Disney grapples with absence of Leia
Carrie Fisher’s unexpected death has left a gaping hole in the Star Wars universe.
But it has also left a huge question mark as to how the creative team behind Episode IX (which is due in 2019) will address her General Leia character in the saga’s final instalment.
Fisher, who died Dec. 27 four days after going into cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles, had filmed her scenes for Episode VIII, but had not yet begun work on Episode IX.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, insiders have revealed that there were several sequences involving her character, including a reunion with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and a confrontation with her evil son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), set for Episode VIII and IX.
Episode IX is not scheduled to begin filming until early next year, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, director Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) is set to meet with Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy to address Leia’s fate.
Disney, which owns the Star Wars franchise, reportedly took out a US$50 million insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London in the event that Fisher was unable to fulfil her three-film deal, but if they were to digitally recreate Leia, the company will need to renegotiate a contract with the star’s estate.
CGI effects in Rogue One helped resurrect Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in several key scenes, as well as a younger Leia in the film’s closing shot, but would audiences accept a fully CG version of the character in Episode IX?
When Philip Seymour Hoffman died before completing his work on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2, director Francis Lawrence opted to change the script rather than use CGI.
The ending, in which Hoffman’s Head Gamemaker was supposed to console Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, was rewritten to include Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch Abernathy.
Trevorrow, who is writing Episode IX with Derek Connolly, still has time to rework the storyline to accommodate Leia’s absence.
But after seeing Cushing’s likeness in Rogue One, we’re betting Disney will resurrect Fisher’s iconic character for one or two moments.
Meanwhile, Fisher fans have started a Change.org petition online asking Disney to crown Leia as an official Disney Princess.
“After the tragic lose of Carrie Fisher, we feel that it is only fitting for Disney to do away with the rule that an official Disney princess must be animated,” the petition addressing Disney CEO Bob Iger reads.