What we know about Leia in next movie
The Star Wars princess is now a general onscreen
The last time we saw Carrie Fisher onscreen, she was a general. In Star Wars: The Force Awak
ens, it was Leia’s loss of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) we were grieving. But when Star Wars: Episode
VIII hits theaters Dec. 15, 2017, fans will be aching for Fisher, who died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack during a flight four days earlier.
The Force remains tight-lipped about Fisher’s role in the saga’s upcoming installments. For now, few details are available about how the actress figures into the as-yet-untitled Episode VIII,
though Fisher had completed her scenes for the film, which wrapped up shooting in July.
USA TODAY has reached out to Disney and Lucasfilm for comment.
The Force Awakens, seen as a “little bit of a victory lap” for the original cast, left Leia as a pivotal character, says Scott Huver, contributing writer for Moviefone.com. What is known about Episode VIII is that the main players of
The Force Awakens — including Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) — will have their stories continue under writer/director Rian Johnson.
“We know that the movie is supposed to be darker than The
Force Awakens in its tone,” says Huver. “I would assume we should anticipate an onscreen reunion between Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Leia, given that he’s going to be more prominent in Episode VIII.”
But what isn’t known “is whether or not they had planned to put her in Episode IX as well, or if she had signed to do future
Star Wars movies,” says Erik Da- vis, managing editor for Fandango.com and Movies.com.
After a brief cameo (spoiler alert!) in the new standalone movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Leia plays a larger role in
Episode VIII, Deadline reports. And it’s no small plot point that “the villain in the movie is still her son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) that she had with Han Solo,” Davis adds. “If they have a confrontation at all, you imagine that could be a pretty big one.”
It remains to be seen if reshoots or script rewrites will take place for Episode VIII or IX.
“She’s (Princess Leia) taken control of the Rebels, she’s a general, she’s very much a leader.” Erik Davis, managing editor for Fandango.com and Movies.com