Leia the White

Billie Lourd already has a Star Wars role (Kaydel Connix).

There’s no question that writers for hundreds of years have found ways to get out of corners they have been painted into, and they could certainly write a story to explain why Leia changed. There’s also no question that CGI can recreate Carrie Fisher since they already did in Rogue One.

The only consideration is the potential for backlash. I think some people would find this disrespectful to Carrie, and even if they didn’t, there is a risk they will find it cheesy and insulting to the fans.

 

Leeia here we come.

 

Personally, much as I love Leia as a character, I have little interest in seeing her story carried outside of Carrie via another actress.

At least, not substantially. If someone needs to step in for an out of focus distance shot or something for closure, that's fine.

But a young, force using Leia just doesn't interest me, compelling as it sounds like it could potentially be.

 

I just feel like cloning her in any capacity is completely unnecessary. I like your idea, but I don’t see them ever trying something like that, if for nothing else, because of the inevitable fan backlash.

Cloning the lead character never works. Alien Resurrection is a perfect example of that. Ellen Ripley was one of the most badass characters in cinematic history, but her legacy was kind of tarnished by the last two Alien movies. (That being said, a lot of people either forgot or have tried to pretend they didn’t happen.) Leia has the same sort of impact and I don’t want the character’s legacy to be tarnished by Lucasfilm feeling like they need to have the character alive in some capacity for Episode IX to be successful.

For me, it felt like the character of Leia died when Carrie died in 2016. I don’t want to see anyone else in the role, I’d much rather they killed her off in a meaningful way while still making her legacy and presence through the Force crucial to the film. They can give Billie a larger role in the next film to honor Carrie’s legacy, but I don’t think they need to try and revive Leia’s character in any way. At this point, it just makes sense to kill the character off and focus on maintaining her importance throughout the film, even if she’s not physically a part of it.