J.J. Abrams describes process of working Carrie Fisher into Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
When it was announced last July that J.J. Abrams would be using “unseen footage” of Carrie Fisher to complete General Leia’s arc in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, the news was met with a mix of relief and (understandable) concern. At least Fisher wouldn’t be jarringly reanimated via CGI, like Peter Cushing in Rogue One: A Horror Story. Still, incorporating unused footage of Fisher from The Force Awakens felt… potentially eerie… even if her family, including daughter and Star Wars co-star Billie Lourd, gave the OK. In Vanity Fair’s extensive cover story on The Rise Of Skywalker, Abrams explains exactly how he incorporated this footage, which allowed Lourd to act opposite her late mother—a decision, he says, was entirely her own: “I purposely had written her character in scenes without Carrie, because I just didn’t want it to be uncomfortable for her,” says Abrams, who recalls how Lourd came to him and said, “I want to be in scenes with her. I want it for my children when I have kids. I want them to see.”