Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams have announced that Carrie Fisher will be in Star Wars 9 with leftover footage that was not used in The Force Awakens. This is tremendous news for Star Wars fans who have been anxiously awaiting to find out how the late actress will be represented in the final installment of the new trilogy. Lucasfilm and Disney had previously announced that they would not feel comfortable with casting another actress or using CGI to replicate her likeness and they are holding to their word.

The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher in Star Wars 9, using previously unreleased footage shot for The Force Awakens, according to J.J. Abrams who also announced that Mark Hamill will be back as the iconic Luke Skywalker. Abrams also revealed that they were able to get the blessing of Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd. He had this to say.

"We desperately loved Carrie Fisher. Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie's legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII."

Again, this is the best possible outcome for this situation. Carrie Fisher was going to have to be seen for at least a little bit in Star Wars 9 and thankfully, J.J. Abrams and crew had some leftover footage from The Force Awakens hanging around. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson previously revealed that they used nearly everything that they had shot of Fisher's Leia Organa in the follow up to Abrams' installment, when asked about using extra footage for Star Wars 9.

In addition to the return of Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, Star Wars 9 will also see the return of Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, which had previously been confirmed. Williams is back with the franchise on the big screen for the first time since 1983's Return of the Jedi. Rumors had been swirling for the last several months that he would return after it had been reported that he was undergoing similar trainings that Hamill and Fisher underwent to prepare for their returns.

In addition, Anthony Daniels will also be coming back to voice the iconic C-3PO in Star Wars 9 along with the new returning cast from the latest trilogy. However, while the rest of this casting news is awesome, nothing compares to the news that Carrie Fisher will be properly back as Leia Organa in the final movie of the latest trilogy. You can read more about the return of the late Carrie Fisher as well as the rest of the new casting news over at StarWars.com.