While Star Wars 9 seems to be bringing back the old guard — including Carrie Fisher, who ed away in 2016, and Mark Hamill, whose character died in the previous movie. However, audiences shouldn't expect the story to undo Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Rian Johnson's Star Wars 8 received mixed responses, even prompting the boycott did not significantly affect Solo's performance at the box office — The Last Jedi is still perceived as a more divisive film than previous Disney-Lucasfilm productions like Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Related: Star Wars 9 Is Doing The Right Thing With Leia (And Luke)
Will Star Wars 9 turn opinion around? Either way, the story it's set to tell isn't a case of aggressive course correction or bowing to fan demands; it seems that the final chapter of the sequel trilogy always planned to include these original characters, with no collapse in the discourse changing J.J. Abrams' plan.
- This Page: Who Is Returning — And How?
- Page 2: The Last Jedi Backlash Hasn't Changed Episode IX
Who Is Returning — And How?
Three major characters from the original trilogy will return in Star Wars 9: Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Lando Calrissian. Fans have waited for Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, to reprise his role in the sequel trilogy. As such, his appearance in Episode IX felt inevitable, especially given the limited roles that other original trilogy characters would play. The other two returners for Episode IX, though, are surprising for markedly different reasons.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi left Leia a key part of the continuing story, but the untimely death of Carrie Fisher called into question whether or not the character could return and in what capacity. Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher's 1977 likeness were Fisher's brother credits to director J.J. Abrams, will maintain Leia's presence in the film while creating some closure for the character. The size of her role in the film, however, will likely be limited.
Read More: Force Awakens' Deleted Story Reveals Leia's Star Wars 9 Role
Also back is Force Ghosts, and some Star Wars films, like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, also include flashback sequences.
While both of these are surprising to varying degrees, both fit within the logic of the franchise as it exists regardless of any dissent from portions of the fanbase. Hamill as a Force Ghost fits with his journey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Leia was always intended to be a part of Star Wars 9 - they just needed the right route after tragedy struck.
Page 2: The Last Jedi Backlash Hasn't Changed Episode IX
The Last Jedi Backlash Hasn't Changed Episode IX
Star Wars: The Last Jedi was praised by some for being adventurous but online harassment of actress Kelly Marie Tran, who plays Rose Tico (and is also back for Star Wars 9); sexist and racist comments from trolls prompted Tran to delete her social media s.
Some have speculated that Lucasfilm's approach to Star Wars 9 has been shaped by the negative fan reactions to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. J.J. Abrams returning to the director's chair for Episode IX could signal Lucasfilm's desire to put The Last Jedi behind them and reunite the fanbase as he did previously with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, while the return of older characters is obviously a very fan-pleasing move.
Related: Star Wars 9 Being "The End" Is The Best Thing For The Franchise
However, everything that J.J. Abrams has said about Star Wars 9 tells another story entirely. Certainly, Disney and Lucasfilm are not trying to erase the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Abrams was have not changed his plans for Star Wars 9 in the slightest and thanked Johnson at the start of filming.
That's not to say there haven't been changes along the way from the trilogy's original vague design, but they're a result of other factors. Indeed, originally, Leia was going to be at "the forefront" of Star Wars 9, but Abrams ed the film long after Fisher's death, so the plot of his Star Wars 9 was written knowing both that she couldn't have major involvement and what archive footage was available.
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Abrams' Star Wars 9 will hopefully blend the best elements of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The sequel trilogy was always meant to be about ing the torch to the next generation of Star Wars characters and Star Wars fans. The inclusion of Luke, Leia, and Lando does not diminish the story that J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson have told together. Instead, it fits within the intended arch of the sequel trilogy.
