Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy confirmed Carrie Fisher will not appear in Star Wars Episode 9.
The surprise announcement on Friday (14Apr17) comes after Carrie’s brother Todd Fisher previously said the late actress would feature in the ninth installment of the sci-fi franchise.
Kathleen told ABC News that Todd was “confused”, but Carrie would feature heavily in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, due out in December (17).
“Sadly, Carrie will not be in nine,” she confirmed. “But we will see a lot of Carrie in eight.”
Todd told New York Daily News earlier this month that he and Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd, had given Disney and Lucasfilm permission to use footage from The Last Jedi in the as yet untitled Episode 9, due out in 2019.
Carrie died last December (16) at the age of 60, after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles.
Kathleen revealed the whole storyline for Episode 9 had to be rewritten after the actress, who played Princess Leia/General Leia Organa in the movies, unexpectedly passed away.
“Obviously, with Carrie having passed away, it shook everybody,” she said. “We pretty much started over.”
Carrie will not be recreated digitally for the movie, meaning Leia will feature in the Star Wars movies for the final time in The Last Jedi.
Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger previously said the movie would not be altered to deal with Carrie’s passing, and it will end as originally planned.
And Kathleen assured fans of the sci-fi saga that even though Carrie will no longer feature in any more Star Wars films, her work in the upcoming movie was some of her best.
“She’s fantastic,” she gushed.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, also starring Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, and Daisy Ridley, will be released from 13 December (17).
