Carrie Fisher’s death at the end of 2016 was tragic and unexpected.
In the years since her star turn as Princess Leia in Star Wars, she had become an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness, a script doctor for some of the biggest movies in Hollywood and a beloved character who never stopped finding ways to surprise us and make us laugh.
Everyone is still trying to come to terms with this unexpected loss, but with Leia expected to play a major role in both Episode VIII and Episode IX, Disney is faced with some tough decisions regarding the character.
This week, The Hollywood Reporter learned from insiders with knowledge of the situation that Leia was set to appear in “at least two key scenes are planned for Episode VIII and Episode IX.” One of those scenes would be a reunion with her brother, Luke Skywalker, and the other would be a confrontation with her son, Kylo Ren. It’s unclear which scene was meant to appear in which film.
Either way, the insiders say that Fisher’s role would have been even more significant in Episode IX than in Episode VIII, which means that she will either have to be written out of the third movie in the trilogy, or recreated with CGI, as a few classic characters were in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story late last year.
Colin Trevorrow, Episode IX’s director, is reportedly heading to Los Angeles next week to discuss potential solutions with Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy. Providing Episode IX sticks to its 2019 release date, the movie likely won’t begin shooting until 2018 anyway, so the studio has time to mull its options.
