ST Carrie Fisher (Leia) in Episode VII (Sad News posted on Page 269)

Leia had a natural ability to use the Force, albeit in quite a limited cerebral way, without any real guidance during the OT. I'm guessing that, at the very least, she maintains that ability to feel certain things about those she has some connection with. I'd expect her to have expanded that ability somewhat. Probably to the point that Vader demonstrates, when he states with complete certainty that Luke is on Hoth after one glance at the probe reading. I personally don't really need to see her as a Jedi Knight or anything, but as a respected leader who uses her power to see clearly what needs to be done. For me, if she whipped out a lightsaber, it would be like Palpatine's lightsaber scenes in ROTS (something I personally groaned at), it would diminish her character to just another Jedi cliche. I personally feel that many of these senior figures who have the Force, come off as more powerful when they seem to be above the level of hand to hand combat (I doubt the Emperor would have made as big of an impact in ROTJ if he'd pulled out a saber on Luke and thrashed him instead of going the evil sorcerer route with the lightning).

 

Totally agreed. By this logic they should also have to write around the fact that Mark and Harrison also looks their respective ages.

I'm not concerned about any of the OT3, but if I were, I'd be more concerned about Harrison given the fact that he is in his 70's and is more prone to any injury he suffers being a serious injury then Mark and/or Carrie. Oh wait, he did suffer an injury that put him out of action for several weeks, necessitating a reworking of the shooting schedule.

I really don't get where all this worry over Carrie is coming from. So she doesn't look like Jamie Lee Curtis or Sigourney Weaver. Big deal. I'm sure she'll be fine, whatever she does in the movie. I just don't think she should or will be relegated to the background just because she's an 'old woman' who hasn't aged as gracefully as Sigourney Weaver or Jamie Lee Curtis.

 

"I'm going to film Star Wars for six months but I only have a small cameo." Actual quote from Carrie Fisher. Oh wait, no it's not...

 

I've seen enough functioning alcoholics and drug dependant celebrities in my time to recognise one. You should try taking a step back and viewing this objectively rather than being so defensive. The problem isn't her age... the problem is her physical and mental state. Let's see how extensive her role is in a few months hey? I'll wager that she has considerably less screen time than either Ford or Hamill.

 

That would likely be the scenario regardless of your prejudices. This movie is moving the franchise into the future by way of it's past. The big 3 will have vital but not necessarily prominent roles.

 

If you want to be really technical about it, the full quote is: "Luke, the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned, Luke...There is... another...Sky...Sky...walker"

Yes, at the time Leia was the only other living Skywalker. But I don't see Yoda instructing Luke to pass on what he has learned right away. He doesn't specify when Luke should pass on what he has learned. Luke was still very young at the time, so was Leia, the potential for both of them to have children was there. And Yoda, being Yoda, may very have had a vision of a future child who could be trained.

In any event, if as I suspect, Luke ends up training Leia's daughter instead of Leia herself (perhaps because Luke went missing), that ties in with Yoda's quote very nicely.

Thank you. This is my objection to that particular scene. As it was written and directed, the scene in the Ewok village was 100% all about Luke. Leia was only there to play the role of the supportive, loving sister, and say supportive, loving things as Luke talked about his problems and told his secret -- a bombshell that should have rocked Leia's world. But instead we get a complete non-reaction from her, because if Leia had a big reaction to finding out she was Darth Vader's daughter, that would have upstaged Luke's story at least somewhat, and that scene was all about Luke.

Fair enough. I was probably thinking of the EU. where Leia clearly does love being in politics. But the EU is dead and doesn't apply here. But she is in politics or positions of power throughout most of the OT and seems very comfortable and happy in those positions, so it's a natural assumption that Leia liked her jobs. She certainly showed no signs of hating her jobs -- as opposed to Luke who clearly hated the idea of becoming a farmer.

In the sense that I think Leia's character was very underdeveloped in the OT, I agree with you. A good screenwriter could make a believable case for almost any career choice Leia made.

I just don't think it was foreshadowed all that much. One line from Luke, a couple of lines from Yoda that were not explicit and could be open to interpretation. Eh. That just doesn't add up to Ermahgerd, Leia has to be a Jedi!! for me. Especially when we have never heard one single word on this from the most important person in this equation -- Leia herself.

I don't agree at all. You're assuming that the general audience feels the same way you do and will walk into TFA expecting Leia to be a Jedi. I think the vast majority of people who go to see this film will be casual fans who won't give a rat's patootie if Leia is a Jedi or not. Plus some of the hardcore fans don't care if she becomes a Jedi or not.

But more than that, a good screenwriter can easily explain why Leia didn't becomes a Jedi:

1. Leia wanted to become a Jedi but never got the chance because Luke went missing before he could train her. One or two lines of dialogue and done. I personally believe all the missing-Luke rumors, and it has not been established how long Luke will have been missing. Mizzle, one of the few rumor-mongers who has been proven to be at least partly right, said "Luke hasn't been seen in nearly 30 years" which means Luke would have disappeared soon after ROTJ.

2. Leia rejected the idea of becoming a Jedi because she hasn't come to terms with being Darth Vader's daughter. This is actually a rich area to explore for Leia's character -- and I would argue, it's long overdue for this issue to at least be talked about, because this was a momentous revelation for Leia. Moreover, assuming that Rey is Leia's daughter, this could tie into Rey's story too. Whatever feelings Leia has about being related to Vader is going to have an impact on her daughter. In Daisy's thread, I even theorized that maybe Rey wants to be a Jedi but Leia has actually forbidden it, because of the Vader connection and because Luke is missing.

Not if she has a daughter who is strong in the force and wants to be trained. It just means that Luke's passing-the-baton would be to a younger generation instead of to his sister.

If nobody gets trained in the ST, I would agree with you. But almost certainly somebody will be trained to become a Jedi -- most likely two somebodies from the look of things -- and I'm willing to bet the rent that one of our new Jedi is going to be Leia's daughter. We're just talking about the younger generation being trained instead of Leia. I don't see that as a dramatic shift at all.

 

Not really... and this has nothing to do with 'prejudice', but rather just a bit of common sense based on the fact that Fisher has well publisied physiological and psychological challenges. I seriously doubt Fisher will be as prominant as Ford or Hamill in these films, for aforementioned reasons, but I'll happily eat crow it this is not the case.

 

I don't think we'll actually see much of Carrie Fisher in Episode VII. I think after the initial contact from a newer character., We'll see her make a plea to Han via Hologram to seek out Luke and that's it. I think Han, Chewie and the newer cast will carry this movie. I think We'll see more of the same minus Han in the Second and and I think Luke will carry the Third. Now that said, I can see Leia coming to Luke's aide in the final chapter of this trilogy.

Luke (in distress at the hands of Kylo Ren) to Leia: "Leia! Use what you have leared!"

Leia: Then Uses to force to obtain Luke's Light Sabre from the floor, Ignites it and slashes the arm of Kylo Ren creating a deep gash and making him release the grip on Luke.

 

I for one am hoping that if Leia is not a Jedi in TFA, that there's at least some brief reference as to why-especially after all the foreshadowing conversation in ROTJ. After what she discusses with Luke, and his conversation with Yoda on his deathbed in ROTJ, if we then see that after three whole decades Leia hasn't spent ANY time learning the ways of the force, then there should be at least SOME bit of acknowledgement of that, and why. Since such specific expectations were set within the main saga, (just the film before, no less) then it would seem odd to simply gloss over it and ignore the topic completely...

Personally seeing Leia as a Jedi is one of the things I'm most hoping for, but if there's a logical reason given for why she hasn't learned much or even touched it over the last 30 years, I bet I could accept that. But if there's no reason given, and they just try to ignore it, then I will feel there's some disconnect there for sure.

 

On what planet does Mark Hamill resemble the young Luke of old? He doesn't. But, as usual, dudes take the aging of other dudes a lot less seriously than they do when women commit the mortal sin of..aging. Harrison is very changed from his younger self as well, but the effect is less jarring because many have watched him age gradually over many years, and he's the closest in weight to his younger self. But make no mistake about it, all three have aged considerably. And guess what? Since ROTJ is set 30 damn years later, the character SHOULD look different.

The rest of this is a load of garbage. You don't know Carrie Fisher personally, just as you don't know Mark or Harrison. On what planet are you qualified to talk about how changed she is mentally vs the other two? If anything, according to the woman herself, she's in a much healthier place mentally than she ever was filming the original trilogy.

But, of course, that doesn't matter to you, and many other pissy fanboys, because as long as she was young and hot, who the hell cares how mentally ravaged she was as a drug abusing, untreated bipolar.

And, as I've mentioned a thousand times before when this tired topic arose, Carrie Fisher has been working steadily as an actor since the original Star Wars. Anybody who thinks she is too mentally or physically inept to shoot a damn movie has no idea how this thing works since she's been doing that nearly every year since the OT. And no, I'm not just talking about brief cameos. Carrie has shot several hefty sized roles in the last few years, as well as commanded the stage in one woman show that ran for YEARS. Anybody who knows anything at all about Theatre would know that if Carrie can pull off an acclaimed one-woman show, shooting a film, even a Star Wars film, is a breeze.

Bottom line. Carrie Fisher is in this film. She was a part of this film before Disney even was. She put in a lot of physical work to get back to Leia, and if you'd bother to look at her appearance across the last year you'd see that she's achieved the most "Leia look" she's had in many years. And her filming schedule suggests she's in this thing for more than a cameo. She's here, she's still Leia, and I'm sure you'll somehow find a way to get the hell over it and deal with her old behind somehow.

 

DarthPJ I think you have a very valid point, (if her demeanour and how she speaks in is anything to judge by), she may take the viewer out of the film because for want of a better phrase she sounds like someone who has had issues (drugs or whatever) in the past. I hope I'm wrong but her character is the one I have concerns about.

This isn't about whether she looks hot or not, that's a really shallow comment to throw at someone btw who's discussing a very valid point. It's also nothing to do with how she's aged either. There's an elephant in the room that some are too defensive to even broach or discuss civilly.

 

I don't think everyone who knows the Force has to become a Jedi per se. It'd be more interesting to have a character who uses the Force in a more subtle intuitive way, without being held up to any kind of formal standard or code.

 

I would like to see what force powers Leia/Carrie uses in TFA I wanna see a might force push.

 

I wont be surprised if Leia has some Force capabilities in TFA but I'm not really expecting it. I see Fisher playing a very regal politician that will get a few aggressive negotiation scenes. I think Fisher is very capable of playing such a part convincingly.

 

Huh? I think he looks a lot like Luke here, just older:


Also, as a general observation: it seems like there is a lot of personal invective being unleashed amongst posters here. I don't agree with Darth PJ, but no one has to insult anyone else. Just a thought.

 

Please try reading around the subject/posts before responding in a knee jerk manner. Carrie Fisher is a self professed addict with a history of mental health problems. I don't personally care wether she looks fat, thin, young or old... but the reality is that she is a recovering/functioning addict... and, let's not delude ourselves, she looks and acts like one. That's the reality of the situation and regardless of Fisher's innate charm and intelligence, it's something not easily disguised. Thinking that this is me being 'ageist' is, at best, deflection. I hope she has a role of substance in the ST, and I obviously wish her well, but don't for a second think this is something she can just 'act' herself out of, because that's a real patronising view of her condition.

 

I've treated enough addicts in my time that it tells me she is MORE than capable and talented to pull off a lot more than you are giving her credit for.

Remember? Mark also was a heavy drug user.

Your lack of faith in a talented actress is disturbing....

And unwarranted

Carrie Fishers parts since SW are diverse , Harrison Fords parts since SW are all the same....Nearly every single part he has played has been action hero types... Really no part showed any true acting chops at all, now that he is older nearly all of his parts are that of the cranky old man...again, NO diversity or stretching of any acting chops in any way.

You are worrying about the wrong actor.

I am willing to guess that she will have lite jedi abilities.....but we csn not forget that the implied plot consists of an awakening of the Force- she will certainly be part of that.

 

I've worked with quite a few of them too and 'talent' with obvious substance/alcohol addictions are always problematic. I don't think anyone needs to worry about Harrison Ford. Sure, his range maybe somewhat limited, but Han Solo isn't a multi-faceted character. He's pretty much Harrison Ford.

 

The point is being missed and/or ignored. It's pointless even attempting to discuss it.

For what it's worth I hope she isn't a jedi or a force user in the new one, I think she will have a head of state kind of role.

 

I know. Depressing...

 

Honestly, I don't see how her Bipolar disorder and addiction history can be thought detract from her ability. If anything these things are often hallmarks of the psychology of talented people. Consider Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger. Their addiction issues were obviously very severe. Yet they gave amazing performances. There are undoubtedly countless others with a similar history, but that history is unknown to most of us.

As a semi-related aside--I saw Carrie in person on her Wishful Drinking spoken word tour a few years ago. Her presence was amazing. She was full of wit and an infectious energy. She is very talented woman, IMHO.

 

As somebody else mentioned, the drugs and mental health issues where probably a bigger factor while shooting the OT than they would be know, since it was left untreated/ignored then.

I've seen at least one interview in the last severak months (forget where) in which she very easily slipped into her Leia voice. I think she will do fine.

Most people are not missing/ignoring any points; we just disagree.

 

Her talent is not in doubt and it's not about how she looks, and it's not about a comparison competition between her, mark and Harrison. I think what could detract from her performance is her vocal ability and delivery which to me is what seems off when you hear her now and that sticks out like a sore thumb.

I sincerely hope you're right and she can slip into a Leia performance easily, I actually fear that she may get mauled by critics.

 

I remember reading somewhere that Carrie admitted that her drug use during the filming of ROTJ was something of a wakeup call to her.

I agree.

Just once I want her to tell someone she finds their lack of faith disturbing.