Bingowings said:
It would be nice to have an Asian lead character in there seeing as so much of the inspiration for the series came from the Orient.
This, to me, has been one of the supreme ironies of Star Wars for quite a while now.
I don't think there's even a single Asian extra in the OT, and I can count on one finger the number of Asian characters in the prequels (Bultar Swan).
On the Latin side of things, I think George always intended Alderaan to be the Mexico of that Galaxy Far, Far Away. From Wookieepedia:
George Lucas commented the hairstyle in Time magazine: "In the 1977 film, I was working very hard to create something different that wasn't fashion, so I went with a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look, which is what that is. The buns are basically from turn-of-the-century Mexico."[124]
Also, let's not forget that when George was making the original '77 film, he may very well have intended Leia to be Bail Organa's biological daughter and not his adopted daughter. It could just be a coincidence that Carrie Fisher has dark hair and dark eyes, but who knows?
Once we get to Clones and Sith, we've got Jimmy Smits playing Bail Organa. One of his senatorial aides was also hispanic, but I can't remember the character or actress' name.