While speaking at the D23 Expo theatrical panel, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams discussed the late Carrie Fisher’s role in the upcoming film, calling her “the heart of this story.”
Speaking on stage at D23, Abrams, discussed how Fisher in part played a role in his decision to come back to direct the film after having helmed Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
“The character of Leia is really the heart of this story, we couldn’t possibly tell the end of these nine films without Leia,” he said.
“The crazy part is, I was not supposed to be directing this film, and we lost Carrie, heartbreakingly, and so we started figuring out the story, and I remembered this thing I read, and people have asked me for years like, ‘What is Carrie like?’ She was almost supernaturally witty in a way, and I went back and looked in her last book and she had written in special thanks, and special thanks to J.J. Abrams for putting up with me twice – but I’d only worked with her once, and I wasn’t supposed to direct it. So it was a classic Carrie thing to write something like that.
Source: IGN.com Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Director on Leia's Role in the Film