SPECULATION Could Lando solve the Leia problem?

part me thinks "no" because of how different BDW looks now compared to his character when you compare the other OT actors to their characters...I dont think it could happen also because it doesnt seem to fit with the current theme which to me seems to pretty much be, "force sensitive or not
"

 

I think that yes, since Billy Dee is willing and able, they should bring him in. You can't replace Carrie Fisher, but this would fill that vacuum a bit. Cause we don't have Han either, anymore.

 

Interesting idea. I doubt it will happen, but it is interesting.

 

Lelia?

 

I don't know why they left him out of VII, honestly. BDW being alive and well and Lando's position at the end of ROTJ made it a no-brainer to me. After he wasn't, I thought they were saving him for VIII - perhaps to "rhyme" with the first trilogy. Seems like that wasn't part of their plan, either.

I honestly can't figure out why they wouldn't have thus far - but if Carrie's passing does bring him in, then great. Any connection to the OT, both with characters and the performers portraying them, is good in my opinion.

 

I guess that they left BDW out TFA, because it was getting too crowded. They had to introduce Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren and catch up with Han and Leia. If Lando would have appeared in TFA, he would not been given more screen time than Nien Numb, Ackbar, C3PO or R2D2. However, with the absence of Han and Leia in Episode IX, there is more room for characters like Lando.

 

They are doing VIII re-shoots? I haven't heard of this.

As for him replacing Leia it depends on if it serves a purpose.

 

If it was an issue of having too many OT characters, I would have preferred to see Lando over Nien or Ackbar. After what he did in ROTJ, I would expect him to be at the forefront of this current battle just as Leia was.

 

I don't think we'll actually be hearing of any reshoots, actually; I firmly believe that if any were to be done, then they've been completed already, and that any extra work regarding the camera will now only be pick-up shots.

We know that the film finished shooting in July, and that post-production/editing began in August. Star Wars, unlike many other film franchises today, still leaves scoring until after the editing process has been completed (for example, John Williams was still working on the TFA score in November, the month before release; likewise, the reshoot process of Rogue One meant that, after editing was finally completed, Michael Giacchino only had 4 weeks to compose the score), and there was news in December that John Williams had already began scoring the film - meaning that it was more-than-likely completed at that time (he is due to complete scoring by the end of March, which very much keeps them in line with the original release date of May for the film).

Forgetting that for a moment, I think that Billy Dee was already included in VIII before the passing of Carrie (may she rest in peace), so there is no reason to believe that he would need to be included in reshoots.

 

They must be planning something with Lando. It would be outrageous not to include him.

 

Do we know for sure that there is a Leia problem? Have signifiicant rewrites/reshoots been confirmed? It could be that Leia dies in Ep VIII as it was filmed already. Or have I missed something?

 

I think the reason we haven't heard of re-shoots is that RJ is a much better, honest, creative filmmaker then GE or JJA. Iger has seen the the first cut. According to him its rather good, and the soundtrack is underway. I haven't heard anything about re-shoots. When are they gonna re-shoot? In the spring when the first trailer comes out? Or is it in the summer, at the brink of TLJ's marketing campaign, reaches a crescendo?

 

If I recall correctly, those January meetings were reported as already being planned to further map the future of Star Wars months ahead of the time. Of course, the direction they wanted to go with Leia's story after the unfortunate passing of Carrie was brought up here, but these meetings were already in place.

Furthermore, their statement actually stated that they do not intend to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher as Leia, and did not refer to only TLJ, nor did it imply in any way that IX would be any different, from what I recall.

Plans can change, but to come out with such a statement and then back-pedal, with an actress, character and franchise as beloved as this? That would be something else.

 

if critical scenes were not already filmed with Carrie Fisher and completed for TLJ, it would be less likely that they are Resistance scenes that Lando could fill, but would be family scenes with Luke and/or Ben, which Lando could not.
Leia's Resistance role could be handled by Ackbar or Poe or any other member of the Resistance who can assume command in a meaningful way.
it's sad, but true. there are ways to handle that part of her role.

Leia's role with her family, though, cannot just be spackled over: it's the heart of the ST.
hopefully we get her reunion with Luke and possibly her reunion with Ben in TLJ.
and if Ben is still being a little shoe button, maybe grandpa Anakin can be the one to come in and give a helping cybernetic hand.
he's the only other family member who would matter enough for it to make sense.