In a sprawling feature inVanity Fairthis week,Star Wars: The Last Jeditakes center-stage, as the cast and creators discuss just about everything (that they are allowed to) about their upcoming movie, including their intense sadness over the loss ofCarrie Fisher. What’s perhaps all the more maddening is the reveal thatEpisode IXwould have put Fisher’s Leia front and center, in the same way thatHarrison Ford’s Han Solo was at the crux ofThe Force Awakens, andMark Hamill’s Luke is at the heart ofThe Last Jedi.Kathleen Kennedyconfirms, “The minute she finished, she grabbed me and said, ‘I’d better be at the forefront ofIX!’ […] She thoughtIXwould be her movie. And it would have been.”
As was discussed in the piece, Fisher’s sudden death put LucasFilms into a grief spiral that had to quickly turn to business –Episode IXwas based around her, so where do things go from here? As we reported in April, the studio wasquick to shut down rumorsthat Fisher might appear inEpisode IXas a CG character, a la Tarkin inRogue One(Leia also appeared as a CG recreation in that movie, briefly, although with footage from the original trilogy). Timeline-wise, Fisher had completed all of her work onThe Last Jedibefore she passed away, but no scripts were yet written forIX. Where that leaves the production, then, and the ongoing story is still a big question (as far as wrapping up Leia’s story, etc).
The cast also shared more thoughts and memories of Fisher, which are always gold, because she was such a colorful character, and because she meant so much to those who knew her.John Boyegashared that, after being shaken by the racist and canon-obsessed backlash to the first image of him in stormtrooper armor inForce Awakens, Fisher told him:
“I remember—and forgive me, I’m going to drop the f-bomb, but that’s just Carrie—she said, ‘Ah, boohoo, who fuckin’ cares? You just do you,’” he said. “Words like that give you strength. I bore witness in a million ways to her sharing her wisdom with Daisy [Ridley] too.”
Daisy Ridleyadded that,
“Carrie lived her life the way she wanted to, never apologizing for anything, which is something I’m still learning.‘Embarrassed’ is the wrong word, but there were times through it all when I felt like I was … shrinking. And she told me never to shrink away from it—that it should be enjoyed.”
Oscar Isaac, who spends more screen time with Fisher inEpisode XIII(where she has a much more expanded role), spoke about how Fisher always gave this character everything, and never treated Leia as just some kind of nostalgic cameo – she was always all-in:
“We did this scene where Carrie has to slap me. I think we did 27 takes in all, and Carrie leaned into it every time, man. She loved hitting me. Rian found such a wonderful way of working with her, and I think she really relished it.”
DirectorRian Johnsonalso spoke about working with Fisher, a fellow writer, and the bond they shared. The two would spend time at her compound she shared with her motherDebbie Reynoldsin Coldwater Canyon:
“After I had a draft, I would sit down with her when I was working on re-writing. Sitting with her on her bed, in her insane bedroom with all this crazy modern art around us, TCM on the TV, a constant stream of Coca-Cola, and Gary the dog slobbering at her feet.”
Johnson continued that,
“Out of everyone, Carrie was the one I really became friends with and expected to have in my life for years and years. I last saw her in November, at the birthday party that she threw at her house. In a way, it was the perfect final, encapsulating image of Carrie—receiving all her friends in the bedroom, with Debbie holding court in the living room.”
