Rian Johnson feels "lucky" he got the chance to work with Carrie Fisher while making 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'.
Rian Johnson
The American director and the actress - who passed away in December last year, aged 60 - joined forces for the much-discussed new sci-fi movie, and Rian has revealed he still cherishes the experience.
He shared: "We had shot all [her scenes] and we wrapped in August and she passed away in [December 2016]. We had put it all together, pretty much, and we chose to not alter it, so the performance she gave is the one you see in the film. She is extraordinary."
Although Carrie is best remembered for playing Princess Leia in the 'Star Wars' films, she was also a respected writer.
And Rian - whose new film has divided fans and critics - has revealed that they both bonded over their mutual love of the craft.
He told Screen Daily: "She's a writer first and foremost, more than a performer that's how we bonded. Those were my favourite memories of her - sitting around and playing with words. I fell lucky I got even a little bit of time with her."
Meanwhile, Rian also revealed where he sees 'The Last Jedi' sitting in the broader context of the 'Star Wars' movies.
The director said: "I saw this as a middle chapter of the trilogy, so this was the second act of the movie and our job here was to challenge each one of the characters; throw the hardest thing possible at them. And that's going to end up leading you to some unexpected places, similar to 'The Empire Strikes Back'.
"It is the one where it does a little bit of a shift tonally, and also in terms of the direction from the previous film. 'Empire' did the same thing."
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