Carrie Fisher‘s passing has left a question mark on the future on the “Star Wars” saga films, and it’s one that Disney and Lucasfilm are staying quiet about for now. While the actress had finished her scenes for “Star Wars: Episode 8,” how the filmmakers will handle her absence for the followup remains to be seen. But it looks like they’ll have a big hurdle to clear for ‘Episode 9.’
According to The Insurance Insider (there is truly a website for everything), Disney had a $50 million protection coverage contract on Carrie Fisher (and I would imagine they had a similarly sized contract for Harrison Ford too during the filming of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens“). Insuring actors is certainly nothing new, and part of the moviemaking process (you want to make sure you’re covered in the event something happens that threatens completion of the movie), but the figure for Fisher is reportedly much higher than usual. Even more, the site claims that the actress had a “major role” in “Star Wars: Episode 9”
Again, how the studio will approach the Colin Trevorrow-directed movie without Princess Leia is a big question, and perhaps the biggest challenge the franchise has ever faced. I would wager the Lucasfilm Story Group are very busy finding a solution that will honor the late actress, while also not greatly disrupting the narrative that has been established across two movies.