The tragic death of Carrie Fisher in 2016 caused a lot of consternation for the people making Star Wars Episode IX, who were challenged to complete the current main trilogy without her while also honouring her performance to date and the character itself. According to Oscar Isaac, who plays Poe Dameron, the way found is fitting.
While few details have been revealed about the method by which Leia will be portrayed, or how much she'll appear in the film, we do know that co-writer/director JJ Abrams is employing unused footage from The Force Awakens. "It deals with the amazing character that Carrie created in a really beautiful way," Isaac tells The Daily Beast. And she'll certainly still be a presence. "The story deals with that quite a bit," he admits. "It’s a strange thing to be on the set and to be speaking of Leia and having Carrie not be around. There’s definitely some pain in that."
That hasn't stopped the shoot being an enjoyable one for the returning cast, crew and director. "It’s been really fun being back with JJ, with all of us working in a really close way. I just feel like there’s an element of almost senioritis, you know?" Isaac says. "Since everything just feels way looser and people aren’t taking it quite as seriously, but still just having a lot of fun. I think that that energy is gonna translate to a really great movie."
Episode IX will be in UK cinemas on 19 December next year. And you can find Everything You Need To Know here.
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