Alerts & Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

‘Star Wars: Episode IX’: Unused Carrie Fisher Footage Develops Poe and Leia’s Relationship

Fisher passed away before production on "Episode IX" started, but her character will remain an integral part of the story thanks to unused footage.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
Star Wars

Lucasfilm announced last July that “Star Wars: Episode IX” would feature the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa through the use of unused footage J.J. Abrams shot of the actress during the making of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Since then, fans have been left wondering what exactly the footage shows. It turns out at least some of the footage includes scenes of Leia and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) that never made it into “The Force Awakens.”

During a recent interview with Sirius XM host John Fugelsang, Isaac said the relationship between Leia and Poe continues through “Episode IX” thanks to the use of the previously shot footage. Isaac said the scenes detail the bond being forged between the two characters, which is something they worked hard on together during the making of “The Force Awakens” but was never seen after the scenes were cut.

“I wasn’t surprised because I remember we were doing that, we worked a lot,” Isaac said of the scenes making their way back into the franchise. “[Fisher] and I worked together so much. We would talk about the scenes, and we got very tight during the shooting of that. So it was a beautiful thing to see, and it gets carried over into the new film as well.”

As for what it was like to see footage shot from years ago being repurposed for “Episode IX,” Isaac admitted it was “definitely an unusual thing,” but added, “I also think it was right to engage with her character, and not just let it be something that fades away.”

Abrams made sure to get the blessing of Fisher’s family and daughter Billie Lourd before making the decision to use previous footage of the actress in the new “Star Wars” movie. The director said in a statement last July that he was never going to recast the role or use CGI to bring Leia into “Star Wars: Episode IX.” Using the preexisting footage was the only way that made sense for Abrams to incorporate Leia into the story and give Fisher the proper sendoff.

Todd Fisher, Carrie’s brother, told “Good Morning America” at the start of the year that there are “a lot of minutes of footage” being used of Fisher. “I don’t mean just outtakes,” he said. “This is unused, new content that could be woven into the storyline. That’s what’s going to give everybody such a great kick. It’s going to look like it was meant to be. Like it was shot yesterday. We’re not allowed to talk about the details of anything, but we’re thrilled at what’s been done.”

“Star Wars: Episode IX” opens in theaters nationwide from Disney on December 20.

Daily Headlines
Daily Headlines covering Film, TV and more.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Must Read
PMC Logo
IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 IndieWire Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.