How will Star Wars 9 work without Carrie Fisher? Disney is 'weighing its options'

Carrie Fisher made a dramatic return to Star Wars in The Force Awakens. She reprises her role as Leia Organa, the Princess-turned-general of the Resistance against the First Order. But with the star's recent passing, Disney is trying to figure out how to handle scenes that were planned for her in the upcoming Star Wars Episode 8 and Episode 9.

The Hollywood Reporter says filmmakers and high-level execs are currently weighing their options with regards to how Fisher will or won't be portrayed on-screen, with Episode 9 director Colin Trevorrow set to meet with Lucasfilm on January 10.

The three options that seem most likely are script rewrites, scene reshoots, and/or the use of CG. The script seems to present the biggest challenge. WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD. THR reports that that Leia was set to appear in two key scenes: a reunion with her brother Luke, and a confrontation with her son Kylo Ren. END SPOILERS.

THR's sources don't appear to know where those scenes fit into the remaining movies or if they've already been shot. We know filming for Episode 8 wrapped in 2016 and is currently in editing, so whatever part Leia plays in this year's movie is likely to remain (mostly) intact.

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD. Lucasfilm has shown its willing to use CG to bring back actors, and a virtual version of Leia actually appears in Rogue One. However, given the sudden nature of her passing and slightly Uncanny Valley of the CG work in Rogue One, I don't think many fans would be too pleased with this approach. END SPOILERS.

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Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.