After the passing of Carrie Fisher, Star Wars fans were left wondering what would happen to her titular role as Princess Leia and since that time rumors about the possibilities have been swirling around the internet like Midi-chlorians swirl around the galaxy far far away. With the production of Episode IX expected to begin in July, the internet is kicking up rumors again and the word is that Meryl Streep is being considered to replace Carrie Fisher as Leia.
According to Fansided, there are several options being considered on how to handle the loss of the actress and still try to keep her character alive in the Star Wars universe, and the one gaining the most stem is that Meryl Streep is seriously being considered to take over the role.
Fans were devastated after the death of the beloved Star Wars princess. Fortunately all of her scenes in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” had already been completed before she died, but this still left fans and filmmakers wondering what to do next.
There is always the option of adding her in with CGI much like they did in “Rogue One”, but this option doesn’t seem befitting to the actress or the character and Lucasfilm said in a statement, “We want to assure our fans that Lucasfilm has no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher’s performance as Princess or General Leia Organa.”
A few other options have floated around. Some have suggested a large time jump between “The Last Jedi” and Episode IX and explaining her death in the opening crawl of the film. Others propose ending her story in a Star Wars canon novel or killing Leia on-screen without actually showing her close enough to tell it’s not her.
Truthfully there is no right answer as we all know that Carrie Fisher is irreplaceable, but if the rumors prove true, Meryl Streep could be the next best choice as the two became close friends on the set of “Postcard From The Edge”. The screenplay, by Carrie Fisher, is based on her 1987 semi-autobiographical novel of the same title about her growing as the daughter of the famous actress Debbie Reynolds. Meryl Streep actually played the role of Suzanne Vale who was based on the real-life Fisher.
“Star Wars: Episode IX” is expected in theaters on December 20, 2019, but like all rumors we will just have to wait and see. What we know for now is that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy wanted a prominent role for Leia in Episode IX and with Fisher and Streep’s close friendship and history there probably isn’t a better choice out there if they were going to go the route of replacing her.
Would you want to see Leia’s role recast and do you think Streep is the right person for the job? Let us know what you think in the comments.