Skip to main content

‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ casting news sheds light on Carrie Fisher’s role

The death of Star Wars franchise actress Carrie Fisher in late 2016 year saddened fans and cast an uncertain shadow over sequel plans, but the actress had a key role in Episode VIII: The Last Jediand will also show up in the upcoming Episode IX.

An episode IX casting announcement released on Friday listed Carrie Fisher among those slated to appear in the upcoming sequel. The announcement was accompanied by a statement from J.J. Abrams concerning Fisher’s role in the upcoming movie and her impact on Star Wars as a whole.

“We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” said Abrahms. “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 (The Force Awakens).”

Fisher’s brother, Todd Fisher, confirmed her presence in the film to The New York Daily News during the opening night gala of the TCM Film Festival in Los Angeles in April of last year. He indicated that both he and Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd, gave the studios permission to use recent footage she had filmed — not CGI — to include her in the movie.

“Both of us were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t,” he said. “She’s as much a part of it as anything, and I think her presence now is even more powerful than it was, like Obi Wan — when the saber cuts him down he becomes more powerful. I feel like that’s what’s happened with Carrie. I think the legacy should continue.”

Fisher’s brother added that he’s uncertain what the studio has planned for Leia Organa, Fisher’s beloved character in the franchise, but he has faith in the Abrams and the rest of the Star Wars crew.

“I’m not the only part in that equation, but I think the people deserve to have her,” he said. “She’s owned by them.”

Updated 7-28-18 to include J.J. Abrams’ comments regarding Fisher’s role in Episode IX.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Most powerful Star Wars heroes ever, ranked
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 2022 Disney+ series.

Over the course of the sprawling history of Star Wars, the audience has been introduced to its fair share of heroes. Some have been tempted or even succumbed to the Dark Side, while others fought hard to stay in the light. None of the heroes are infallible, but it's undeniable that some are far more powerful than others.

The very best heroes in the history of Star Wars are great not just because of what they are capable of, but because of how they decided to use their skills. This list is, at the end of the day, all about raw power, though, even though it's based on some speculation. We see a lot of powerful heroes across the galaxy, but these ones rose to the top.
10. Ki-Adi-Mundi

Read more
Are the Star Wars prequels actually good?
Anakin fights Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith.

Ten years ago, great jubilation arose among the Star Wars faithful when Disney acquired Lucasfilm and subsequently announced Star Wars sequels featuring the original trilogy characters. Finally, we could move past the sins of the prequel trilogy -- Episodes I, II, and III, all written and directed by George Lucas -- with "real" Star Wars movies that would eclipse our blighted memories of Lucas' miscalculations. Sure enough, when The Force Awakens debuted in 2015, fans and casual viewers alike proclaimed its fidelity to the holy trinity of original Star Wars movies. It might be a little derivative, but doggone it, it looked like original Star Wars. More importantly, it felt like original Star Wars.

It didn't take long for folks to change their tune. Now the sequels -- The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker -- are much maligned for their lack of cohesive vision and their reliance on tired material. Meanwhile, the prequels have undergone fresh appraisal, and the excitement among fans is off the charts for prequel-related shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi. After suffering two decades of derision, are the prequels suddenly considered good now? How did that happen?

Read more
The 10 coolest Star Wars TIE fighters, ranked
star wars squadrons release date trailer gameplay news ties

Star Wars may continue to divide fans on a number of fronts, but if everybody agrees on one thing, it's that the ships and vehicles remain awesome, even the new ones. For example, The Mandalorian introduced the instant classic "Razor Crest," which was the equivalent of an Airstream RV for Mando and 'lil Grogu to tour the galaxy's hot spots. When the Crest met an accident that severely compromised its resale value, Mando came into possession of a midlife crisis upgrade: A tricked-out chrome Naboo N1 starfighter so snazzy it achieved the almost impossible feat of making something from The Phantom Menace cool.

If one ship epitomizes Star Wars above all others, continuing to appear both in updated and classic forms in virtually every new addition (they can be seen currently in both Obi-Wan Kenobi and the trailer for Andor), it's the TIE fighter, the Twin Ion Engine starfighter used by the Empire and later the First Order. Designed for a single pilot (wearing the coolest flight suit ever designed) TIE fighters are used for combat and patrol, their speed and maneuverability making them the perfect foil for Rebel ships like the X-Wing (though never, alas, the Millennium Falcon). Here, we rank the top 10 styles of TIE fighters (yes, there are even more!), according to sheer coolness.
10. The classic TIE fighter

Read more