The kiss between Luke and Leia in Star Wars feels quite uncomfortable in hindsight, knowing that they are actually siblings. However, George Lucas had a good reason for the decision to make them brother and sister later on.
What is the relationship between Luke and Leia in Star Wars? The two are siblings, which they discover in the third film of the series, Return of the Jedi. Prior to that, however, there had been a strong chemistry between them, all signs pointed to a love triangle where Luke and Han Solo were vying for the princess’s affection.
In Episode V, the infamous kiss between the siblings even occurs, with Leia trying to make Han Solo jealous. In retrospect, the scene feels extremely uncomfortable, but at that time, even George Lucas himself did not know that Luke and Leia were actually brother and sister.
“I had it right in front of my nose”
What was the reason? George Lucas made the two siblings when he got stuck at a certain point in the plot: Luke needed the necessary motivation to give everything in the battle against Darth Vader and to be tempted by the dark side of the Force.
Lucas explains this in the Annotated Screenplays from 1997:
Finally, I had a problem in the fight between Luke and his father, which is why [Luke] finally turns to the dark side and tries to kill his father. [Director Richard Marquand] tried to fade out the fight between Luke and Vader, and we got to this point below the throne room, and he said, “You know, the script says that Vader says something that angers Luke,” or something vague like that. […] And we didn’t have the actual moment we needed, where it feels like Luke is holding back. He will not fight him. […] He would rather die, but then something causes him to fight. […] And as we further developed the script and worked out Leia’s significance as sister, I had it right in front of my nose, and it became obvious that it would provoke Luke if she turned to the dark side.
During the fight beneath the throne room, Luke finally unleashed his anger and went after Vader, whom he actually wanted to save. The scene made it plausible that Luke could fall to the dark side, but ultimately shows his heroism by resisting his dark desires.
However, with their incestuous kiss, Luke and Leia are not alone in the “Star Wars” universe. The family tree of Rey and Kylo Ren from the newer films should also be looked at more closely – that’s exactly what Filmstarts has done.
Overall, the original Star Wars trilogy is known for some ideas developing over time and repeatedly throwing existing plans out the window: Star Wars: Master Yoda was almost not created – Another Jedi was supposed to take his place
