Is This How Star Wars: Episode IX Will Begin?

It’s perhaps the biggest question that J.J. Abrams’ latest installment in the Star Wars saga will need to answer. No, not Rey’s re-evaluated parentage, not Snoke’s resurrection and certainly not if The Last Jedi needs to be remade. Rather, it’s how will the death of Carrie Fisher be handled? To this end, Cinema Blend theorizes that Star Wars: Episode IX will open with the funeral of General Leia.

Fisher’s death after the completion of The Last Jedi but before the beginning of production on Episode IX was not only tragic but also problematic for the series. Whilst the ‘Leia in space’ moment was arguably a perfectly peaceful way to say goodbye to the Princess, it was instead used to display her instinctive abilities with the Force and to later provide a heartwarming farewell between her and Luke.

Having survived The Last Jedi, the former Princess Leia closed the film alongside the dregs of the Resistance as they escaped their fated last stand on Crait. This leaves her role in Episode IX unclear but most likely it’ll be non-existent. As Cinema Blend explains, the most satisfying option seems to be to kill Leia off-screen, with the cause perhaps introduced during the title crawl. The opening funeral would then give fans and characters their moment to grieve from the outset before moving on.

Perhaps Leia’s death could provide the impetus for the Rebel’s uprising, too, with Han, Luke and now the General’s sacrifice each sparking hope in the new generation, which finally sees an end to the First Order. Maybe her death will even spark further conflict in Kylo Ren? He’ll need something new to be Emo about, after all.

Chalk this all up as speculation for now, but until we get some firm answers, tell us, how do you think Star Wars: Episode IX should deal with the death of one of the franchise’s most beloved characters? Let us know in the comments section below.