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

[Set Harth]

I suspect that because of the Leia situation it will become even more apparent that they killed off Han too soon. And for what?

 

[Venardhi]

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.

Constraints are fuel for creativity.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

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.

It all depends on what the nature or intention of the scenes are. In the case of a potential Leia/Kylo redemption, one would be hard-pressed to replace her with someone else and have the interaction retain any significance. One could argue that Luke could take over, since his being the new Jedi master might be meaningful in pulling Kylo back to the light (or killing him, as the case may be).

I'm still all for the CGI Leia. One must admit, Fisher's odd lip job / plastic surgery didn't do much to make her expressions look "normal" in TFA.

 

[The Wormhole]

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.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but did Carrie Fisher have any serious health issues when she agreed to be in TFA? Or any health issues at all? There is no reason to expect someone in their late 50s or 60s to be in danger of dying especially if you're just basing it off their lifestyle in their younger days. Also, are you seriously suggesting that an actor in their 50s or 60s should be denied work because of mistakes they made in their 20s? How is that even remotely fair?

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.

The point is, there is no "risk factor" in casting Carrie Fisher in these movies. No one at Disney or Lucasfilm had any reason to believe it a possibility she could die anymore than they have a reason to believe any actor in the movie could die.

 

[Jedman67]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but did Carrie Fisher have any serious health issues when she agreed to be in TFA? Or any health issues at all? There is no reason to expect someone in their late 50s or 60s to be in danger of dying especially if you're just basing it off their lifestyle in their younger days. Also, are you seriously suggesting that an actor in their 50s or 60s should be denied work because of mistakes they made in their 20s? How is that even remotely fair?

The point is, there is no "risk factor" in casting Carrie Fisher in these movies. No one at Disney or Lucasfilm had any reason to believe it a possibility she could die anymore than they have a reason to believe any actor in the movie could die.

I think he was saying that the substance abuse she went through when she was younger took a toll on her body, essentially aging her prematurely and in that respect it wasn't unusual for Disney to take an insurance policy on her.
One of my childhood friends lost his father weeks after his own wedding, the dad was maybe a little overweight and perhaps not in the greatest shape but overall pretty healthy in his 50's. He had a heart attack and that was it.

Personally, I think that her completed scenes in VIII should be kept, and give Leia a suitable death in the beginning of IX. A little bit of CG to supplement and stunt doubles is fine.

 

[marillion]

Plus, after all these years, still a smoker and that, compounded with the substance abuse when she was younger, makes one very susceptible to heart problems...

 

[The Wormhole]

I think he was saying that the substance abuse she went through when she was younger took a toll on her body, essentially aging her prematurely and in that respect it wasn't unusual for Disney to take an insurance policy on her.
One of my childhood friends lost his father weeks after his own wedding, the dad was maybe a little overweight and perhaps not in the greatest shape but overall pretty healthy in his 50's. He had a heart attack and that was it.

There are still no guarantees anyway. I've heard stories about people who lived the healthiest lifestyle, ate all the right foods and exercised on a regular basis who ended up having fatal heart attacks in their forties and others who went through a good deal of substance abuse in their 20s and 30s and made it to their 80s. You really shouldn't expect someone who is 60 to be likely to drop dead because of something from their past.

 

[Solariabsg25]

There is no certainty anywhere when it comes to people's health. By all the laws of healthy living, Keith Richards should be long gone! My grandfather died at age 92, and he smoked 40 cigarettes a day from the age of about ten. My ex-wife's uncle was in great health, a non-smoker, was physically active as he was a soccer referee, and died just past 40 of a heart attack.

 

[Jedman67]

There are still no guarantees anyway. I've heard stories about people who lived the healthiest lifestyle, ate all the right foods and exercised on a regular basis who ended up having fatal heart attacks in their forties and others who went through a good deal of substance abuse in their 20s and 30s and made it to their 80s. You really shouldn't expect someone who is 60 to be likely to drop dead because of something from their past.

Right. Increased risk is no guarantee of anything.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Looks like Disney wants to go the CGI route...

"And in what might be regarded as unseemly haste, Disney is negotiating with the actor's estate over her continued appearance in the franchise. If Disney gets the go-ahead, Carrie Fisher will join Peter Cushing..."

it was reported that Treverrow was meeting with Lucasfilm and Disney about a massive Star Wars 9 rewrite, which could also affect Star Wars 8 moving forward. Leia is said to have a bigger role in Episode 8, which was supposed to expand in Star Wars 9. The story has to be rewritten now to account for Fisher's untimely passing. That is, unless Disney and the Fisher estate can come to some kind of agreement.

Possible spoilers from here on...

Spoiler: Leia's role in 8 and 9.

There are two key scenes for General Leia Organa that are spread between Star Wars 8 and Star Wars 9. The first of which features a reunion between Leia and her twin brother Luke Skywalker. This scene, or at least part of it, was already shot. The second key scene involves Leia coming face to face with Kylo Ren. If a CG stand-in for Leia is not an option, some or all of Leia's scenes may be cut from Star Wars 8 so that the story can continue in Star Wars 9. There is heavily speculation that the reunion between Luke and Leia comes in the final moments of Star Wars 8, with that being the final scene. If that is the case, and Leia doesn't return via Motion Capture, this moment will most likely be excised from the movie for the simple fact that they won't be able to continue it in the next chapter.

 

[Venardhi]

Cushing was bad enough and all they needed it to do was smirk and snarl. Can you imagine actually being expected to react emotionally to one of these digital abominations?

 

[The Wormhole]

I'd really prefer recasting, but I'm not surprised they're planning to go with CG duplicate. And so begins the slippery slope...

 

[Gaith]

I think the one thing we can all agree on is the need for an in-film Charlie Puth/Wiz Khalifa song/montage.

 

[Mudd]

Movieweb is click-bait.


StarWars.com, OTOH...

We don’t normally respond to fan or press speculation, but there is a rumor circulating that we would like to address. We want to assure our fans that Lucasfilm has no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher’s performance as Princess or General Leia Organa.

Carrie Fisher was, is, and always will be a part of the Lucasfilm family. She was our princess, our general, and more importantly, our friend. We are still hurting from her loss. We cherish her memory and legacy as Princess Leia, and will always strive to honor everything she gave to Star Wars.

Because they're not idiots...

 

[Set Harth]

Lucasfilm has no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher’s performance as Princess

Other than

Spoiler

in Rogue One where they already did that?

 

[Mudd]

Yeah, I think they figured we already knew that...

And something about the alacrity with which they put down this rumor suggests that they've picked up a lot of negative vibes about what they did.

 

[The Wormhole]

Other than

Spoiler

in Rogue One where they already did that?

Shh, you're ruining the moment.

 

[Mudd]

That would be the moment you fell for a Movieweb article?

 

[Samurai8472]

Lucasfilm has announced they have no plans to have a CGI Leia for Episode IX:

http://www.superherohype.com/news/3...-to-digitally-recreate-carrie-fisher#/slide/1

 

[Venardhi]