Disney’s dilemma: loss of Carrie Fisher may force plot rethink for Star Wars franchise

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Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in a scene from Star Wars: the Force Awakens. Photo: Lucasfilm / Disney

Published: 9:54am, 28 Dec 2016Updated: 10:40pm, 28 Dec 2016

Carrie Fisher’s unexpected death on Tuesday did not just leave Star Wars fans heartbroken. It thrust movie studio Walt Disney Co into a dilemma over the fate of her iconic character, Princess Leia, as it moves forward with the blockbuster film franchise.

Fisher, 60, enjoyed a new round of fame when Princess Leia, Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker were reunited on screen for 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which sold more than US$2 billion in tickets at the global box office.

The actress had finished filming for the 2017 release of Star Wars: Episode VIII, Disney said, whose plot details have remained, as always, a closely guarded secret.

But Fisher was also expected to play a key role in the ninth installment of the sci-fi saga, due for release in 2019.

Carrie Fisher poses with a storm trooper as she attends the European premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in central London in 2015. Photo: AFP

A Disney spokeswoman on Tuesday declined to comment on whether the Leia character would appear in films beyond Episode VIII.

Star Wars director Colin Trevorrow said in a January 2016 interview that he was excited “to find new places that we can take” the characters of Princess Leia and her on-screen twin brother Luke Skywalker.