Lucasfilm Started Over on STAR WARS EPISODE IX After Carrie Fisher's Death

The passing of Carrie Fisher was something no one expected, but when we lost our princess, it was quite clear that Lucasfilm would have to make some major adjustments. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said after they mourned Fisher's passing, the story team and filmmakers scrambled to come up with a plan to handle Fisher's absence in Episode IX:

“Obviously, with Carrie having passed away, it shook everybody,” Kennedy says. As they tried to figure out what this meant for Leia’s continuing story, the only option was to leave their original ideas behind. “We pretty much started over,” 

Fisher had finished all her scenes on The Last Jedi before her untimely death, and Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger has since said that the movie will not be changed to deal with her passing. The Last Jedi will end as it was originally planned. StarWars.com also confirmed that Lucasfilm will not digitally recreate Leia in any way. Kennedy also recently told Good Morning America: “Sadly, Carrie will not be in nine,” Kennedy said. “But we will see a lot of Carrie in eight.” 

It seems pretty safe to assume that The Last Jedi will be Princess or General Leia Organa's final appearance in the Star Wars cinematic saga. I wonder if Lucasfilm will ever let us know what they were hoping Leia's role in Episode IX would be. Or maybe we'll eventually get a Star Wars story standalone about a young Princess Leia, only time will tell. What do you guys think?