Fisher… was key to the plot of Star Wars 9 – Credit: Lucasfilm

Director Colin Trevorrow has spoken about how ‘Star Wars 9’ will be made without the legendary Carrie Fisher, who died last year.

Fisher’s General Leia was said to have been key to the on-going plot of the new trilogy, meaning that her death has left the crew bereft and the story in a degree of flux.

“She was a major character, that’s not a secret. She really was,” he told CinemaBlend.

“And it was extremely sad for all of us, mostly just because she was so loved by the Star Wars family and everyone that worked with her.

“I feel like our options are limited mostly by ourselves, in that there is only certain things that we are willing to do.

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“But I can guarantee it will be handled with love and respect, and all of the soul that Carrie Fisher deserves.”

It’s already been emphatically ruled out by the likes of Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy that Fisher could be brought back in CGI fashion, as per ‘Rogue One’.

Kennedy said earlier this month that they had to go back to the drawing board with the whole plot of the final film, following Fisher’s death.

“Obviously, with Carrie having passed away, it shook everybody. We pretty much started over,” she told Entertainment Weekly.

But whether Leia’s fate going forward into the series will be decided in ‘Star Wars: The last Jedi’ is not yet known.

It’s due out on December 15, with episode IX due on June 21, 2019.

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