Star Wars Has Recast Princess Leia
Star Wars has recast Princess Leia for an upcoming project.
This article is more than 2 years old
When an actor who plays a character, especially one that is iconic, dies, it leaves open questions on how to handle casting. A prequel series has an easier out, and that is what is happening with the Obi-Wan Kenobi series as it is set to star a new Princess Leia.
Cinelinx got the scoop that Vivien Lyra Blair (Bird Box) will be a young Princess Leia in the prequel series. According to the report, she will play a major role in the story. Her part will set the stage to put Obi-Wan on this adventure that will play out.
By seeing Princess Leia at such a young age, the series will be set after the events of Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. If the report on the series is correct, it will take place approximately a decade after Star Wars Rebels as characters from that show are rumored to make an appearance.
Ewan McGregor confirmed the series is set to have six hour-long episodes. His return as Obi-Wan to go on an adventure with Princess Leia is only planned for a single season.
Besides the Obi-Wan and Princess Leia actors the show has a stacked lineup of stars. It consists of Joel Edgerton (It Comes at Night), Maya Erskine (Scoob!), Rubert Friend (Homeland), Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Sung Kang (Fast & Furious), Simone Kessell (Pine Gap), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems), and Idira Varma (This Way Up). Returning as their roles from the prequels, Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader and Bonnie Piesse as Beru.
Directing these actors to bring iconic characters like Princess Leia and newcomers to life will be Deborah Chow. Her getting hired makes sense as she directed two episodes of The Mandalorian. She has also worked on two episodes of Fear the Walking Dead and one episode of a handful of shows like Better Call Saul, Mr. Robot, and Jessica Jones. Now, she gets to direct all six episodes of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Spanning across the decades, Star Wars has had different actors playing the same characters. Alec Guinness was the original Obi-Wan before Ewan McGregor. If the report from Cinelinx is true, then Vivian Lyra Blair will be the first to step into the shoes of Princess Leia since Carrie Fisher died in 2016.
Carrie Fisher was the face to introduce the world to Princess Leia back in 1977 with A New Hope and the rest of the original trilogy. She came for two of the modern sequels, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. She finished shooting Rian Johnson’s entry before her death. She was brought back with unused footage in Rise of Skywalker from the special effects team piecing together the puzzle of her inclusion to complete the story.
There is no date when we will get to see McGregor reprise his role as Obi-Wan with a new Princess Leia. The show is currently in production and is aiming for a 2022 release on Disney Plus. The streaming platform releases its shows once a week and occasionally streams the first couple of episodes before going one by one, though Obi-Wan will be short enough that one by one seems most likely.
