Honoring a Legacy: Colin Trevorrow Opens Up About 'Episode IX' Without Carrie Fisher

Can you really believe that we are once again facing the "end" of another #StarWars trilogy when Disney's current arc comes to an end in 2019? Sure, there may be promises of umpteen anthology films and more than enough hype surrounding #RianJohnson's #TheLastJedi, but you can't blame Star Wars fans for looking ahead at the final installment in the latest era of Skywalkers and sabers.

Sadly, the upcoming eighth installment in the main series of films will also be tarred with a sombre brush, becoming the final time we will see the late #CarrieFisher on our screens as Princess Leia.

Originally, we thought that Lucasfilm could use its Rogue One technology to bring Princess Leia back as a CGI Carrie Fisher, but out of respect for the dead, it has been confirmed that The Last Jedi will be the fiery Alderaan heir's final swansong. However, with Leia presumably being a big part of the ongoing storylines, how has Fisher's death affected the franchise as a whole?

You're My Only Hope

After some big success over on Jurassic World, #ColinTrevorrow will take over from Johnson to helm Episode IX and has now spoken to CinemaBlend about the heartache of making the first Star Wars without Leia's name in lights:

“She was a major character, that's not a secret. She really was. And it was extremely sad for all of us, mostly just because she was so loved by the Star Wars family and everyone that worked with her."

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy spoken out about the troubling task of rejigging an entire universe around the loss of Leia Organa, but Trevorrow puts that monumental task into perspective by having to draft an entirely new script with co-writer Derek Connolly:

"I feel like our options are limited mostly by ourselves, in that there is only certain things that we are willing to do. But I can guarantee it will be handled with love and respect, and all of the soul that Carrie Fisher deserves.”

With Fisher's death at the tail end of 2016 coming as such a surprise, not only was the world of fandom rocked, but the entire production of the Star Wars future. It is no surprise that Trevorrow is tentative about carrying on sans Leia, and there are reports that Episode IX was going to be "Leia's film." We still don't know how Leia's story will end, but expect Johnson and The Last Jedi to bid a faithful farewell to the no-nonsense negotiator — here's hoping Leia finally gets to wield a lightsaber after 40 years.

With Fisher playing the role from 1977 up until her death, she helped Leia become a figurehead of the #scifi genre before Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, or Katniss Everdeen were even a thought. In fact, alongside the likes of Wonder Woman, Dorothy Gale, and Mary Poppins, Leia is one of the best-loved women in fictional history. As for the expectations/sadness of creating a Star Wars film without the bun-haired heroine, all I can say is, rather you than me, Colin!

Check out the trailer for The Last Jedi below!