Carrie Fisher will not be digitally recreated in the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, according to Disney boss Bob Iger.
The late actress reprised her role as Princess Leia for 2015 Star Wars installment The Force Awakens and had shot all of her scenes for its follow-up The Last Jedi before she died on 27 December (16), aged 60, days after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger has now confirmed that she appears throughout The Last Jedi and her role will remain unchanged, as Disney bosses have decided against modifying the plot and using special effects to deal with her death.
“She’s in (Episode) VIII, and we’re not changing VIII to deal with her passing,” he said on Thursday (23Mar17) at a conference at the University of Southern California. “Her performance, which we’ve been really pleased with, remains as it was.”
Disney bosses have used computer-generated imagery (CGI) to recreate actors in the past – in spin-off prequel Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin in the original film, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, was digitally recreated as he had passed away in 1994. A younger version of Princess Leia, recreated used CGI, also made a cameo appearance.
Bob assured fans that wouldn’t happen in The Last Jedi, saying, “We’re not doing that with Carrie.”
He also revealed some details about the upcoming Han Solo spin-off, telling the audience the prequel will follow the space smuggler from the ages of 18 to 24, during which time “he acquires a certain vehicle and meets a certain Wookiee” he teased, referring to the Millennium Falcon and Chewbacca.
The film, starring Alden Ehrenreich as the younger version of Harrison Ford’s character, is currently being filmed with a release date of May, 2018.
The Last Jedi will hit cinemas from 13 December (17).