Star Wars fans already know that General Leia Organa is still set to return in Star Wars Episode 9 despite the unfortunate passing of Carrie Fisher in late 2016. Amazingly, it has also been confirmed that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be using unused footage of Fisher to bring back the Resistance leader. However, a new leak may have revealed that Episode IX brought in a different actress to play the younger Princess Leia.
The first trailer for Star Wars Episode 9 was unveiled during the film's panel at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago last April. In the teaser, there are two beautiful shots of Fisher as Leia Organa. During the panel, director J.J. Abrams stated that he had no intention of recasting Leia since he still had several unused footages of Fisher from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Abrams even went as far as saying that "the idea of having a CG character was off the table." Instead, they found a way to make sure Fisher was still very much a part of Star Wars Episode 9.
"The weird miracle of having a number of scenes from Force Awakens that had got unused, looking at those scenes and starting to understand that there was an actually a way to use those scenes and continue her story so that it would be her," Abrams said. "We said, 'What if we could write scenes about her so it's her performance?'"
But is it possible that Abrams has since changed his mind? A new report suggests that Star Wars Episode 9 will feature a flashback sequence involving a young Luke Skywalker as well as a young Princess Leia. According to the report, the scene shows the characters talking right after the events in Return of the Jedi, and it's a truly important conversation.
The leak suggests that the Star Wars Episode 9 flashback sequence will have the two characters discussing Leia's connection to the Force. However, the young princess is set to choose the life of a Resistance leader rather than pursue being a Jedi like her brother.
Interestingly, the Star Wars Episode 9 leak purports that Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd served as Princess Leia's stand-in for the scene. However, it is important to point out that these are just based on speculations and have not yet been confirmed. With that in mind, it is best to take it with a grain of salt.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is scheduled for release on December 20.
