In an exclusive interview with ABC News on Friday during the Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that Carrie Fisher will not make a posthumous appearance as General Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode IX.
The late actress' brother, Todd Fisher, recently made comments to media outlets that suggested his sister had already filmed scenes that would be used in the 2019 sequel. However, when asked about his recent statements, Kennedy offered up some much-needed clarification. “He was probably confused because we finished everything in ‘Eight,’ and Carrie is absolutely phenomenal in the movie. We’re so happy that we were able to complete shooting in the summer. Unfortunately, Carrie passed away, so by the time we were well underway with ‘Episode Nine’ in our thoughts — we had not written the script yet — but we’ve regrouped, we started over again in January, so sadly, Carrie will not be in ‘Nine,' but we’ll see a lot of her in ‘Eight,’ which is great."
Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) is helming the untitled Star Wars: Episode IX with a script co-written by him and Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. Filming is expected to begin this July with a likely late 2019 release date in mind. As for the cast, both Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley are expected to return.