(CNN) Disney has announced the cast for the next chapter from the galaxy far, far away -- and it will include the late Carrie Fisher. 
 
 Fisher will reprise her role as Princess Leia Organa, using "previously unreleased footage shot for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,'" director J.J. Abrams announced Friday. 
 
 "We desperately loved Carrie Fisher. Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us," Abrams said in a statement. "We were never going to recast, or use a CG character." 
 
 Abrams added that with "the support and blessing" from Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, the film found a way "to honor Carrie's legacy and role as Leia in 'Episode IX' by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII." 
 
 Fisher died in 2016 after suffering a cardiac event on a flight from London to Los Angeles. She was 60. Following her death, Disney said that it had "no plans to digitally recreate Fisher's performance. 
 
 Read More ||||| Carrie Fisher will appear from beyond the grave in the upcoming Star Wars film. 
 
 On Friday, Disney and Lucasfilm revealed the official cast list for the ninth trip to a galaxy far, far away and it contained one major surprise: Fisher is back as Princess General Leia Organa, despite her shocking death in 2016. 
 
 According to the studio’s online announcement, production on the newest Star Wars adventure is expected to commence next week, on Aug. 1, and Fisher is among the listed cast members returning for the film, thanks to some unused footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 
 
 Returning director J.J. Abrams, who co-wrote the script for Episode IX alongside Chris Terrio, said in a statement, “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher. Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.” 
 
 Fisher died December, 2016 at age 60 of a cardiac arrest. 
 
 RELATED VIDEO: Carrie Fisher Remembered by her Star Wars Castmates 
 
 Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had previously indicated to Entertainment Weekly that Fisher’s death would halt her involvement with the picture, saying, “Obviously, with Carrie having passed away, it shook everybody. We pretty much started over.” 
 
 Abrams, who takes over after Colin Trevorrow’s departure from the director’s chair, directed The Force Awakens. 
 
 Carrie Fisher on the set of The Last Jedi Lucasfilm Ltd. 
 
 Also returning to the franchise are Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Lourd, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams. 
 
 As for the film’s fresh new faces, actors Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant will join the film in unspecified roles. Perhaps not surprisingly, John Williams will once again compose the film’s score, as he has done throughout the Star Wars saga. 
 
 The film is expected to hit theaters on Dec. 20, 2019. ||||| The first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the eighth episode in the space saga, premiered Friday at the Star Wars Celebration fan convention in Orlando before it was shared online. 
 
 The trailer focuses on Rey's Jedi training under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker. "Breathe. Just, breathe. Now reach out. What do you see?" Skywalker says in voiceover while Rey navigates the Force. "Light. Darkness. A balance," she responds. "It's so much bigger," Skywalker responds. 
 
 There's also footage of space battles (including the Millenium Falcon in flight), glimpses at characters like Finn and Kylo Ren and a crushed Darth Vader mask. 
 
 The trailer concludes with the line, "I only know one truth: It's time for the Jedi to end." 
 
 During the panel, director Rian Johnson told fans that the film is still in the post-production and editing process. In addition to Johnson and Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy, the panel also featured guest appearances by Daisy Ridley – who didn't offer up any clues to her patronage, but admitted The Last Jedi goes "deeper" into her backstory – as well as Mark Hamill, John Boyega, new cast member Kelly Marie Tran (Rose, a "maintenance worker in the Resistance") and the android BB-8. 
 
 The panel also unveiled the first poster for The Last Jedi: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Last Jedi is due out December 15th and is the third Star Wars film in the recent revival of the series. It kicked off with J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens and continued in 2016 with the anthology film Rogue One, which bridged the prequel Episode III and the series' first film, 1977's Star Wars. 
 
 A film dedicated to young Han Solo, starring Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke and Woody Harrelson and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller – arrives in 2018, with Episode IX to follow in 2019. 
 
 On Thursday, the Star Wars Celebration convention held a 40th anniversary panel, which featured director George Lucas and stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Hayden Christensen and Billy Dee Williams. The panel also included a poignant tribute to actress Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original trilogy. 
 
 Although Fisher died prior to working on 2019's Episode IX – she had finished filming The Last Jedi prior to her December 2016 death – her brother Todd Fisher recently revealed that the Leia character will appear in the next Star Wars film via recently filmed unused footage. Producers have previously pledged not to utilize CGI technology for Episode IX.
– Excellent news for fans of Princess Leia. Or in this case, General Leia. The late Carrie Fisher will appear in the upcoming Star Wars film thanks to unused footage, reports People. Director JJ Abrams announced the move Friday, and he said it had the blessing of Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd. Star Wars: Episode IX, which caps the latest trilogy in the series, is due in theaters late next year, reports CNN. "We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," said Abrams. "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us," (and) "we were never going to recast, or use a CG character." Fisher died in 2016 at age 60 of cardiac arrest. (See more stories about Fisher here.)