Sadly, Carrie Fisher handed away in 2016, that means she would by no means have the ability to reprise her position as Leia past “Star Wars: The Final Jedi.” J.J. Abrams repurposed unused footage of her for “The Rise of Skywalker,” which is how Leia was nonetheless in a position to spherical out the sequel trilogy. Past that, although, Lucasfilm has been left with a little bit of a dilemma in that division. Might they justify recasting Leia for a present like “Ahsoka,” which is about a number of years after the occasions of “Return of the Jedi,” lengthy earlier than her return in “The Drive Awakens” in 2015? Perhaps they’ll someday, however that call would not need to be made simply but, as C-3PO was in a position to function a proxy for Leia in the intervening time.
The actual fact of the matter is that Leia was a large a part of the New Republic and a big determine on this interval within the galaxy. She’s additionally one of the crucial beloved characters in all of “Star Wars.” It is unimaginable to outright ignore her presence in a present like this when she’s so intrinsically tied to the New Republic’s wrestle to realize order within the galaxy in opposition to the looming menace of the remnants of the Empire. Author/producer/director Dave Filoni properly discovered a technique to tackle the Leia of all of it with out having to truly have her on display screen.
It is smart that Leia and Hera could be in shut contact right now. It additionally is smart that Leia could be frightened in regards to the doable return of Grand Admiral Thrawn. And it is all too applicable that she would help aiding Ahsoka and Sabine throughout this difficult time, particularly with a sneaky little bit of useful deception. On the identical time, she could be extremely busy and cannot be in all places directly. So it does make sense to have C-3PO stand in for her on this occasion. C-3PO has helped her many instances earlier than, and he did so as soon as once more.
“Ahsoka” returns for its season 1 finale on Tuesday, October 3 on Disney+ at 9pm ET/6pm PT.