If The Force Awakens was very much a Han Solo movie and The Last Jedi was Luke Skywalker's film, then logic would say that Star Wars IX was meant to be Leia's finale. But after Carrie Fisher's tragic death in 2016, the plans for the final film in the new Star Wars trilogy had to be rewritten.

At first, the theory was that Disney would use a CGI version of Fisher, as they did with a young Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One. But since Disney has said it has no plans to use a computer generated version of Fisher, the future of the character is still uncertain.

A recent rumor going around is that Fisher might be re-cast by another actress in Star Wars IX. Some fans have even started a petition to get Meryl Streep to play Leia in the final film.

In a new interview, Collider asked Mark Hamill's thoughts on recasting Fisher in the upcoming Star Wars:

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

It's true—there's no good solution for J.J. Abrams, who is at the helm of Star Wars IX. Thankfully there are respectful possibilities: Maybe begin the movie with Leia's funeral as an onscreen farewell to the character and actress?

Matt Miller Culture Editor Matt is the Culture Editor at Esquire where he covers music, movies, books, and TV—with an emphasis on all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones.

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