Carrie Fisher died before Star Wars: The Last Jedi came out, and though people were expecting her to be written off of The Rise of Skywalker, J.J. Abrams was able to scramble together some old footage to give Leia a supposedly substantial role in the final film. As per Abrams, it didn't seem like it was in the books to have Leia written off.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Abrams explained, "It just felt wrong to say that she wasn't around, to say that she had gone somewhere, to say that she had passed away in between, it just felt like there was no way to end this story. She's such an integral part of it."
With The Force Awakens having Han Solo in the spotlight, and Luke Skywalker taking over The Last Jedi, it was said that The Rise of Skywalker was going to have Leia take a more substantial role this time around. Of course, they couldn't make that happen with Fisher gone, and while a lot of fans think it would be a weird move to just "recycle" some old footage, I'm hopeful Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy have planned a meaningful sendoff for the last remaining legacy character in the franchise—as far as main characters go; we still have Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca.
The Rise of Skywalker is not just the end of the sequel trilogy, but the main Skywalker saga as well, and Abrams plans for it to be the grand finale of nine movies. You can imagine the pressure he's under to deliver, but at this point, Abrams is already sure that he can't please everyone—especially the entitle fanboys that are part of the Star Wars fanbase.
Catch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when it comes out Dec. 20.
See Also: JJ Abrams Knows He Can't Please Every Star Wars Fan With The Rise of Skywalker
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