Rogue One: A Star Wars Story officially turned 5 on 15 December and, to celebrate the occasion, the director Gareth Edwards met StarWars.com for an extensive retrospective interview on the 2016 film, as well as the first ever spin-off in the history of the franchise. During the interview, the director talked about his initial impressions of the film’s plot, the experience of filming Darth Vader and recreating a digital version of Princess Leia; confessing to never having met Carrie Fisher before the actress’s death.
Rogue One director Gareth Edwards recounts the time he nearly met Carrie Fisher
As we know, despite Fisher not actually being in the film, ILM recreated a digital version of Princess Leia’s character but, unfortunately, Edwards confirmed that he never met the actress.
“No, I haven’t met her. The closest I ever got to her was when I got the chance to visit the Force Awakens set and we were out and about for half a day or something. “Edwards said. “I remember I was standing next to her trailer and Carrie came out and just walked past me to get into the makeup trailer. There were a lot of people around, so she walked right past me on her way to the set. I just remember walking around and noticing everyone else saying, as anyone would: “Oh, my God! That was Carrie Fisher! “
Rogue One was released in theaters on December 16, 2016, and Fisher died just eleven days later, on December 27, 2016. The director confirmed that, at the time this missed opportunity occurred, they were already aware that a plan to making a young Leia to wrap up Rogue One was already in the planning stages, but he didn’t know if Fisher knew about it.
“Kathy (Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm), basically, was the one who talked to her about everything. And she was in full agreement and happy about it. So we just continued. I’ve always thought, ‘I think I will be able to see her at the premiere or at some point after, and I can thank her personally.’ And of course it wasn’t possible. It happened like this, all out of nowhere. She is a heroine for everyone. It’s sad that he never met her properly “
