‘Star Wars 9′: Leia Organa Trained By Luke Skywalker As Jedi Knight In George Lucas’ Original Storyline

There are several poignant moments in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but many fans would agree that the one that truly had people weeping was the death of Luke Skywalker. After all, some were still hoping the Jedi Master would survive until the third movie. Interestingly, Mark Hamill has revealed that things would have worked differently for Luke and his sister Leia Organa if George Lucas was still in charge in Episode IX.

There is little doubt that George Lucas had big plans for Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa in the current Star Wars trilogy. The franchise has evolved beyond the films and the Extended Universe novels have given Leia three children who eventually became Force users. Not surprisingly, Mark Hamill shared with IGN that Lucas intended to give Luke and Leia a similar fate in Star Wars 9. The actor stated that General Organa was set to become a Jedi Knight after The Last Jedi.

Mark Hamill was asked about how differently Rian Johnson and George Lucas have handled Luke Skywalker’s characterization considering that Johnson’s approach was unusual in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The Batman: The Killing Joke voice actor had a strange response to the inquiry, sharing Lucas’ original plans for the Jedi Master.

“I happen to know that George didn’t kill Luke until the end of [Star Wars] 9 after he trained Leia, which is another thread that was never played upon [in The Last Jedi].”

It certainly sounds like George Lucas had every intention to keep the Star Wars storyline exclusively on the Skywalkers. The creator had wanted Luke Skywalker to ensure the family’s future by having the Jedi Master train his own sister before his own possible demise in Star Wars 9. This means Lucas planned to have both Skywalker twins alive and well until the end of Episode IX.

Although it is too late to retcon Luke Skywalker’s demise in Star Wars 9, fans can rest assured that J.J. Abrams still has plans for Leia despite Carrie Fisher’s devastating death. After all, it has already been established that the general is also strong in the Force like her twin and estranged son Kylo Ren. Hopefully, Leia will be given a fitting conclusion in Star Wars 9.

The still-untitled Episode IX is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019.