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The Bantha in the room--Leia's role in Episode IX

"Tempt fate"? Carrie Fisher was 60, Mark Hamill is 65. While it's not uncommon for people to die at that age, it is also very common for people to live much longer. You're talking as though they approached actors in their mid to late 90s who had known health problems that could die any day now and committed them to three movies over the next six years. By your logic, even a young and healthy actor in their 20s is "at risk" as you never know when they could have an unfortunate accident.

Exactly. You have many actors who passed in their prime like Anton, James Dean, River Phoenix and Heath Ledger, let alone people like Paul Walker or Brandon Lee who died midway through filming.

Hell, going back to the Original Trilogy, Empire Strikes Back had small re-writes to take into account Hamill's injuries he suffered in an accident.
 
I'd be tempted to rewrite slightly and hold some of Carries parts over to SW9 and also mine deleted scenes and outtakes for footage. Use a little (as little as possible) C.G. and stand-ins to expand her presence in 8 and 9 and keep her in that way.

Use as much as possible of the real Carrie.
 
^Yeah, just look at Anton Yelchin.

Oh, I didn't realize that.

Yeah, it was when they were discussing Finn's disobedience:

Force Awakens Script said:
GENERAL HUX
My men are exceptionally trained --
programmed from birth--

KYLO REN
Then they should have no problem
retrieving the droid. Unharmed.

GENERAL HUX
Careful, Ren. That your "personal
interests" not interfere with orders
from Leader Snoke.

KYLO REN
I want that map. For your sake, I
suggest you get it.
 
Obi-wan called Darth Vader, "Darth" during their duel. Most Imperials called him his full name, Vader, or Lord Vader.
 
We also as the keep this scene (below) in Episode VIII as planned I will be happy.

Luke reuniting with Leia
 
Of course, Darth was his name at the time. One of the few bits of Lucasian retcon that doesn't bother me in the slightest.
 
That's Jeff Vader, that is...

(sorry... involuntary reaction when discussing Vader's name)...

What, Jeff Vader, runs the Death Star??

Of course, Darth was his name at the time. One of the few bits of Lucasian retcon that doesn't bother me in the slightest.

IIRC Darth wasn't used as a title instead of a name on-screen until the Phantom Menace wasn't it? But it still fits, Obi Wan could easily be retconned into using Darth as a derogative. And it does also fit into the narrative that at this point Obi Wan has completely given up on Anakin's redemption and accepts that his friend is truly lost.
 
You have to look back to the decision JJ made to give the OT actors a major role in the new films. This included to sending Carrie and Mark to boot-camp to drop weight.

They knew that there was a liability in doing this, hence the big insurance rider on Carrie Fisher that is now being exercised. They chose to accept the risk.

In retrospect maybe what they should have done is not tempt fate and find a way to get the old actors to pass the torch off to the new ones by the end of Force Awakens. Instead they chose only to do this for Harrison Ford (which probably was largely economically motivated based on the astronomical sum I heard he got for that one film).

They used Luke as a tease, bringing him onto the screen only at the very end of Force Awakens. Leia's role "expanding" for 8 and 9 also falls into that pattern of sort of teasing the audience with a carrot

Really, it all boils down to a case of sentimentality for the OT blinding the studio to prudent risk-management and now they're going to have to pay a heavy price in retconning the script around Carrie's death.

So older folks shouldn't have movies revolve around them because they may die? That is a pretty fucked up way of thinking things should be done.
 
I don't have strong feelings regarding recast/digital either way, however, if it was me, I would leave the next episode alone since shooting is completed and simply rewrite the third film to minimize Lea. At that point, I'd try to use creative direction and CG Carrie Fisher only where necessary.

Regarding CG, I definitely don't see it as an issue in this case for one major reason. We don't have to guess at Carrie's wishes, nor take her family's word regarding her beliefs. Carrie herself planned to film the three new movies. As long as the family is still paid, I have a hard time believing that Carrie would suddenly be opposed to having her likeness in the third film.

Incidentally, I don't think re-casting is necessarily disrespectful either (and probably much less so that CGing, say John Wayne or Alec Guinness years after their passing). Perhaps this is because I think of films like plays. We aren't disrespecting the original cast when we see a new adaptation of a play, nor when an actor gets sick and we watch the understudy. Even in films, actors go to casting calls knowing that they won't "own" the role or have some exclusive right to be the only one to ever play the character. It's certainly more difficult immediately after an actor's death such as in this case, but hardly an insult to a prior cast member.
 
Wasn't it Chad Vader?

No.. You're thinking of Mr. Stevens.. Head of Catering..

On topic...

I am torn... I don't want fake Leia grabbing much screen time in Ep. IX.. Just doesn't seem right.. She's too integral to the story and I feel it would be a personal disservice to Carrie.. Just my personal opinion.. Some kind of split between leftover footage, cleverly concealed body double for far away shots and maybe some limited CGI.. Just PLEASE give her a heroic death befitting the character and the actress..
 
I'm a bit torn as well, but if Leia is important to the story then I say recast for IX. I'd rather see the story as it was meant to be told, with a new actress, instead of trying to make it work after the fact. I don't want to see Leia get a half-baked send off.
 
The notion that losing excess weight endangers the life of a healthy person in their sixties is truly bizarre and based on...absolutely nothing.

Fisher's history of substance abuse would be a far more likely contributing factor to her early death. There's no particular reason thus far to think that it is, but certainly the possibility can be defended based on medical science and experience - whereas the "oh noes they had to lose weight" proposition is not.

That history, BTW, is also a frequent reason for a studio to require unusually high insurance on an actor.

Leia should just be written out of the next movie. Proposals to CG her are ghoulish, selfish and not particularly well-informed.
 
"Tempt fate"? Carrie Fisher was 60

With all due respect, because of the rock-star like abuse she subjected herself to, Carrie's body was a good 15-20+ years older than her chronological age. Anyone could see that in her face, or hear it in the way her voice sounded like a senior citizen. Nobody should have been shocked that she died young.

The risk-factor of casting her was way above someone who suffered a freak accident like Anton Yelchin in Star Trek. So the comparison between the two is apples and oranges.
 
It's not the best example in the world, but when we lost Philip Seymour Hoffman they managed to finish his parts of Mockingjay by giving his final key scene to Woody Harrelson and otherwise have his character smirking in the background via already-shot footage. It stuck out, but not so much so as to detract from the overall film.

Leia is far more pivotal to Star Wars than Plutarch Heavensbee was to Hunger Games though, but I'd think they'd consider this sort of scenario as well. If they were to give the scenes to someone else, I hope they can establish WHY she wouldn't be part of those scenes. There's still time to add reshoots to VIII, so if they can plan it out, perhaps they can lay some seeds in the immediate next film such that her absence in IX (beyond her smirking in the background) isn't so jarring.

Jar-Jar was a pivotal character in Phatom, but by the end of Revenge he was silent at a funeral - and lots of us figure that his role WAS reduced due to his unpopularity. If they end up doing something along those lines (and for completely different reasons) for Leia, and manage to do it organically (also laying reason for it in VIII, as mentioned), I'd be satisfied.

And no, I don't want to lose a single frame of Carrie Fisher in the final product.

Mark
 
They're making it up as they go along. There is no "meant to be told," just the end result.
I think they had a pretty good idea what they were doing post VIII, and I'd rather see what the outcome was most likely to be instead of a rewrite that could possibly make for an awkward story.
 
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