J.J. Abrams marked the first day of shooting the new '
The 52-year-old director marked his first day of shooting the next installment of the hit franchise by joining Twitter, and used his first post to pay tribute to the veteran actress - who died in December 2016 - and his "extraordinary" cast and crew, as well as giving a shout out to ' Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi' director Rian Johnson and franchise creator George Lucas.
Along with an image of a camera, J.J. - who has previously occasionally used the microblogging website through his Bad Robot company account - wrote: "Bittersweet starting this next chapter without Carrie, but thanks to an extraordinary cast and crew, we are ready to go. Grateful for @rianjohnson and special thanks to George Lucas for creating this incredible world and beginning a story of which we are lucky to be a part. #IX (sic)"
In response, Rian sent the director - who was also at the helm of the seventh movie in the franchise, ' The Force Awakens' - a gif of Harrison Ford's Han Solo saluting.
Few details are currently known about the ninth movie in the series, but it was previously revealed that unused footage from ' The Force Awakens' will be used to keep Carrie in the movie as General Leia Organa.
J.J. previously announced: "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 honour Carrie's legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII."
Meanwhile, series veteran Mark Hamill - who portrays Luke Skywalker - also previously admitted working on the ninth movie was "bittersweet" without Carrie.
He tweeted recently: "It's bittersweet facing my final chapter without her. She is simply irreplaceable. I'm finding solace in the fact that she won't BE replaced & would love the worldwide outpouring of affection from those who loved her when they heard the news. #CarrieOnForever (sic)"