Carrie Fisher's Death Will Not Alter Leia's Role In Star Wars: The Last Jedi

03/23/2017 08:41 pm EDT

Last year, Star Wars fans were left stunned and bereft after news of Carrie Fisher's passing was made public. The Star Wars icon suffered a heart attack and sadly succumbed to the ordeal shortly after. For fans and co-stars, Fisher's death left them at a loss, but they've since dedicated their time to honoring her legacy. As a writer and an actress, Fisher was beloved by millions of fans outside of her Star Wars ties.

However, Fisher's passing did leave fans concerned over how Star Wars would move forward with the event. The actress returned in The Force Awakens to reprise her role as General Leia Organa, and Fisher did finish filming her part in The Last Jedi before she passed. Lucasfilm staunchly ruled out any idea of reviving the star's likeness via CGI as they did with Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One. And, now, the CEO of Disney is stressing Leia's role in The Last Jedi will not be altered because of Fisher's passing.

Today, Bob Iger spoke with press in Santa Monica about Star Wars' future. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, it was there the executive said fans will get to see Fisher's unchanged take on Leia in The Last Jedi.

"When we bought Lucasfilm, we were going to make three films — Episodes VII, VIII and IX. We had to deal tragedy at the end of 2016. Carrie appears throughout VIII. We are not changing VIII to deal with her passing. Her performance remains as it is in VIII. In Rogue One, we had some digital character. We are not doing that with Carrie."

For fans, the update is a welcome one as they continue to wrap their minds around the new Star Wars trilogy and its absence of Fisher. The choice will soften a burden put upon director Rian Johnson as he won't need to entirely rework the next film only months before it debuts. As for Star Wars: Episode IX, Colin Trevorrow is said to be working with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy to create a befitting explanation for Leia's absence in future films.

For full details about today's press conference, you can read up on it here.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, from writer/director Rian Johnson, is in post-production now for a December 15, 2017 release. The film follows-up and continues the story of the next generation of the saga as Rey, Poe, Finn, and Kylo Ren find their place in the galaxy and follow the legacy of Luke Skywalker, Leia, and Han Solo. Daisy Ridley returns to star as Rey, with other returning stars John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Peter Mayhew, Andy Serkis, Anthony Daniels, Lupita Nyong'o Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa. Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern join the cast in as-yet-unrevealed roles.

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