name, nor a backstory.

Bail does not appear in the sequel trilogy. However, in The Last Jedi, set thirty-four years after A New Hope, he is mentioned when R2-D2 replays the hologram from A New Hope in an attempt to convince Luke Skywalker to help Leia and the newly formed Resistance.

The Phantom Menace[edit]

Adrian Dunbar was cast as Bail Organa for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and appeared in costume in publicity stills, but his scene was ultimately cut. The character was eventually re-cast with Jimmy Smits for later films. Dunbar's likeness was retconned into the appearance of the character Bail Antilles.[4][5]

Attack of the Clones[edit]

Jimmy Smits played Bail Organa in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and the anthology film Rogue One.

Released in 2002, and taking place twenty-two years before A New Hope, the film Attack of the Clones finally shows Bail Organa, depicting him as an influential senator of Alderaan. He participates in a discussion about the Separatist Crisis and Count Dooku that includes Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu. Chancellor Palpatine of Naboo suggests that fellow Senator from Naboo, Padmé Amidala, be put under the protection of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is training young Anakin Skywalker. After the Battle of Geonosis, Bail meets with Palpatine and other senators as the new army of clone troopers are preparing to enter wartime with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Revenge of the Sith[edit]

In Revenge of the Sith (2005), Bail is thankful to Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker for defeating Dooku and saving Chancellor Palpatine in the Battle of Coruscant. Stumbling upon a clone trooper attack on the Jedi temple, Bail escapes to warn other Jedi that their order is under attack, saving Yoda and Obi-Wan in the process. Chancellor Palpatine reforms the democratic Republic into the tyrannical Galactic Empire with himself as the Emperor. After Yoda fails to kill Palpatine in a duel, Bail manages to help the Jedi escape. He and his wife, Queen Breha, adopt Padmé's daughter, Leia, to hide the child from her biological father, Anakin, who has become the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Rogue One[edit]

In the 2016 prequel film Rogue One, set directly before A New Hope, Bail is present at a meeting of the Rebel Alliance on Yavin 4 to discuss the new Imperial superweapon, the Death Star. Mon Mothma asks Bail to bring Obi-Wan out of hiding on Tatooine, and he decides to assign one of his most trusted agents to the task: his daughter Leia. He goes to wait Leia's arrival on his home planet Alderaan.

Television[edit]

The Clone Wars (2008–2014)[edit]

Bail Organa also appears in the CGI animated series The Clone Wars, voiced by Phil LaMarr.

Rebels[edit]

Bail is made aware of the Rebel cell on Lothal in the 2014 series premiere "Droids in Distress," and later sends a small fleet of frigates to aid in their escape in the season 1 finale, "Fire Across the Galaxy". He periodically reappears to send supplies and assign missions to the crew of the Ghost. In the 2017 episode "Twin Suns," it is revealed that though Bail had publicly confirmed Obi-Wan's death, the Jedi is actually alive and in hiding on Tatooine.

Video games[edit]

Bail appears in the 2008 video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. He is captured by Maris Brood on the planet of Felucia, after going after Jedi Master Shaak Ti. Unbeknownst to Bail, Shaak Ti was killed by the Sith assassin, Starkiller. Starkiller eventually becomes the one to rescue Bail as he creates a group of rebels, per instruction from Darth Vader. Bail is once again voiced by Jimmy Smits on this occasion.

Comics[edit]

Bail appears briefly in flashbacks, in the 2015 Marvel Comics miniseries Princess Leia.

Novels[edit]

Bail appears in the 2017 novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan, in which his daughter Leia discovers that he is secretly involved in a rebellion against the Empire. He also appears briefly in the 2016 novel Ahsoka.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Star Wars by George Lucas (Rough Draft)". Starkiller: The Jedi Bendu Script Site. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  2. ^ Sterling, Christopher H. (2010). The Concise Encyclopedia of Radio. Routledge. ISBN 0-203-86355-0. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  3. ^ Robinson, Will (August 5, 2016). "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Jimmy Smits confirms he has a cameo". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  4. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u83irHK2JA
  5. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/aug/14/news2

External links[edit]

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