Next ‘Star Wars’ Will Use Footage Of Carrie Fisher — Can’t We Let Her Rest In Peace?
It’s said that if you love someone, you should set them free — and if they come back to you in the form of unreleased footage, you’ll know you can still make hundreds of millions of dollars on them. It is for that reason, we imagine, that beloved film icon Carrie Fisher will be appearing in the upcoming “Star Wars” movie via unreleased footage, even though she died two years ago.
Director J.J. Abrams has announced that footage of Fisher that went unused in previous “Star Wars” movies will be repurposed to bring General Leia’s story to a “satisfying conclusion.”
It’s not possible to imagine what Fisher’s quick-wit and cynical genius might have come up with in response to this news, but it feels safe to say she would have been mildly disgusted and plenty amused. Abrams politely added that after considering recasting Fisher or recreating her via CGI, he decided this was a better choice. Ultimately, it’s what any actor would want — footage of herself from a different movie, not deemed good enough at the time, footage that she can’t be paid for, being used to make a buck off her after her death.
But that’s Hollywood, folks!
“Star Wars: Episode IX” will be released December 2019. Carrie Fisher’s memory will be released when it can no longer be monetized.
Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO