Star Wars: Carrie Fisher’s Brother Says There’s Lots of Footage That Can Be Used for ‘Episode IX’

Lucasfilm surprised fans earlier this year when they confirmed that Carrie Fisher would appear in Star Wars: Episode IX by utilizing unseen footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Fisher’s brother Todd recently confirmed that the filmmakers will have plenty of footage to parse through in order to give the character some closure in the upcoming sequel.

“There’s a lot of minutes of footage. I don’t mean just outtakes,” Todd Fisher shared with ABC News. “This is unused, new content that could be woven into the storyline. That’s what’s going to give everybody such a great kick. It’s going to look like it was meant to be. Like it was shot yesterday.”

Fisher passed away shortly after she wrapped filming on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, leading audiences to wonder what her character’s trajectory would be in the film. The film’s finale saw Leia Organa sticking with the Resistance as she encouraged Poe Dameron to become a leader in the organization, causing concern that Episode IX‘s opening crawl would merely give a passing mention to Leia and her possible demise.

Luckily, Lucasfilm’s announcement that shooting had begun on the new film included a statement about how Leia would appear in the new film.

“We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” Episode IX director J.J. Abrams revealed. “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 [Lourd], 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.”

In addition to the actress’ daughter approving of the way the footage is utilized, Fisher’s brother also approves of how her sister was revived for the film.

“We’re not allowed to talk about the details of anything,” he noted. “But we’re thrilled at what’s been done.”

Carrie Fisher’s talents weren’t only on display in front of the camera, but behind it as well. Todd teased that, in addition to seeing his sister on screen, there are other projects that will surface in the future.

“We have a lot of her artifacts, and a lot of things of hers that she’s written that will someday be shared. There’s a lot more to come from Carrie,” Fisher admitted.

Star Wars: Episode IX is slated to hit theaters in December of 2019.

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