This year marks the seventh anniversary of Carrie Fisher‘s tragic passing at the age of just 60 years old, although the Star Wars icon’s filmography isn’t quite complete. It’s been a long time coming, but long-delayed fantasy Wonderwell has finally been picked up for distribution by Vertical Entertainment, and will release in theaters next weekend.
Directed by Vlad Marsavin, the story is described as a coming-of-age fairytale that jumps between modern-day Italy and an otherworldy realm lurking just beyond the veil, with a 12 year-old girl heading off on an adventure that ends up transforming her life forever. Rita Ora, Nell Tiger Free, and Sebastian Croft are other names among the ensemble, but it would be fair to say the focus will fall squarely on Fisher.
The actress finished up her contributions to the project prior to shooting her final scenes as Leia in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, with Marsavin describing the journey as being “as perilous as the movie itself.” In true Fisher fashion, the filmmaker also revealed in an official statement that she threw a wrap party for the cast and crew that ended up being shut down by the cops at 2am, which is perfectly on-brand.
While visual effects issues and the pandemic are being named as issues behind the seven-year wait to see Wonderwell on the big screen, there’s undoubtedly going to be plenty of skepticism surrounding anything that’s spent so long on the shelf. As tragic as is, the film acting as Fisher’s final credit is no doubt going to generate plenty of interest regardless of the end product’s quality, even if it’s going to be massively emotional for anyone who takes the plunge and heads down to their local multiplex.