As we reported to you a month or so ago, Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia had a "significantly important" role in Episode IX (HERE). The tragic death of the actress has brought upon a lot of questions, most of which involve how to replace her in the ongoing saga.
Lucasfilm were in the middle of heated meetings to settle the delicate problem at hand. All signs were leading to Fisher getting digitized and then the SW creative team pretty much decided to start from scratch in regards to "Episode IX," due for release in 2019. Now its director, Collin Trevorrow, says they found a way to 'honor' Fisher and Leia:
"She had a major role in the film and it’s something we had to deal with emotionally at first. Now we’ve had to deal with it in very practical ways and in a form of storytelling we know is going to honor her and keep her soul alive, but it is an unfortunate reality that we’re just going to have to handle. It’s been tough emotionally – and logistically we’ll figure that part out, but she was just very important to the Star Wars family and that was the hardest part."
[Star Wars News Net]