The late Carrie Fisher, forever our Princess Leia Organa, will reprise her role in the upcoming film, Star Wars: Episode IX. The beloved starlet seems to posthumously make sure she's not letting her fans down.
Hollywood has perpetually mourned the loss of the brassy luminary whose light was extinguished too soon.
Now, fans find themselves emotionally vulnerable over the exciting yet poignant news of Fisher appearing in the ninth and final installment of the new Star Wars trilogy.
Returning director J.J. Abrams made the announcement in a statement on Friday in which he explained the film will incorporate unused footage of Fisher from 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
We desperately loved Carrie Fisher. Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character.
EW cited a studio release which said Fisher's daughter and fellow Star Wars actress Billie Lourd gave her blessing for the decision.
The actress's brother, Todd Fisher, predicted that his sister would appear in the last installment to the sequel trilogy back in April, but producer Kathleen Kennedy was quick to shut him down by saying she had "no idea why he said that."
With his prophecy now realized, Todd Fisher told Variety he was "personally thrilled and happy" over Abrams' announcement.
As we, her family, as well as her extended family of fans around the world so believe, Carrie's Princess Leia is forever entrenched in the franchise and her indelible presence is fundamental to the film. J.J. Abrams understood Carrie's iconic role, and he has masterfully re-crafted this final entry to include this unused and very last footage of Carrie ever taken, without resorting to CGI or animatronics.
Our family and her fans will look forward with great anticipation for this one! Her force will forever be with us!
In response to Kennedy's earlier response, Todd Fisher said he harbors no hard feelings over her assertion. "If I was in anyway an inspiration for the final decision to keep Leia a part of the story, that's great," he told THR. "I must say at times I felt like a voice crying in the wilderness."
Fisher died in 2016 after finishing production on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. She was unresponsive while being taken to the hospital by paramedics after collapsing during an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles on December 23.
She died a few days later on December 27. The actress was 60 years old.
You can watch Fisher when Star Wars: Episode IX opens in theaters on December 20, 2019.
