One of the most controversial moments in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story came when Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin was "resurrected" with special effects. Some praised the work of ILM, while others found fault both with the quality of the special effects and the moral implications of bringing back a long dead actor who had no say in whether or not they wanted their likeness used in this manner.
Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia also made an appearance de-aged thanks to some technical wizardry, but since the iconic actress's sudden death, there's been a lot of talk about Disney and Lucasfilm using CGI to replicate her performance specifically in the upcoming Episode VIII (just in case reshoots are needed to write her out) and Episode IX. However, Lucasfilm has now issued a statement to clear things up.
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.
That's actually good to hear, especially as it would have been more than a little tasteless to bring back Fisher in this way. It would devalue her performance (why not just replace every actor with a CG double?), and the studio clearly have other plans for how best to wrap up the character's story arc. It also sounds like we can forget seeing a younger version of Princess Leia on the big screen for now.
Do you guys think they've made the right decision? Let us know in the comments section below.