Ever since the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher, there’s been much debate over how Lucasfilm should proceed with the rest of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. After appearing in The Force Awakens, the actress will once again show up on the silver screen in The Last Jedi, and has a fairly large role in it from what we understand. That much has been confirmed. And because she had already shot all of her scenes for Rian Johnson’s movie before she died, no changes or alternations were necessary.
When it comes to Episode IX, however, things are a bit more tricky. Fisher was set to appear as Leia in the 2019 flick and at the time of her death, we’d heard that the character was a major part of the plot. This led many to believe that Lucasfilm might take the CGI route and recreate her digitally, though that rumor was put to bed pretty quickly. Not too long ago, we heard that old, unused footage of the actress might be inserted into Episode IX instead, but that too has now been debunked.
According to a statement from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Carrie Fisher will not appear in the film at all, though she mentioned that we’ll get to see her quite a bit in The Last Jedi. When asked why Carrie’s brother, Todd, had stated that the actress would be in the movie via old footage, Kennedy said the following:
“He was probably confused because we finished everything in ‘Eight,’ and Carrie is absolutely phenomenal in the movie. We’re so happy that we were able to complete shooting in the summer.”
So, there you have it – straight from the horse’s mouth. While the decision not to have Fisher appear in the film is understandable, it definitely is disappointing. After all, she’s a huge part of this franchise and to conclude the sequel trilogy without her just feels wrong. Even if they had to reduce her role significantly, we still think that she should have been included in Star Wars: Episode IX somehow.
With over two years to go until the film hits theaters, things still could change of course, but for now, it looks like the last time we’ll get to see our princess will be when Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives on December 15th.
