Aside from her family, the death of Carrie Fisher on December 27 will have a telling impact on the life of the latest “Star Wars” trilogy that began with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” released in theaters on December 2015.
The 60-year-old Fisher played General Leia in the seventh movie of the epic space opera which is now under the production of Disney after it bought Lucasfilms several years back for a staggering amount.
It has been previously reported that Carrie Fisher would appear in all three movies of the latest “Star Wars” trilogy ending on “Star Wars 9” to be released to theaters in December 2019.
However, her death would change the complexion of the “Star Wars” trilogy especially considering that her General Leia character is an integral element in the next two movies.
The good news is that the actress has already completed filming “Star Wars 8” as of July last year and the movie is said to be in post-production right now for a December 2017 playdate.
That leaves “Star Wars 9” as the challenge for Disney who might opt for what Universal Pictures did in “Fast & Furious 7” by using stand-up actors and CGI to recreate the scenes of the late actor Paul Walker, who plays Brian O’Connor in the film.
In fact, Disney already did that in the recently released “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” when it used stunning and rather unsettling visual effects to depict a young Princess Leia and the late Peter Cushing, reports Esquire.
A $50 million protection cover
Reports also have it that Disney had actually taken out a $50 million contract protection cover as insurance in the event that Carrie Fisher is unable to fulfill her obligations to act in the new “Star Wars” trilogy, and the provision of the policy may now be enforced.
While an insurance payout of such amount does not help solve the problem of Fisher’s role in “Star Wars 9,” it does show the substantial investment Disney had in her part in the future films.
With the character of Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, killed off in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and given the size of the insurance claim, it’s likely to assume that General Leia would have had played a big part in “Star Wars 9.”
With $50 million to spend from the insurance payout, though, Disney could potentially pull off something never before seen in Hollywood to make sure that General Leia would still appear in “Star Wars 9,” despite the demise of actress Carrie Fisher.
Carrie’s diary
In the aftermath of Carrie Fisher’s sudden demise, her new memoir, entitled “The Princess Diarist,” was released and is surprisingly an emotional read.
Those who have read the memoir said that the emotions on it are not grief and nostalgia so much as alarm and sympathy.
Early in the book, she tells a thoroughly appalling story that she presents as a cheery little romp. In London for the filming of 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
Fisher attended George Lucas’ birthday party, where she’s essentially the only girl in a room full of hard-drinking crew who are loudly whining that they’d rather shoot in a nice remote location where there’s no bloody shortage of strange but friendly quim.
At the time, Fisher is 19, and by her own admission, naïve and agonizingly insecure. So when the crew members briefly stop teasing her and decide to get her drunk, she quickly caves, even though she hates the taste and effects of alcohol.
Then Harrison Ford steps in, in what sounded like a real-life version of a movie scene. Ford tells a crew member to pardon the lady by claiming that Fisher wants to get a little air. The crew told the actor that the lady doesn’t seem to be very aware of what she wants.
An argument breaks out, and Ford yanks Fisher away from the party and into a car and starts making out with her. He is married and has two kids. He is 14 years older than her. She is drunk, and he just finished saying she isn’t aware enough to make rational decisions.
And that’s how their affair started – the affair everyone wrote about with a frisson of pop culture glee when the memoir came out a few weeks ago. The real-life Princess Leia and Han Solo, at the height of their youthful hotness and iconic movie star familiarity, got it on while shooting “Star Wars” then kept it secret for nearly 40 years, details The Verge.