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

[Tallguy]

Also, there's no way in hell LF would recast that part.

I really fail to see why this is such a roadblock.

Leia is a character. Leia didn't die. Carrie did.

I would rather have seen Carrie finish the movie, yes. But she can't. So given that I'm already sad about her death, it will make me sadder to see Leia's story get cut off.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Kylo's whole arc in TLJ is that he doesn't *want* to be redeemed. He's not some tragic figure like Anakin who turned to evil out of fear and desperation. He did what he did because that's what he wanted. He's a vicious, selfish little gobshite because that's what he's chosen to be.

Yeah, Luke lost control, followed his instincts, and ignited his lightsaber over Ben while Ben was sleeping because Luke felt the evil in Ben that was already thriving.

Also, Leia believes that she has lost her son. That has to count for something.

 

[publiusr]

Even if Carrie Fisher were alive today and in good health, I still would have liked to have seen her pass the torch to Laura Dern's character, with Leia plowing the Raddus into the Supremacy.

That was a missed opportunity in a lot of ways.

 

[DigificWriter]

If Carrie were still alive, Episode IX would be Leia's 'story' as told through Rey's eyes.

Rian and Kathy briefly considered finding a way to alter TLJ's ending in December of 2016 following Carrie's death, but ultimately decided against it, as I have noted previously, because they felt that erasing or altering Carrie's final performance would have been disrespectful to both her memory and her fans and that leaving said performance as it was would be the best possible way to honor her legacy.

 

[The Wormhole]

Why did Vader sacrifice himself for Luke when he was more or less the ruler of the galaxy, and got off Force choking the crap out of people? It's the Star Wars formula!

Because Luke was his son, who he actually gave a damn about. Keep in mind, it is the belief that Padme died with her unborn child that more or less solidified Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, he truly feels he no longer has anything to live for. The upon learning he does in fact have a son, he has new purpose in his life, and seeing the Emperor trying to take that away finally pushes him over the edge.

We don't have that with Kylo Ren. He basically is a selfish douche who is now the supreme leader of the entire galaxy. And while he may be squeamish about being the one who pulls the trigger to kill his mother, he does not have any reason to turn his back on all his accomplishments and sacrifice himself to save her. There's no redemption to be had here.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Even if Carrie Fisher were alive today and in good health, I still would have liked to have seen her pass the torch to Laura Dern's character, with Leia plowing the Raddus into the Supremacy.

That was a missed opportunity in a lot of ways.

I agree...there was like 6 months to experiment with edits to see if it really worked or felt bad...

 

[Set Harth]

Even if Carrie Fisher were alive today and in good health, I still would have liked to have seen her pass the torch to Laura Dern's character, with Leia plowing the Raddus into the Supremacy.

That was a missed opportunity in a lot of ways.

But then we'd have no Luke and Leia scene in the ST at all.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

But then we'd have no Luke and Leia scene in the ST at all.

Yup. That would blow.

 

[Reverend]

By this point in production they had already decided that Episode IX would give Leia the attention Han and Luke got in VII & VIII respectively. So why would they be exploring that angle in post? Also "passing the torch" makes no sense thematically when the person receiving said torch is a contemporary. Add to that the fact that the person who's clearly being set up as Leia's successor is Poe.
Plus it's not something you can just edit in. It would require re-shooting multiple scenes with almost all of the principal cast and wildly restructuring and rewriting the entire third act *and* loose some of Fisher's best performances ever.

 

[LJones41]

Kylo's whole arc in TLJ is that he doesn't *want* to be redeemed. He's not some tragic figure like Anakin who turned to evil out of fear and desperation. He did what he did because that's what he wanted. He's a vicious, selfish little gobshite because that's what he's chosen to be.

So no, he most likely won't be redeemed in Episode IX.

Personally, I'm not really invested in the idea of redemption for Kylo Ren. But . . . there is a chance that J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy might go this route anyway.


So . . . is it official that Lucasfilm will use footage of Carrie Fisher for Leia's role in "Episode IX"? Did she shoot footage for that movie? I could have sworn that "The Last Jedi" was the last movie featuring footage of her.

 

[fireproof78]

Depends on what footage they have left.

I mean, if they can resurrect Red Leader and Gold Leader for Rogue One...

 

[ALF]

Kathleen Kennedy was crystal clear on this right after Carrie Fisher died. No replacement CGI whatsoever. Todd Fisher, Carrie's brother, told the media right after she died that she'd be in 9 and the week after that Kathleen debunked it. It was widely circulated in the media at the time.

https://futurism.media/carrie-fishe...rms-no-cgi-and-no-extra-the-last-jedi-footage

http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/st...pisode-9-director-general-leia-carrie-fisher/

http://www.slashfilm.com/no-carrie-fisher-in-star-wars-episode-9/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...rrie-fisher-will-not-appear-episode-ix-994204

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/04/carrie-fisher-not-in-star-wars-episode-9

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...fisher-not-in-star-wars-episode-ix/100486934/

The real proof in the pudding here is the also widely reported news that 9 needed a major rewrite to deal with CF's death after the emotional impact had subsided. KK used the phrase "starting over," IIRC. Why go through all the trouble to re-write around Leia and then recast or CGI her? It doesn't add up.

This is also my theory as to why Colin Trevorrow left the project: he dug in his heels and insisted Episode 9 should still feature Leia's story resolution and The Mouse (speaking through Kathleen Kennedy) said 'no.'

 

[DigificWriter]

So . . . is it official that Lucasfilm will use footage of Carrie Fisher for Leia's role in "Episode IX"?

No; in fact, it's been confirmed that they will not be recreating her likeness via CGI or using archive footage of her to continue her character's story.

Leia's time in the Saga passed with Carrie's death.

 

[Set Harth]

This is also my theory as to why Colin Trevorrow left the project: he dug in his heels and insisted Episode 9 should still feature Leia's story resolution and The Mouse (speaking through Kathleen Kennedy) said 'no.'

Somewhere I heard a rumor that it was because he wanted them to change Luke dying in VIII, and they wouldn't budge. Allegedly both Trevorrow and Hamill wanted Luke to make it through the end of VIII alive, and I can't disagree.

 

[DigificWriter]

As a bit of clarification, Todd Fisher, Carrie's brother, didn't say that his sister's likeness would be recreated for Episode IX; what he said is that he and her daughter Billie had authorized Lucasfilm to do so if they wanted to.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Keep as much of her material from VIII as possible while still giving the character an "out." From there some creative editing, a few new lines of dialogue from behind or at a distance from someone who sounds like her, etc. can close the book on the character with some semblance of respect.

I don't want to see Leia unless it is Fisher, no matter how convincing the animation. That goes for all of them.

I would rather they continue Leia with Meryl Streep or any other actress in the same age range (perhaps Marissa Tomei or Sharon Stone using a wig to disguise her blonde hair.)

Now if they do decide to go ahead and have Leia in Episode 9 anyway, I would prefer recasting. Honestly, I'm used to squinting and pretending recast characters are the same anyway. And to be honest, I found CG Tarkin kind of freaky.

I agree-I think that they should have cast Wayne Pygram (Scorpius from Farscape) as Tarkin again (he played him at the end of Revenge Of The Sith.)

Also recreating dead actors for movies is setting a dangerous precedent, IMO. Already we have criticisms about actors playing recast characters just doing imitations of the original actor and how it would be preferable to see an actor give their own take on the character. This especially is said about Karl Urban's portrayal of Dr. McCoy, though I personally disagree and think Urban's McCoy is one of the best things of the Abrams movies. Regardless, we also already have people saying they don't want the young Han Solo to imitate Harrison Ford, and this was one of the reasons many in this very forum gave against casting the guy who played a younger version of Ford's character in The Age of Adaline. Now whether or not an actor of a recast character should imitate the actor who came before them or go with their own take is an argument that has many pros and cons for both sides and ultimately the nature of the role and the film are the deciding factors. But I know I would rather watch an actual actor in the role, regardless of which decision they make rather than a CG duplicate of someone else.

I too also agree with this; if James Bond, Captain America, Superman, Batman, Sherlock Holmes, etc. can be recast, so should some other characters.

While I can understand getting the family's consent for using a CG duplicate, I don't see how it's their place to give permission for recasting. To be blunt, Carrie Fisher did not own the rights to Princess Leia the character. Her family has no input on recasting and Disney doesn't need to seek their permission to recast the character.

Again, I also agree, which is why (as I said before above) some other actress the same age as Carrie or slightly younger should take over as Leia. For movies about a younger Leia similar to Solo: A Star Wars Story, recasting with a younger actress should be done.

 

[The Wormhole]

The Mouse (speaking through Kathleen Kennedy)

That sentence becomes so awesome when you take it out of context.

 

[Set Harth]

any other actress in the same age range (perhaps Marissa Tomei or Sharon Stone using a wig to disguise her blonde hair.)

Tell me you're joking, that is the worst suggestion I've ever heard.

 

[ALF]

Somewhere I heard a rumor that it was because he wanted them to change Luke dying in VIII, and they wouldn't budge. Allegedly both Trevorrow and Hamill wanted Luke to make it through the end of VIII alive, and I can't disagree.

Wow. That's a really interesting rumor. Eventually, I think Hamill will tell us everything that went down BTS with 7-8-9 once the sequel trilogy is set in stone.

 

[Set Harth]

I'd like to know why the planned making-of-TFA book by Rinzler was killed.

Call me cynical but it's like there's stuff they don't want us to know.