Carrie Fisher started off her acting career by playing Princess Leia in the blockbuster film Star Wars. Who would have ever thought that Star Wars would be her first film, and her last film. Fisher was able to finish filming her role of General Leia Organa in Episode VIII before she died. Her death was a shock to  fans of Star Wars. With that shock, a thought also came to a lot of fans. What was going to happen in final two installments of the Skywalker saga? At the moment, Episode VII will not be changed by her death, but Episode IX might need some drastic changes.

 The original plan was to have Fisher in each film of the new trilogy. She even had a contract for three films with Disney and Lucasfilm. From what producers have stated, it sounds like the final two films would have revolved around Luke and Leia. Now with Fisher gone, something would have to be changed with the final film of the new trilogy. There are a lot of possible decisions that the writers could follow through with. The only problem is being able to figure out which choice would be best for the films and the character.

  The simplest decision would be to recast Leia in the film, and the only problem with that would be that no one could really ever see that new actress as Leia. The recast would also need to be someone that would work well with the cast and as character. The audience would need to be able to believe  that it is the real Leia, but just that she looks different. The actress for the recast would also need to look close to what Carrie Fisher looked like.

  The best, but more expensive way to still include Leia in the final film would be to make a CGI version of her. For those who have seen Rogue One, viewers witnessed a cgi version of Grand Moff Tarkin and a young Princess Leia. After seeing those cgi characters, a cgi older Leia would still work in the movie. The only thing is that viewers can always tell that it’s fake, and some believe that it’s ethically wrong to recreate a deceased actor or actress. Scenes of Leia would also need to be condensed due to the costs and time to make a cgi character look accurate.

  The most difficult decision would be to completely remove Leia from the film. This would cause a possible change in plot and story of the final film. They could have her someplace else or even have her killed off in the beginning. They could possibly even film scenes for Episode VIII to feature why Leia will not be present in the next film. For all we know, we may not even ever see the original version of the film.

  Carrie Fisher had changed the lives of the viewers of Star Wars. Her death has hit quite a few people. It was an event that no one thought would happen at her age. She changed not just one world, but a whole galaxy that could be seen on a big screen. Without her, we can never truly have Princess Leia again.