"We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," Abrams said in a statement. "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."

I know there's a whole huge scene where she goes to the Republic planet (the one that's later destroyed) to ask for more resources for the Resistance that was cut. So I bet some comes from that. — Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) July 27, 2018

Disney also confirmed that Mark Hamill is in the film, and that Billy Dee Williams is returning to reprise the role of Lando Calrissian. Most recently, we saw the character portrayed by Donald Glover in Solo, where he was the best element by far. Star Wars: Episode IX is currently scheduled for a December 2019 release.