For more than 40 years, the late, great Carrie Fisher was championed as a cornerstone of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars universe, and her tragic death left the franchise’s impassioned community in a state of mourning.
Tributes poured out from across the industry, and with The Last Jedi inching ever closer to its December release date, fans are curious to see General Leia Organa on screen for the final time. Indeed, Fisher’s series mainstay is said to hold a fairly substantial role in Rian Johnson’s forthcoming sequel, though contrary to online rumors – rumors which claimed Disney had drawn up plans to digitally recreate the late actress for Star Wars: Episode IX – the Mouse House has since made it crystal clear that it has no plans to bring back Princess/General Organa through the power of visual effects.
Rather, The Last Jedi will write her character out of the Skywalker saga altogether, which ought to allay those fears that Rian Johnson was about to kill off the Star Wars icon – for many, the death of Han Solo still leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Couple this with the promise of a poignant after-credits tribute to Carrie Fisher and it’s clear that Episode VIII will deliver a fitting send-off to the original rebel.
But before we get to that, fans across the world took a moment to remember the actress today on what would have been her 61st birthday. Of course, Fisher’s friends, family and colleagues also put forth their own tributes as well, with Mark Hamill sharing the below photo of himself and Carrie, which came accompanied with the caption #AlwaysWithUs.
Additionally, we’ve also included the pic that Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, posted on Instagram, which sees her and her mother with the caption, Happy Birthday Mom, as well as a promo shot of Fisher and Hamill.
Both Hamill and Lourd’s photos here are simple, yet touching tributes to the late actress, which remind us that while Carrie Fisher may be gone, she certainly hasn’t been forgotten. In fact, we’ll be seeing her again on the big screen quite soon, as Star Wars: The Last Jedi is all set to blast into theatres on December 15th and it’s said to be different, unexpected, and quite possibly the longest film in the franchise.
Episode VIII is shaping up to be something truly special, then, not least because it’ll herald Fisher’s final turn in the Skywalker saga, and we can hardly wait to see what Disney’s cooked up for us.