Much has been written about Harrison Ford’s return to the Star Wars franchise in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and there’s much hubbub surrounding the absence of Mark Hamill in the marketing materials, but someone whose presence in the film is also a bit of a mystery is the third piece of the puzzle: Carrie Fisher. The actress returns to reprise her role as Leia, although three decades after the events of Return of the Jedi, she’s no longer referred to as “Princess”.
Speaking with EW, director J.J. Abrams confirmed that when we pick up with the character, she’s now General Leia:
“She’s referred to as General,” says director and co-writer J.J. Abrams. “But … there’s a moment in the movie where a character sort of slips and calls her ‘Princess.’”
We’ve seen in the trailers that Leia appears to still be with Han Solo, but when asked how the General is handling things when we meet her again, in the midst of the rise of the First Order, she admits things aren’t going well:
“Not easily,” Fisher says, describing Leia as, “solitary. Under a lot of pressure. Committed as ever to her cause, but I would imagine feeling somewhat defeated, tired, and pissed.”
That’s about as much as we get with regards to story hints, but Abrams spoke candidly about the difficult Star Wars shoot, pointing to Fisher as a source of warmth during tough times:
“[The shoot] wasn’t without incident; it wasn’t without difficulty; it wasn’t without tears shed and bones broken and things that could never have been anticipated happening,” Abrams says, referring to the on-set accident that sidelined Ford on only his second day in front of the cameras. “But with everything in the aggregate, it was a truly joyful experience, and I think that that has to do with the fact that people as funny as Carrie Fisher were simply there.”
I’m certainly eager to see not only what Leia is up to in Force Awakens, but where she stands with her relationship with her brother, Luke. We’ll find out when Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in theaters on December 18th.
For more Star Wars coverage, peruse the links below:
- Over 20 New 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Images Tease Exciting Story Points
- Harrison Ford Still Eager for ‘Indiana Jones 5′, Still Grumpy About ‘Star Wars’
- ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ EW Covers Feature Harrison Ford, and More
- Exclusive: First ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Trailer Is Attached to ‘Star Wars’
- Han Solo Spinoff May Be Lawrence Kasdan’s Final ‘Star Wars’ Movie
