Star Wars: The Last Jedi recently arrived to home media this week and with a great void in the reaches of space emitted from it. While many fans may buy the movie for their collection regardless of love or hate, the film still serves a stronger symbol as our beloved Princess Leia and badass General of the Resistance’s Carrie Fisher and her final farewell to the world.
Watching the film over and over will not be easier knowing that Leia’s role would have been more prominent in the final act of the new trilogy. A lot was set up for the character arc in the same sense that Han Solo was to The Force Awakens and Luke Skywalker made to The Last Jedi. With CGI off limits to her character, the only logical step would be to omit Leia altogether or to give the role to a new actress. And the latter seems to be in strong consideration, with the rumor mill winding up to the possibility of Meryl Streep taking over.
Talk is going around from Dork Side of The Force that Episode IX may have Streep taking on the role of Leia. An online petition has even caught on with the multiple Acamedy Award-winning actress to fill in for her dear friend.
“As the fans of STAR WARS and Carrie Fisher, we really want Leia to shine in Episode IX and we certainly do not want her to be written out of the film abruptly without a reasonable plot. Therefore, recasting Leia is a more ideal option for us and we believe that Meryl Streep is an ideal candidate to play Leia.”
This wouldn’t be just some coincidental casting for Streep either. She and Fisher have connected well in production of Postcards From The Edge, the semi-autobiographical movie based off Fisher’s novel. Streep’s character Suzanne Vale was established off of Fisher herself. That sort of extension is likely the closest we may have to someone taking the helm of a practically irreplaceable role.
Even when there are so few options with a tragedy like this, the Star Wars fandom is a fickle beast to please. The current direction with the last film has really split a lot of the fanbase and even further with the Solo movie’s production. Some are even claiming to be more content to allow an offscreen death take over Organa or an explanation in a novelization be present. What we do know is J.J. Abrams is rewriting the script and as far as knowing if Leia will still have the significance from the previous draft, it is really up in the air. Even with the multitude of awards and great fame in Hollywood’s prime actresses, Streep can only do so much to bring her interpretation of Leia onscreen.
The is still a lot of time to figure this out, but every moment is ticking for such a difficult obstacle with both a respect for the late Fisher as well as moving forward with the Star Wars franchise. Episode IX is scheduled to release December 20, 2019.
How would you feel about Meryl Streep taking on the role of Princess Leia? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comments!