Towards the end of 2016, the world lost a true icon of the screen when Carrie Fisher passed away. The actress had recently reprised the role of Leia Organa for J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens, and had finished filming her scenes for the next installment in the main saga, Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. However, Fisher was also supposed to return for the final part of the new trilogy, and this has had many wondering if her role in The Last Jedi would be altered in any way.
Though there will obviously need to be some kind of changes made to the character’s final arc, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, there will be no additional photography on Episode VIII to account for Fisher’s passing, and certainly no CGI trickery a la Rogue One.
Here’s what Iger had to say to THR on the matter:
When we bought Lucasfilm, we were going to make three films — Episodes VII, VIII and IX. We had to deal tragedy at the end of 2016. Carrie appears throughout VIII. We are not changing VIII to deal with her passing. Her performance remains as it is in VIII. In Rogue One, we had some digital character. We are not doing that with Carrie.
It’s great to hear that fans will be able to enjoy Fisher’s final performance as it was always meant to be seen, but again, it will still be necessary to explain why Leia’s story doesn’t conclude where it was originally supposed to in the still untitled Episode XI, which will be helmed by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is set for release this December, but you’ll almost certainly get your first look at the film via a teaser trailer very soon, as Star Wars Celebration Orlando gets underway next month.
