Oscar Isaac says Episode IX handles Carrie Fisher's death "in a really beautiful way"
Our weird-ass society’s gotten into the habit of CGI’ing dead people back into existence, and there was some fear in the wake of Peter Cushing’s Rogue One “cameo” that J.J. Abrams would do that very thing to the late Carrie Fisher in Star Wars: Episode IX. Abrams assuaged those concerns this summer, when he officially announced that Fisher would not be recast or digitally replaced once filming for the movie began in August. The arc of Leia Organa, he said, would be completed with “unseen footage” from Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens.
That sounds like he’s working from a pretty limited palette, and Abrams admitted at the time that “finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us.” Rest assured, however, because Oscar Isaac, the franchise’s Poe Dameron, says the film does right by both the actress and character. In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Isaac said the film “deals with the amazing character that Carrie created in a really beautiful way.”
He added that, despite a “looseness and an energy” that’s been prevalent on the set, her absence has been felt. “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.”
Star Wars: Episode IX soars into theaters next December.