Star Wars: Episode IX – Carrie Fisher’s Brother “Thrilled” by Leia Footage

Christmas is over, but it’s never too early to start thinking about next Christmas (yes it is – Ed) and Christmas 2019 will be a Star Wars Christmas.

J.J. Abrams is back to direct Episode IX, the final part of the most recent Star Wars trilogy, which is lined up for release this December, but he didn’t want to complete the story without including the late Carrie Fisher, and her iconic character, Leia Organa.

“We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” Abrams said a while back. “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, 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.”

We don’t know the nature of the footage Abrams is using from The Force Awakens to bring Leia back in Episode IX, but Carrie Fisher’s brother Todd seems delighted with the way that the Star Wars crew are handling her inclusion in the film.

“There’s a lot of minutes of footage,” Todd Fisher told Good Morning America. “I don’t mean just outtakes. 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. We’re not allowed to talk about the details of anything, but we’re thrilled at what’s been done.”

Fisher also confirmed that Episode IX won’t be the last time we see something new from Carrie’s archives.

“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.”

Star Wars: Episode IX opens on Dec. 20. The full schedule of upcoming Star Wars projects can be found here.