Princess Leia, the beloved Star Wars character played by late actress Carrie Fisher will be featured in a significant role in the highly anticipated final chapter in the Skywalker film saga.
There is enough unused footage of Fisher from the filming of 2015 movie The Force Awakens to make Leia a key player in The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars film that debuts in cinemas on December 20, according to writer and director J.J. Abrams.
Carrie Fisher passed away in 2016 at 60.
In an interview with Abrams he said that they couldn’t tell the story without Leia and that she is the mother of the villain of the piece. He added that she in a sense the mother of the resistance, the rebellion, the leader and the general.
He continued saying that her role is integral and that it is not just a cosmetic thing that they are inserting Leia.
The Rise of Skywalker is the ninth movie in the Star Wars franchise that debuted in 1977 and is now owned by Walt Disney Co.
Other cast members like pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and maintenance worker Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) also have scenes that include dialogue with Leia.
Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd who will appear for the third time as a lieutenant in the resistance forces, also will be seen on screen with her mother, according to Abrams.
The actor who plays the droid C-3PO, Anthony Daniels said that the scenes with Fisher looked totally believable, quite wonderful, quite respectful in the final cut of the film. It was shown to some cast members this week.
Oscar Isaac said he felt a real melancholy watching Fisher on screen in Rise of Skywalker.
He added that you can see her right there, looking so vital and alive but to think she’s not there anymore and she won’t get to see how we say goodbye to Princess Leia, “It’s bittersweet.” -/TISG