Star Wars: The Last Jedi may be Carrie Fisher’s final film, but she’ll be remembered fondly for her contributions to nerddom and the world in general. For today’s Star Wars episode of Nerdist News Talks Back, Host Jessica Chobot, Nerdist Producer Jesse Gill, Features Editor Matt Groesinger, and Senior Editor Dan Casey discuss Leia’s final appearance, Episode IX‘s new writer, and our Last Jedi theories.
After the tragic death of Carrie Fisher last year, fans wondered how her Star Wars character’s arc would change. John Boyega recently had a bit to say about his Force Awakens co-star to ABC News, claiming that, “the movie sends her off in an amazing way, and she’s still kept alive in the franchise.” He also added that she, “lives forever, in a sense.” While we know Leia will not be appearing in Episode IX, does this mean she could become a force ghost like her father and Obi-Wan? Or will she be appearing in the now-canon Marvel comics? Either way, we’d love to see more Leia.
In other Star Wars news, Episode IX has a new writer. Jack Thorne, writer of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will take the writer reigns over from director Colin Trevorrow and his co-writer for a second pass. Trevorrow’s last film, The Book of Henry, was not well-received, adding to mounting wonder whether Episode IX is in the right hands. Though The Cursed Child did not receive widespread acclaim, Thorne is a well-known British playwright. Admittedly, his involvement continues the trend of confusion fans have in regards to Episode IX, but we’ll reserve judgement until the film comes out.
Though The Last Jedi comes out in December, we’ve yet to see much about the film. Other than the trailer revealed at D23, not much is known about the story. We do know that Gwendolyn Christie, who plays Captain Phasma, told Entertainment Weekly that the film goes “deeper and further” than previous films, and Mark Hamill called it “unexpected.” What that says to us at Nerdist is that it’s time for fan theories. Among our favorites are the theory that Kylo Ren has been in service of a long, convoluted plan by Luke Skywalker to defeat the dark side once and for all, and the theory that Snoke is a creation of Darth Plagueis.
What are your favorite Star Wars theories? Let us know in the comments below. You can watch and interact live with Nerdist News Talks Back every weekday at 1:00pm PST on YouTube and Alpha, and catch up with the archives just after the show!
Images: Lucasfilm
