The upcoming “Star Wars: Episode IX” is the final film in what is being dubbed the Skywalker Saga, and with it, the end of the stories of Luke, Leia, and Han Solo, as well as the slew of new characters introduced in ‘The Force Awakens.’ One of those characters is Poe Dameron, played by the excellent Oscar Isaac. And in a new interview, the actor talks about ‘Episode IX’ and teases how the series will handle the death of Leia Organa actress Carrie Fisher.
“The story deals with [Fisher’s death] quite a bit. It’s a strange thing to be on the set and to be speaking of Leia and having Carrie not be around. There’s definitely some pain in that,” says the actor in an interview with the Daily Beast.
He adds, “[‘Episode IX’] deals with the amazing character that Carrie created in a really beautiful way.”
The film also sees the return of director J.J. Abrams, who helmed ‘The Force Awakens’ and takes over for Rian Johnson after ‘The Last Jedi.’ And for Isaac, he’s just happy to be working with Abrams and noticed a change with the production.
Isaac says that shooting this third “Star Wars” film is unique because “there’s a looseness and an energy to the way that we’re shooting this that feels very different.”
“It’s been really fun being back with J.J., with all of us working in a really close way. I just feel like there’s an element of almost senioritis, you know?” Isaac laughs. “Since everything just feels way looser and people aren’t taking it quite as seriously, but still just having a lot of fun. I think that that energy is gonna translate to a really great movie.”
All that being said, Isaac is ready to be done with “Star Wars” and is looking forward to the future. The actor, who is wrapping up work on ‘Episode IX,’ talked about taking a year off after finishing the upcoming sequel and is “excited” to “kind of step away from the whole thing for a bit and focus on things that are a bit more real and that matter to me.”
“Star Wars: Episode IX” hits theaters December 20, 2019.