After the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher, Disney must decide how to handle her absence from the franchise that immortalized her.
Carrie Fisher’s iconic Princess Leia, one of film’s most beloved heroines, had taken on the mantle of General in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, leading the Resistance forces against foes both old and new. Episode VIII director Colin Trevorrow was excited to see where the movies might take Leia and her twin, Luke Skywalker.
Fisher had only just finished filming her role in Episode VIII and appears as a digitized younger version of her character in the Rogue One spin off now playing in theaters. She was expected to play a key part in Episode IX, but it may take some digital Jedi mind tricks to bring her character to the screen.
Disney will be forced to either rewrite the ninth film, to digitize Fisher into the movie in a similar manner to Rogue One, or even recast the role. The last option would no doubt raise a furor among long-time fans, who would generally rather see her given a proper send-off. She could be represented by a virtual marionette — much the same way as Peter Cushing reprised his role as Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One, despite his death in 1994.
Thus far, Disney has declined to comment on whether or how she might appear in subsequent Star Wars movies.
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