Carrie Fisher will not appear in Star Wars Episode IX.
The Star Wars franchise is in something of a state of limbo at the moment. Whilst The Last Jedi had a healthy return at the box office, it divided its previously loyal fan base in their opinions like no Star Wars film before it and was swiftly followed by the generally more fan-friendly spin off/prequel Solo: A Star Wars Story which has received far more love from those fans that have actually seen it, although it seems that Solo will struggle to make a return on its sizeable budget, and will be seen by Disney as something of a financial failure.
Many people are of the opinion that the J.J. Abrams helmed Episode IX will be the film to ultimately decide if the franchise ultimately has a future or whether the nostalgia factor for the series has run dry.
One major component when banking on such a factor is the return of stars from the original trilogy of films. With major characters such as Han Solo being killed off and Luke Skywalker also appearing to have died, it seems that Carrie Fisher will now not appear in the ninth episode of the Skywalker saga having passed away over Christmas 2016.
Whilst the studio could never have predicted such a tragedy, they now find themselves without a major star from the original trilogy. Disney have previously stated that they do not to intend to use the Leia character in any capacity in the upcoming film, but interestingly her brother Todd Fisher hopes to see her make an appearance in the 2019 film.
He recently told the Press Association;
“I want her to (appear again). I have my own opinion on that. Disney of course spent the billions to decide but, ultimately, from the brother’s standpoint, I would love to see Carrie come back. She never really left. If you look at the heart of what Star Wars is about, it’s very much about the Jedi way and the spirituality of the Jedi. And how this life is just a prelude to the next. Her legacy will live on and could potentially be stronger and if they chose to embrace that it could be awesome. You’ll notice that little Yoda came back because Yoda carries the philosophy of the story, so for him to reoccur is cool. I just don’t know, why not Carrie?”
Whilst her sibling gives his approval to a further appearance from Leia it appears that both Lucasfilm and Disney have decided to stick to their decision of not including her in the upcoming episode in any capacity and rumours abound that a significant jump forward in time will be shown to have taken place between episodes VIII and IX, with speculation that the character’s death will be mentioned in the famous Star Wars opening crawl to the forthcoming film.
Star Wars Episode IX is slated for a December 2019 release.