'Star Wars' Braintrust Plots Leia's Life After Carrie Fisher's Death

According to Wikipedia, he'll be in both The Last Jedi and episode 9. However, he will not be appearing in the upcoming Han Solo standalone film. Joonas Suotano will be a full-timer for that one.
Peter Mayhew - Wikipedia

 

Yes he did.

 

I'd prefer a recast. The script is the thing and if the braintrust tries to make major changes to the already-envisioned story arc then the VII/VIII/IX trilogy could end with a dud. I'm glad Disney/LucasFilm has already shot down the CGI idea. One Leia shot in Rogue1 was fine, but not an extended CGI version of a major character.

Debra Winger's the right age and Stevie Nicks has a very similar face (though she's 68). Carrie's daughter Billie Lourd is only 24, and half-sister Joely Fisher doesn't resemble Carrie very much.

 

Except for the fact that she's not an actor. Even if she was a dead ringer for Fisher (which she isn't... I don't see as much of a resemblance as others here seem to) then it would still be a big mistake to try putting an amateur into the role.

 

The outrage from a recast will be worse than the stink the nerds kicked up over the prequels. It won't happen.

 

I don't know. We are talking for episode 9 which won't hit theaters for another 2 plus years. I think right now it's still fresh in everyone's mind since it's only been a few months. Give it a couple years and it may not be as emotional. I think the wrong thing to do is to chart of the story based off of the unavailability of an actor. The story should be the priority, not the actors playing the role. I personally think Carrie would have wanted the story to come first.

 

Meh, Nicks acts up a storm on stage for whole tours. She hasn't killed Lindsey Buckingham (yet), for example. And it's not like the role of Leia requires great acting chops - just presence. She can deliver that.

But I don't think they'll go the recast route, except maybe for a flashback, or if the story picks up with an elderly Leia at some point. That's a possibility.

 

Playing Leia isn't Shakespeare, but it requires some basic competence as an actor. As far as I know, Nicks' only acting experience is an appearance on American Horror Story, and she came across pretty wooden on there despite the fact that she was playing herself. Besides which, as I said, I don't see that much of a facial resemblance between her and Fisher.

I think Nicks acting would turn out about as well as Fisher singing:

 

Disney CEO Bob Iger:
"When we bought Lucasfilm, we were going to make three films, Episodes VII, VIII and IX. We had to deal tragedy at the end of 2016. Carrie appears throughout VIII. We are not changing VIII to deal with her passing. Her performance remains as it is in VIII. In Rogue One, we had some digital character. We are not doing that with Carrie."
Leia's Role in Star Wars 8 Will Remain Unchanged

 

What about Carrie's voice? Will it have to be dubbed by another actress? She may have finished all filming, but I don't know if she finished all post-production re-voicing.

 

Here's an update on Carrie in Episode VIII from Bob Iger's recent interview in Variety: Bob Iger Reveals ‘Star Wars’ Han Solo Spinoff Details, Talks Plans After ‘Episode IX’

"At the conference, where he also confirmed that he’s “definitely” leaving in 2019, he said he has seen Episode 8, “The Last Jedi,” and addressed how the company is handling the death of Carrie Fisher, who appears extensively in the film.

“We are not changing ‘8’ to deal with her passing. Her performance remains as it was in ‘8,’” he said. “In ‘Rogue One’, we created digitally a few characters… We’re not doing that with Carrie.”"

 

Glad to hear not changing story least not for ep 8, 9 remains to be seen

 

According to Carrie's brother Todd, Carrie will appear in Episode 9 using previously shot footage. No CGI will be used.
Carrie Fisher Will Return as Leia in Star Wars 9 Without CGI

 

It'll be hard to put new words in her mouth or have her do new action that will fit the new screenplay. I think they're struggling to find a way to make it work.

 

They could get the guys from Bad Lip Reading! They do wonders!

 

And the part of Princess Leia will now be played by...Minnie Mouse!

Or she can be just a Force shadow like those last bits of Obi-Wan in the original movie. OR after the megaflop of Ghost In The Shell maybe Scarlett Johansson would be interested. Or Winona Ryder, if they promise to let her steal 2 props per day.

 

Despite an earlier report to the contrary, it has been confirmed by Kathleen Kennedy that Carrie Fisher will not be appearing in Episode 9.

"We finished everything [with Leia] in Eight, and Carrie is absolutely phenomenal in the movie. And we're so happy that we were able to complete shooting in the summer. Unfortunately, Carrie passed away. So, by the time we were well underway with Episode Nine, in our thoughts we had not written the script yet. But we've regrouped. We started over again in January, so, sadly, Carrie will not be in Nine."
Carrie Fisher Will Not Return as Leia in Star Wars 9

 

Next ‘Star Wars’ to use old footage of late Carrie Fisher

 

Lucas already made that mistake with the first film of the Prequels.

 

Who, Jake Lloyd? If I'm not mistaken, Jake Lloyd was an established child actor at the time, having been in Jingle All The Way prior to TPM.

 

Proving that in Hollywood, anything is subject to change. Especially if creative people are involved.

I would bet at the time Kathy Kennedy said this, it really was agreed that Carrie Fisher would not be in any subsequent Star Wars films. But it's fair to say that writer/director J.J. Abrams found a way to sell that idea and change the studio execs' minds.

 

And I'm glad that J.J. Abrams found a way for Carrie to make it into Episode IX. Having Leia survive Episode IX and fly off into the sunset would be a beautiful and fitting tribute to Carrie. It wouldn't surprise me if Leia is the last character onscreen before the end credits roll.

 

I tend to doubt that because I don't think they have enough footage to work with, and there'd be long stretches (like 30-40 minutes) where she couldn't be in the movie at all. My bet is she's in the first few minutes and then her character is killed off-camera.

On the other hand: J.J. Abrams is a guy who loves mysteries and riddles, so maybe it's not so surprising that he would choose the most difficult possible solution and find a way to change the plot of Episode IX and shove Fisher's previously-shot scenes in the story in a way that somehow makes sense. You gotta admire him for just the sheer chutzpah in trying to pull this off.