Late Carrie Fisher has key role in Rise Of Skywalker
LOS ANGELES : The final chapter in the Skywalker film saga will feature a significant role for Princess Leia, played by actress Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016 at the age of 60.
Writer-director J.J. Abrams said he had enough unused footage of Fisher from the filming of the 2015 movie The Force Awakens to make Leia a key player in The Rise Of Skywalker, which opens here on Dec 19.
"We couldn't tell the story without Leia," Abrams said on Wednesday. "She is the mother of the villain of the piece. She is in a sense the mother of the resistance, the rebellion, the leader, the general. Her role is, I would say, integral."
In recent films, Leia had become the general leading the fight against the evil First Order. Her son is Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the warrior who took over as ruler of the First Order in 2017's The Last Jedi.
If Fisher had been alive, "there is no question we would have done, I am sure, additional and other things", Abrams said.
"But the fact we had the material to do what we did is incredibly gratifying."
Daisy Ridley, who portrays resistance fighter Rey, has scenes in The Rise Of Skywalker with Fisher.
"I was reacting to footage I had seen of her, so it was quite emotional, very strange," Ridley said.
"But I do think you feel a real sense of love between Leia and Rey in this one, and Leia is a big part of the story." - REUTERS
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