It was truly a devastating loss when Carrie Fisher passed away on December 27th, as she was a brilliant advocate, thoughtful writer, and overall force for good in the world. Star Wars fans also grieved the loss of their beloved Princess Leia, as Fisher had been critical to the franchise since day one. While her filming for The Last Jedi had already been completed, her role in Episode IX was rumored to be even larger. Following her death, however, it was unknown how she would fit into the third film in the trilogy. To their credit, Disney released a statement saying that they had no plans to digitally recreate Leia like they did in Rogue One following Fisher’s death.
However, according to her brother Todd, Fisher will be appearing in Episode IX in some capacity. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he and Billie Lourde, Carrie Fisher’s daughter, recently gave Disney permission to use recent footage of the actress in the later film.
“Both of us were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t,” said Fisher Thursday at the TCM Film Festival in Los Angeles.
“I’m not the only part in that equation, but I think the people deserve to have her,” said Fisher. “She’s owned by them.”
We’ll have to wait and see how Disney chooses to use this footage, but hopefully they will give the princess turned general the send off that she deserves.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
