Rumors Surface Of Meryl Streep Replacing Carrie Fisher As Leia In ‘Star Wars Episode 9,’ According To Fansided
There is very little doubt that Meryl Streep is one of the greatest actresses to ever appear on screen in any role or form, but could she replace Carrie Fisher in one of the most iconic roles? Right at the end of 2017, Carrie Fisher passed away and the Star Wars-loving world wasn’t sure what to do with the loss of Princess Leia. Now, there is talk that the character may not be done in that universe, even with the actress’ death, as rumors are swirling that Leia may be recast with Streep.
When Fisher passed away, many wondered if there would be problems with Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. All those working on the film said that she had already finished filming her parts and that everything was completed for her before she died.
The problem from this point is wondering how to continue the saga without Fisher around to continue starring in the role of Leia. Some have wondered if Disney and Lucasfilm would use CGI or simply kill off her character off-screen and let the story carry on, but there is also another option.
According to Fansided, rumors are that filmmakers are leaning toward recasting the role of Leia, and word is that Meryl Streep is the leading choice to take over.
Meryl Streep Rumored to Replace Carrie Fisher as Leia in Star Wars 9 https://t.co/2k5iSDFcAG
— Rudy Gutierrez Jr (@Rudy_Gutierrez) March 29, 2018
It was back in December that Express reported rumors of Streep stepping in to take on the role of Leia, but things have quieted down since that time. With Star Wars Episode IX set to hit theaters on Dec. 20, 2019, it is coming upon the time for casting to be done and production to begin quite soon.
An online petition is actually picking up steam as it begs Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Studios, J.J. Abrams, and Kathleen Kennedy to let Streep take over the role of Leia. As of March 29, 2018, it has more than 7,800 supporters as they aim toward their goal of 8,000, and they’re hoping to get noticed.
The petition isn’t looking to insult Carrie Fisher or downplay her in any fashion, but they simply believe the character of Leia should live on in the Star Wars saga. They don’t want to see her recreated as a CGI persona and believe Streep is the ideal actress to take on the job.
“As Lucasfilm claimed that they have no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher with CGI in STAR WARS Episode IX, the more possible solutions are to recast Leia or to write her out of the film. In an interview with USA Today, Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker and the brother of Princess Leia in STAR WARS, claimed that “Leia was meant to be more prominent in (episode) 9.” 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.”
If there really was going to be a prominent role for Leia in Star Wars Episode IX, there has been more than enough time to rewrite the script. Should Disney decide to move forward with things as Mark Hamill and Kathleen Kennedy had stated, they’re going to have to find a way for Leia to live on in the movies. No-one will ever truly be able to replace Carrie Fisher as Leia, but if the rumors are true, Meryl Streep may try to have the iconic princess live on.
