Carrie Fisher could have a significant presence in Star Wars: Episode IX

As Carrie Fisher sadly passed away close to a year before the release of STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, many of us assumed that this would be the last time that Leia Organa would appear on the big-screen, but J.J. Abrams later announced that Carrie Fisher would reprise the role once more thanks to previously unreleased footage originally shot for THE FORCE AWAKENS and THE LAST JEDI. "We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," Abrams said. "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character," Abrams said. "With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII."

It still remains to be seen how this unused footage will be spliced into the storyline of the upcoming STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, but Carrie Fisher's brother Todd spoke with Good Morning America shortly after Christmas to hint that Leia could have a larger role than we anticipated thanks to the amount of footage left on the cutting room floor.

There’s a lot of minutes of footage. I don’t mean just outtakes. 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.

In addition to her unexpected appearance in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, Todd Fisher also said that we can expect more Carrie Fisher goodies in future. "We have a lot of her artifacts, and a lot of things of hers that she’s written that will someday be shared. There’s a lot more to come from Carrie," Todd Fisher told ABC News. Oscar Isaac, who plays Poe Dameron in the sequel trilogy, told The Daily Beast in November that Carrie Fisher's death will be dealt with in a "really beautiful way" in EPISODE IX and that appropriate homage will be paid to Leia. "The story deals with that quite a bit. It’s a strange thing to be on the set and to be speaking of Leia and having Carrie not be around," Isaac said. "There’s definitely some pain in that… It deals with the amazing character that Carrie created in a really beautiful way."

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.