‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Spoiler: Carrie Fisher On What We Might Not See

The death of Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens came as a pretty big shock for die-hard Star Wars fans (unless you’re like me and had it spoiled by the random eight-year-old sitting next to you moments before the movie started). And since we barely had a chance to catch our breath before the film moved into the final climactic duel between Kylo Ren and Rey, you can be forgiven for hoping that the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII would circle back to the death of Han Solo and take a few minutes to send the character off right. You know, give us a little closure.

Well, it sounds like that may not be the case. Earlier this weekend, as part of her panel at Star Wars Celebration, Carrie Fisher was asked what her character had been up to between Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And according to Yahoo! Movies, Fisher thought the question was asking about the newest movie and, in a rare moment of candidness from a Star Wars cast member, gave us our next great rumor for what we may not see in the new Star Wars film.

Han’s funeral… Oh, oh… Han and I have a very, very volatile relationship, obviously, which leads to space divorce as you know. No I don’t think we are divorced — just estranged.

“Han’s funeral.” Now, two lines is not much to go on, and there has been a little confusion as to what Fisher meant with her line. Does this meant that Leia has been preparing the Han Solo funeral for the beginning of the next film? Or does it mean that the funeral itself took place between movies?

If Fisher meant that the funeral had taken place between films, though, would we all be happy with a movie where Han Solo is mourned and buried by the opening scrawl? It may not exactly be the kind of send-off we were hoping for one of the most popular Star Wars heroes of all-time — I mean, even Darth Vader got an onscreen burial scene, and he, you know, killed all those people — but it does make a bit of sense when you think about the juggling act the first movie undertook. One of the most important aspects of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was that it help move the Star Wars narrative into the hands of a new generation of characters and conflicts. I can see the argument that a Han Solo funeral would only serve to slow things down. Like it or not, they have other stories to tell now.

Star Wars: Episode VIII opens in theaters on December 15, 2017.