The next " Star Wars" movie will include scenes
with Carrie Fisher in what will be her second posthumous appearance
in the series.
Director JJ Abrams plans to use previously unpublished material of
Fisher in her famous role as Leia Organa, Lucas film announced on
Friday.
"We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," Abrams said in a Lucas Film
news release. "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker
saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a
CG [computer generated] character."
With the blessing of her daughter, Billie Lourd, Abrams said the team
had "found a way to honour Carrie's legacy and role as Leia in
Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII."
That movie, " Star Wars: The Force Awakens," was released in 2015.
Filming of Episode IX begins Wednesday at London's Pinewood Studios,
Lucas Film said in the news release.
Fisher starred as Princess Leia in the first Star Wars movie in 1977
and in subsequent movies in the '80s. She first appeared posthumously
as a general in last year's " Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Fisher died
on December 27, 2016, at age 60.
The upcoming movie, the ninth in the series, is scheduled to be
released in December 2019.
Returning cast members include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John
Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyongo and Lourd. Veteran Star Wars
actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams have also
been cast. Williams will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.