No changes to Fisher’s role in upcoming ‘Star Wars’

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” will not be changed because of Carrie Fisher’s death. The actress, who died in December, appears throughout the next installment of the blockbuster series and won’t be replaced by a hologram, Walt Disney Co.’s top executive announced late last week.

Fisher’s unexpected death sparked fervent speculation about how Disney would handle her role as Leia in “Stars Wars: The Last Jedi,” scheduled for release in December.

“She’s in ‘VIII,’ and we’re not changing eight to deal with her passing,” Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said during an onstage conversation with his wife, Willow Bay, on Thursday at a conference hosted by USC’s Marshall and Annenberg schools. “Her performance, which we’ve been really pleased with, remains as it was.”

In “The Force Awakens,” it was revealed that Leia, now a general, is the leader of the Resistance fighting against the evil First Order. Her relationship with Han Solo has become a bit strained in the years since the events of “Return of the Jedi,” but the two share a son named Ben.

Ben, however, has been seduced by the dark side of the Force and fights for the First Order as Kylo Ren, which means there is plenty of Skywalker-Solo family drama left to be explored.

Iger and Bay also noted Fisher’s scenes in “The Last Jedi” wouldn’t be modified using hologram technology. Disney had used a digital recreation of a late actor in a previous “Star Wars” film.

“We’re not doing that with Carrie,” Iger said, describing the new film as “just as satisfying” as the last “Stars Wars.”