Despite her tragic death in December 2016, Carrie Fisher will be featured in the last “Star Wars” movie.
LucasFilm and Disney obviously reached an agreement with Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd. I was told some months ago Lourd did not want J.J. Abrams to cobble together a Leia-like CGI character for the movie.
But, you know, money and Hollywood prevail. Maybe it’s good for the closure of the series. Mark Hamill will be back as Luke Skywalker, and his character is actually dead.
You may recall that back in June 2017 Hamill told me the original script for Chapter 9 really centered on Leia.
Here’s the official word:
“Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character,” director J.J. Abrams said in a statement. “With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”
