Carrie Fisher's brother says Leia was supposed to be the "last Jedi" in "Rise of Skywalker"

Buckle up, Star Wars fans. As we near the end of the Skywalker Saga, we’re finding out more and more about the latest film. And now, the most recent big news was revealed by none other than the late Carrie Fisher‘s brother, who says that Leia was supposed to be the “last Jedi” in  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. 

As Star Wars and Fisher fans already know, the actress had completed filming Star Wars: The Last Jedi before she passed away, which allowed her role as General Leia Organa to remain the same in The Las Jedi as it was originally intended. But now, Fisher’s brother Todd says that the Star Wars team originally had other plans for Fisher’s role in the Saga’s finale.

He says that one of the intentions for Fisher’s character in The Rise of Skywalker was for Leia to fully embrace her Jedi abilities to become the “last Jedi” of the Skywalker Saga.

As we also know, Fisher is still in The Rise of Skywalker, even though the film was made after he passing in real life. Director J.J. Abrams was able to utilize unseen footage from The Force Awakens and reverse engineer an organic way for those film sequences to be incorporated into the latest movie. Fisher’s character in The Rise of Skywalker had to be reworked after her passing — and because of this it makes sense that Leia can no longer be the “last Jedi” since the actress who made her an icon is no longer alive to perform the role.

“She was going to be the big payoff in the final film. She was going to be the last Jedi, so to speak. That’s cool right?” Todd Fisher shared with Yahoo Entertainment. “People used to say to me, ‘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!”

Todd Fisher also shared why he supported director Abrams in his decision to repurpose unseen The Force Awakens footage. “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.”

“This is, in its own way, a payoff,” he continued. “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.”

Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill also confirmed two years ago that Leia’s character was meant to be more prominent in The Rise of Skywalker. “I know they’re going to try and find a way to close her story in [The Rise of Skywalker] that gives her the respect she deserves, because [Han Solo] was more prominent in [The Force Awakens], Luke’s a little more prominent in [The Last Jedi], and certainly Leia was meant to be more prominent in [The Rise of Skywalker],” the actor shared back in 2017.

We’re not sure what all of this means in terms of how fans will perceive the new film. Perhaps the Skywalker Saga finale would be much better received if Fisher was still alive and well to perform as Leia, and then longtime fans would get to see her on the big screen as the true “last Jedi.” Still, as fans of Fisher and  Star Wars, we’re happy that Abrams was able to include her in this final film, and we’re interested in learn what’s to come next.

What do you think of the role Leia’s character was supposed to have in  The Rise of Skywalker? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Comicbook