General Leia Organa and Carrie Fisher have some unfinished business in the Star Wars universe.
After the passing of our princess, Carrie Fisher, and the fact that her character was still alive after the events of The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm was quick to confirm that Fisher would be returning to Episode IX through unused footage that was filmed during The Force Awakens.
“We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” J.J. Abrams, who is co-writing and directing the upcoming film, said in an official statement. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast or use a CG character. 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.’”
Naturally, as fans of the character long to have some deeper closure, there has been a lot of speculation about what this could mean. However, Todd Fisher, Carrie’s elder brother, recently appeared on Good Morning America and, according to IndieWire, and gave a small bit of insight into what this footage looks like and how it will fit into the new film.
“There’s a lot of minutes of footage. I don’t mean just outtakes. This is unused, new content that could be woven into the storyline. That’s what’s going to give everybody such a great kick. It’s going to look like it was meant to be. Like it was shot yesterday. We’re not allowed to talk about the details of anything, but we’re thrilled at what’s been done.”
We already have been told that IX is supposed to open with a one-year time jump from the events of the previous film, so it’s yet to be known whether this footage will be used in a present-day context or in flashbacks. Either way, it’ll be great to see what will be done with Carrie’s image, and I trust that the franchise will do its best to honor her. It’s a huge burden for Billie to be the one to make these decisions alone, so I’m glad her uncle is helping to secure this legacy.
What I’m looking forward to most of all is seeing how writers will build the connective tissue between these two films. The expanded universe books have always been my favorite part of the Star Wars universe, and I think that the medium will be the most useful in giving the character of Leia Organa a truly fulfilling ending, especially since it’s the medium in which she’s gotten the most character development.
Episode IX has set itself up with a lot of expectations as a satisfying ending to the Skywalker narrative. Whether it will do that well, only time can tell, but I’m going to try to go in with an open mind to whatever Abrams creates—lens flare and all.
(via Indiewire, image: Disney/Lucasfilm)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
