'Star Wars: Episode IX' — Kathleen Kennedy Says Lucasfilm 'Started Over' After Carrie Fisher's Death. Disney CEO Bob Iger has said 'Episode VIII' is not being changed in light of the actress' death

05/05/2017 - Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy says that after mourning the death of Carrie Fisher, the team had to rethink how to move forward. "Obviously, with Carrie having passed away, it shook everybody," Kennedy told Entertainment Weekly. She added that the creative team left behind their original plans for Leia in Episode IX in light of Fisher's death, saying, "We pretty much started over." Last month, Kennedy said that Fisher would not appear in Episode IX, after Fisher's brother, Todd, told the New York Daily News that he and the actress' daughter, Billie Lourd, had given Disney and Lucasfilm permission to use recent footage of the actress in the film. "Sadly, Carrie will not be in IX," said Kennedy at April's Star Wars Celebration. "But we will see a lot of Carrie in VIII." Photos of Fisher on set with Last Jedi director Rian Johnson were shared during Celebration.
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently said The Last Jedi was not being changed in light of Fisher's death. The Last Jedi opens Dec. 15. Director Colin Trevorrow is writing Episode IX with Derek Connolly, and it is set for a May 24, 2019, release.

(Hollywoodreporter FILM)