Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Last week, we reported that Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and Star Wars: Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow had met to discuss what the series’ future would look like without Carrie Fisher. The key discussion point was supposedly whether or not they should completely rewrite Episode IX to account for Fisher and Leia’s absence or create a computer-generated version of the character the way Rogue One did for Peter Cushing’s Governor Tarkin (and the A New Hope-era Leia seen at the film’s end), but both options have their own grim and complicated issues.


According to a new rumor, though, Disney and Lucasfilm are already getting ready to make the CG Leia happen. During a report for BBC Newsnight (via Comic Book Movie), an anchor claimed that “Disney is negotiating with [Carrie Fisher]’s estate over her continued appearance in the franchise” and that she’ll “join Peter Cushing” if these negotiations work out. Now, there are a few layers to this that indicate that it doesn’t necessarily mean what it sounds like it means. For one thing, if these negotiations are happening, it could be a “just in case” thing or a way to fill in some minor scenes that wouldn’t be as extensive as faux-Cushing’s were in Rogue One. Also, this could just be a misinterpretation of the talks Kennedy and Trevorrow were having, so it might not even be new information.

We really won’t have any idea one way or another until Lucasfilm makes some kind of announcement, which might not even happen until we’re closer to Episode IX‘s release date—which is actually several Star Wars movies away.