Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Passing the torch
Having Leia Organa in this movie will truly be interesting, given that our beloved Carrie Fisher is no longer with us.
I’m honestly not sure what to expect from the character this go around, but one thing I think she could represent in a way that no one else can is in the official passing of the torch.
The sequel trilogy has very much pushed the story forward and in the process forcing us to let go of some of the characters that we’ve spent decades admiring and holding up as standards of heroism.
Han Solo was lost in The Force Awakens, and Luke perished at the end of The Last Jedi. Both characters passed the torch to Rey in their own way, and Leia’s passing (something I think most of us are assuming for Episode IX), I think could pass the torch of the Rebellion, the New Republic, the Resistance itself.
Rey is unquestionably the hero of the sequel trilogy, but much like the other trilogies found ways to push the other characters into the limelight, the sequels have left our other main heroes — namely Finn and Poe — a bit dry in terms of “quality heroism.”
Sure, Poe blew up Starkiller, and Finn’s information made that attack possible, but many feel that Episode VIII left these two with little opportunity to shine. Having one (or both of them) as the standard-bearers following Leia’s passing would be a big push for their characters, and catapult them back to the status they enjoyed in Episode VII.
Here’s hoping to General Dameron.