Star Wars Episode 9: Carrie Fisher Will Appear (And Not With CGI)

On the news that Carrie Fisher had died, the immediate question for Disney was always going to be how they reflected real life in the Star Wars universe, with two more planned appearances for General Organa. They were quite quick to confirm that The Last Jedi was shot and wouldn't be changed to reflect her passing and now we've got some confirmation of what they plan for Episode IX (as well as confirmation that the character seemingly survives The Last Jedi).

Disney have previously announced that they won't be using the same CGI techniques used to bring Peter Cushing into Rogue One (and indeed Carrie Fisher herself) - which is a smart move given the controversy that inspired - and now Fisher's brother has confirmed how they'll achieve her continued presence.

Todd Fisher spoke to The New York Daily News to say that he and Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd have granted Disney and Lucasfilm permission to use existing footage that was shot for The Last Jedi, as well as The Force Awakens to create Leia's presence in Episode IX:

“Both of us were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t. 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… To me, Star Wars is the holy grail of storytelling and lore and you can’t mess with it.”

You'd have to suspect that that means the character wasn't going to be killed in The Last Jedi.

Whether Colin Trevorrow will choose to kill her off in Episode IX or simply quietly retire her remains to be seen. Emotionally, you'd imagine that they'll go the same way as the Fast & Furious film-makers and cleverly edit the film to give her a fond farewell rather than an explosive one, as they did with Paul Walker's death.

The film-makers could still use digital effects in conjunction with that already-shot footage, stripping away the background and placing her into Episode IX scenes, and it's likely that a stand-in will be used at least partly - perhaps combined with dialogue they've already shot and didn't use. It would also seem likely that her role will be reduced.

Are you happy with General Organa appearing in Episode IX without the use of CGI? Share your response in the comments thread below.