Mark Hamill Comments On Recasting Leia In STAR WARS EPISODE IX And Talks Possible Force Ghost Appearance

Mark Hamill Comments On Recasting Leia In STAR WARS EPISODE IX And Talks Possible Force Ghost Appearance

Carrie Fisher's passing left a hole in both our lives and Star Wars. In a recent interview, Mark Hamill commented on the possibility of the role being recast and his own potential return as a force ghost.

By FromACertainPOV - Apr 04, 2018 12:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: Collider
When our princess and general, Carrie Fisher, tragically passed away in December of 2016 our sorrow at the loss of such an icon and human being was accompanied by uncertainty for the character she portrayed on screen. Fisher's passing came before the release of Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi and the decision was made not to alter that film so as to keep her beautiful final performance intact. 

This meant, however, that it would be up to Star Wars: Episode IX  writers JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio to handle the loss of FIsher and to decide what to do with her character. Kathleen Kennedy, head of LucasFilm, has already ruled out any use of digital reconstruction akin to what we saw in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with the return of Peter Cushing's Tarkin.

This obviously limits the ways that the sequel can handle the situation, with the main avenues being an off-screen death or disappearance revealed in the opening crawl, a body double used for a death early on or in what could prove a controversial decision: recast the role with someone else so as to keep the character, who was said to be very much at the forefront of the original Episode IX, alive for the final chapter.

In an interview with Collider, Mark Hamill was asked about the latter and what his thoughts were about recasting the role of General Leia in the upcoming film:
 

"First of all, I don't know what the specific plans were for that character, but just the way Han Solo was more prominent in 7, Luke was more prominent in 8, we assumed that Leia would be more prominent in 9, especially since the dynamic of having Kylo Ren as her son... I think it would be tough recasting, only because she's so indelibly linked with that character. They've already ruled out the idea of computer-generating her performance like they did with Peter Cushing, so, gee, that's gotta be a really... not an insurmountable problem, but I know the script had been developed enough that when we lost her, they had to go back to square one. But she's irreplaceable, as far as I'm concerned."

The interviewer then continued his line of questioning in regards to Star Wars: Episode IX, asking whether Hamill had any idea if he would return to the role of Luke Skywalker as a force ghost in the sequel trilogy's finale: 

"You know, I have to phrase it correctly because I had the most amazing entrance ever in my career in 7, I had this incredible exit in 8, so I didn't really have a beginning, middle and end, I had a beginning and an end, but it feels complete, in a way. Whatever they decide, you know, if it's minimal or non-existent, I'm fine with 9. But it's all up to Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams, who are writing it right now."

What do you think? How do you think Leia's character should be handled in Episode IX ? Would you like to see Hamill return to the franchise as a force ghost? Leave your thoughts below. 

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Tevii
Tevii - 4/4/2018, 1:08 PM
I would almost rather a CGI leia than recast her
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 4/4/2018, 1:36 PM
@Tevii



See how that turned out? Just imagine older-Carrie Fisher cgi...

Leia's going to be dead between Ep 8 and 9. They had a perfect chance to send her off after that explosion. But she Mary Poppins'd her way back into the movie and now we have Luke and Leia dead.

Smh.
fundamentallyOT
fundamentallyOT - 4/4/2018, 1:45 PM
@regularmovieguy - But some people say that Ruin Johnson is the best director ever.
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 4/4/2018, 1:13 PM
Hamill's role was to support Kylo Ren's story and Rey's story. That's why he was there. TLJ was not "Luke's story, Part IV".

Secondly, if they re-cast Leia, I'm going to have a really, really, really difficult time with it.
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 4/4/2018, 1:14 PM
@BackwardGalaxy - It'd be like if someone said, "Yeah, we're going to re-cast your Aunt with someone else. This is your new Aunt."
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 4/4/2018, 1:13 PM
I sure as hell hope we are getting Luke as a force ghost in episode 9.
Mobrex
Mobrex - 4/4/2018, 2:31 PM
@HeavyMetal4Life - i would love to see Luke in one of these movies!
fundamentallyOT
fundamentallyOT - 4/4/2018, 1:15 PM
I have the best title for episode 9: Disney Star Wars: The Gift That KeepS On Giving!

And this jewel to dishonour Ruin Johnson. This is like the game of the 3 cups where you have to look carefully to tell where the ball went:

Pantherpool
Pantherpool - 4/4/2018, 1:18 PM
Can't wait for the trilogy to be complete

IronGenesis
IronGenesis - 4/4/2018, 1:37 PM
To not have Leia Burns The only story thread that has been building through the sequels.

Prequels - Husband / Wife
Originals - Father / Son
Sequels - Mother / Son

Family Saga!
L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 4/4/2018, 2:50 PM
@IronGenesis - Yep, this was the "It's like poetry, it rhymes" they were going for with this sequel trilogy.

Mr. Plinkett at Red Letter Media said it best: "they gambled wrong on that one", referring to Disney killing off Han in VII, Luke in VIII and wanting to have Leia be the main focal point of IX.

RIP Carrie.
Supercat6376
Supercat6376 - 4/4/2018, 1:38 PM
They’ve ruined it already who cares if they ruin it some more .
DaHyro
DaHyro - 4/4/2018, 1:52 PM
He's 100% coming back as a ghost, no doubt about that. Hope they return to Mustafar and we get to see more of Vader's Castle
Mobrex
Mobrex - 4/4/2018, 2:30 PM
They can just do voiceover for her with kylo crying for the whole movie. TLJ is like a blackhole to write from... no story can escape from it.
RickGrimes95
RickGrimes95 - 4/4/2018, 3:25 PM
I definitely think he'll be back for IX. Also think Billy Dee Williams will be back, finally reunited with his greatest partner, Nien Numb, who I am thankful for surviving this whole trilogy so far. We may have lost Ackbar, but we got to keep our other aline pilot from the originals.
InfinitySkrull
InfinitySkrull - 4/4/2018, 3:27 PM
Recast her with Tommy Wiseau
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