Three years ago today Star Wars fans lost their Princess Leia. Carrie Fisher died of a heart attack on December 27, 2016, while tragically her mother Debbie Reynolds passed from a stroke a day later. The mother and daughter Hollywood stars were 60 and 84-years-old. Now their daughter and grand-daughter Billie Lourd, who co-starred opposite Carrie in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, has shared an emotional message three years after their sudden deaths.
Lourd wrote on Instagram: “Happy holidays! (But also sad/emotional/weird/stressful holidays!)
“Sending my love to everyone who has lost someone they loved and is missing them a little extra today. I see you.
“It’s okay if everything ain’t all merry and bright. It can be a mix of all of it.
“And it’s all okay. Feel all the feelings – the good and the not so good.”
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Following her death, there was speculation over a CGI recreation of Fisher for Episode IX, like Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One or even her younger Leia in that same movie.
While some fans called on Meryl Streep to take over the role of Leia.
But in the end, Lucasfilm decided that it would only by fitting for Fisher herself to play the role that defined her career in the final episode of the Skywalker Saga.
Returning director JJ Abrams revealed that they had deleted scenes from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi that could be used in The Rise of Skywalker.
And as fans who have seen The Rise of Skywalker will know, they do manage to work quite well in interactions with Rey and other characters considering the difficulty of fitting Fisher’s Leia performance in from five years ago.
In total, the late actress played her iconic princess across six Star Wars movies, even though two were released posthumously.
Fans around the world have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to her and Debbie today.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is out now.