Leia Takes The Spotlight In New Star Wars: The Last Jedi Promo Image

Given that the film’s December 15th release date is quickly approaching, it’s a bit odd that we haven’t seen too much of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi just yet. Besides that teaser trailer from Celebration and a cool sizzle reel from D23, there really hasn’t been a whole lot in the way of marketing, and fans are starting to get a bit anxious. Thankfully, a wave of leaks have helped to tide us over, but it’s really about time the studio kicks off the promotional campaign in earnest. And though that still has yet to happen, we imagine it’ll be any day now.

Until then, we’ll take what we can get and today brings with it a new shot of Carrie Fisher’s Leia as she’ll appear in the film (which you can check out down below). Wearing attire that we’ve already seen in previous photos/footage, there’s nothing here that’s particularly noteworthy, but it’s still nice to get another look at the character regardless, especially since all eyes will be on her when the sequel lands in theatres later this year.

After all, Fisher’s tragic passing at the end of 2016 left Star Wars fans around the world heartbroken, and ever since, one of the biggest questions has been how will Lucasfilm handle the actress’ untimely death moving forward? We know that she’s set to feature quite heavily in The Last Jedi, but what comes after that? If recent rumors are to be believed, the studio plans to keep Leia alive in the franchise rather than killing her off, but how they’ll write her out of the saga remains to be seen – though it’s said to be the perfect sendoff.

We’ll likely have to wait until the film hits theatres to find out for certain how the character’s arc will be wrapped up, but the idea of leaving Star Wars: The Last Jedi feeling emotionally satisfied about the fate of General Leia Organa is definitely one of immense comfort – not least because we know that Star Wars: Episode IX was altered at the writing stage to account for her unexpected loss. We still have time to steel ourselves for those final scenes, too, as the next chapter of the saga won’t be with us until December 15th, at which point it’ll also deliver a fitting tribute to the actress during the end credits.