Because of the recent and untimely death of Carrie Fisher — who passed away on Tuesday, December 27 after suffering a massive heart attack four days earlier on a transatlantic flight — Disney may receive a $50 million insurance payout, according to The Insurance Insider.
They report: “Sources said that Disney had taken out $50mn of so-called contract protection cover as insurance for the event that Fisher was unable to fulfil her obligations to act in the new Star Wars films, with the policy now likely to trigger.”
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If true, the $50 million payout — which Lloyd’s of London is on the hook for — would be the “market’s biggest ever single personal accident insurance claim.”
Shortly after her death, TMZ reported that Fisher had completed her work on Episode VIII and, according to Deadline, has a bigger role (General Leia Organa) in it than she did in The Force Awakens. Additionally, she was expected to return for 2019’s Episode IX.
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Rey took her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will continue her epic journey with Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the continuing Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Episode VIII.
Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is written and directed by Rian Johnson and continues the storylines introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, welcomes back cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. New cast members will include Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award nominee Laura Dern, and talented newcomer Kelly Marie Tran.
Star Wars: Episode VIII is scheduled for release December 15, 2017.