Todd Fisher Talks General Leia's Role in The Rise of Skywalker

It's been almost three years since we lost our dear general and princess Carrie Fisher and while she may be gone her legacy will never be forgotten and it continues in The Rise of Skywalker. We've known for sometime that General Leia would be returning using unused footage from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, but Todd Fisher, her brother shed some light on what could have been and what we can expect in IX.

In a brand new interview with Yahoo, Fisher revealed that before her death, the original plan for Leia was to make her the last Jedi of The Rise of Skywalker and even giving her a lightsaber a la Obi-Wan in A New Hope.

"She was going to be the last Jedi, so to speak. That’s cool right?....Why is it that Carrie never gets a lightsaber and chops up some bad guys...Why is it that Carrie never gets a lightsaber and chops up some bad guys.....“Obi-Wan was in his prime when he was Carrie’s age!”

It's an incredibly interesting idea and one that many probably didn't see as a possibility given her age, but Todd makes a good point. Although we'll never see that idea come to fruition it's certainly a look into what they were thinking for the story of IX before her death.

Fisher went on to describe the method that they went about to bring her back to the big screen as well as her relationship with The Rise of Skywalker director J.J Abrams.

"The truth is that J.J. Abrams was great friends with Carrie... he had an extraordinary sense of love for her....They had eight minutes of footage.....They grabbed every frame and analyzed it... and then reverse-engineered it and [got] it into the story the right way. It’s kind of magical.”

I think including Carrie is the right call here and although they're dealing with an almost unwinnable issue on to include her or not, it's apparent that everyone involved is dealing with this is the right and respectful way. Like most, I'm intrigued to see how the footage looks put together and how the General will be factor into the story. Finally Fisher confirmed our hopes that her send off is emotional.

"This is, in its own way, a payoff. ... It’s Carrie talking to us all from beyond. The beautiful thing about the concept of the Force is that there is no real death; you just exist in another dimension. So Carrie is looking down or sideways or wherever and is still part of us. To be able to see that — it’s magical stuff only in the movies.”

I'll have my tissues ready. No one's ever really gone after all.

Godspeed Rebels!

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