By: Dominic Jones
It's well known at this point that Princess/Genera Leia actress Carrie Fisher passed away late last year, making Star Wars: The Last Jedi her final performance as Leia in a Star Wars film. As part of Entertainment Weekly's continuing coverage of The Last Jedi, Anthony Breznican spoke with writer/director Rian Johnson and Poe Dameron actor Oscar Isaac about Fisher's legacy and Leia's role in The Last Jedi.
Johnson discussed the tough spot The Last Jedi is in given that it was not intended to be Fisher's final film (Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has stated in the past that Episode IX would have featured Leia in a big way, though that has since changed). Johnson told EW,
"There’s no way that we could’ve known this would’ve been the last Star Wars
movie she would be in, so it’s not like we made the film thinking that
we were bringing closure to the character. But watching
the film, there’s going to be a very emotional reaction to what she does
in this movie"
As for what fans can expect from Leia in The Last Jedi, her relationship with Poe will be further explored in a meaningful way. Isaac told EW,
"Poe is in some ways a surrogate son for Leia. But also
I think she sees in him the potential for a truly great leader of the
Resistance and beyond. (...) Poe’s arc is one of evolving from a heroic soldier to a seasoned leader,
to see beyond the single-mindedness of winning the battle to the larger
picture of the future of the galaxy. I think Leia knows
she won’t be around forever and she, with tough love, wants to push Poe
to be more than the badass pilot, to temper his heroic impulses with
wisdom and clarity."
Another relationship that will be key in the film is that of Leia and Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. The two were seen briefly together in the behind the scenes sizzle reel that debuted at D23 Expo last month, and there has been plenty of speculation about what their dynamic might be (and what that means for The Resistance). Johnson told EW that he's not ready to talk about Holdo much yet, but he did say,
"I don’t want to tip the hat too much, but I will say that the heat is
immediately turned up on the Resistance. Everybody is
put in a pressure cooker right away, and relationships crack and strain
under that pressure. That was really interesting to me, the notion of
putting this small army under a lot of external pressure and showing
some of the results within the Resistance itself."
Catch up on the EW The Last Jedi Coverage:
>> The Last Jedi Covers
>> New The Last Jedi Stills
>> John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran on Finn and Rose
>> Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley on Luke and Rey
>> Rian Johnson on The Creatures and Secrets of Ach-To
>> Rian Johnson on Snoke and his elite Praetorian guards
Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi hits theaters on December
15th. The film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daisy
Ridley, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Kelly
Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio Del Toro, and Lupita Nyong'o.
Follow The Star Wars Underworld on Twitter @TheSWU for more updates about this story and other breaking Star Wars news.
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