With filming on Star Wars: Episode IX beginning, Lucasfilm has decided to get ahead of the leaks and rumors and simply reveal the cast list. For the ninth movie, which is being directed by The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams after Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow was taken off, a number of old fan favorites return, as well as unreleased footage for an actress no longer with us.
“Returning cast members include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd,” the release reads. “Joining the cast of Episode IX are Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant, who will be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.”
Moreover, Carrie Fisher will stay as Leia using previously unused footage before she passed away in 2016.
“We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” says Abrams. “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.”
Star Wars: Episode IX will be released in theaters December 2019.
Source: Game Informer Star Wars: Episode IX Cast Revealed