Spoiler alert (possibly) as this story may contain surprise plot details from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
Ever since the news broke that Darth Vader will be showing up in the forthcoming “Star Wars” spinoff Film “Rogue One,” fans have been trying to speculate which other characters will or will not be appearing in the film. During an interview on a French-language chat show, the film’s director Gareth Edwards (low-budget indie “Monsters,” 2014’s Hollywood remake of “Godzilla”) has dropped hints that another legendary character from the original “Star Wars” trilogy could play a part in the story: Princess Leia Organa.
Luke Skywalker will definitely not be turning up
Edwards confirmed for sure that Luke Skywalker would not be appearing in the film. That’s a given. At the point in the “Star Wars” timeline at which “Rogue One” takes place, Luke knew nothing of the galaxy outside his uncle’s farm. In fact, by the “Star Wars” laws of fate, all the events of “Rogue One” only really serve in terms of story to, in turn, bring Luke into the action and kickstart his personal journey of Force-based enlightenment.
However, Edwards also hinted at the appearance of another iconic “Star Wars” character in “Rogue One.” Whilst not confirming for sure whether she would or would not feature in the film, when questioned on the appearance of Princess Leia, in a not so cryptic move, Edwards coyly said, “I don’t want to ruin it for people.” This suggests that maybe there is something to ruin, since he denied Luke would be in the film, showing that he is wont to deny appearances of classic characters in his new film.
The appearance of Leia would make a lot of plot sense, seeing as how she spearheaded the Rebels’ plan to hijack the plans for the construction of the Death Star that is the heart of “Rogue One”’s narrative.
Carrie Fisher would have to be recast
However, Leia would have to look even younger than she did in the 1977 original film, to which “Rogue One” is a direct prequel (a risky word to use in the “Star Wars” world), so that would rule out Carrie Fisher returning to the role as she did for last year’s “The Force Awakens,” which would mean recasting the iconic part with a younger actress who at least somewhat resembles Fisher (as was suspected of Felicity Jones’ character when her casting was first announced, before she was revealed to be playing a brand new character named Jyn Erso).
The recast would be small but pivotal in “Rogue One,” but the casting team would’ve had to be careful in their choice, because the casting of young Princess Leia opens the door to many more appearances in other “Star Wars Anthology” films (a series of upcoming standalone spinoffs starting with “Rogue One” and continuing with a film about young Han Solo, which could lead us to one about young Leia, or at least featuring her as a supporting character.
If she is even in “Rogue One,” it’ll be in a bit part capacity, as the story revolves around an already large cast of new characters such as Riz Ahmed from “The Night Of” and Alan Tudyk (“Tucker & Dale vs Evil”) as a droid, because no “Star Wars” film is complete without a droid.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” will be released in cinemas across the UK on 15 December, when we’ll discover once and for all whether or not Princess Leia is in the film.
