Following Carrie Fisher’s death late last year, it was evident that the final installment of the new Star Wars trilogy was going to have to be altered. And, according to an interview Entertainment Weekly published with series brand manager Kathleen Kennedy last month, the team behind Episode IX drastically shifted courses after her tragic departure. “We pretty much started over,” she said.
Around the same time, Kennedy confirmed that Fisher wouldn’t be present in Colin Trevorrow’s film, countering an earlier report from Todd Fisher, who said that he and Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd had granted the production permission to use footage of the star. It also put to rest any fears that the studio would try to do to her what it did to Peter Cushing in Rogue One.
In happier Star Wars amendment news, EW also reported yesterday that it was Rian Johnson who asked J.J. Abrams to have R2-D2 go with Rey to find Luke at the end of The Force Awakens. “Originally it was BB-8 who went with Rey, which makes sense for the story in a way,” Johnson said. “But I asked, ‘Can you do me this solid and switch the droids?’” Hopefully, that means some good Luke-R2 bonding time is coming in The Last Jedi