Don’t panic, Carrie Fisher‘s iconic character Leia does appear in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” just with a new title.
“She’s referred to as General,” director and co-writer J.J. Abrams told EW on Wednesday. “But … there’s a moment in the movie where a character sort of slips and calls her ‘Princess,’” he added.
Trailers for Episode VII of George Lucas‘ sci-fi franchise feature a heart-wrenching romantic clinch between Harrison Ford‘s Han Solo and Leia when they are reunited on the tarmac of a Resistance base, but Abrams warns that there won’t be many light-hearted moments for the former princess.
“The stakes are pretty high in the story for her, so there’s not much goofing around where Leia’s concerned,” Abrams said. “But it felt historic to have her, especially with Harrison, back in scenes together.
“I can only imagine the baggage that they bring to it. I’m just a fan who loves this stuff, but they’ve been living with it — and living in it — since ’77.”
As for Fisher, she is able to joke about the new dramatic scenes with her longtime co-star.
“I think we’re pretty sick of each other by now, so we pretend to be interested in each other between takes,” Fisher said. “And we fail. I’m mostly interested in how [Ford] stays in such good shape. I can talk to him about that for a long time.”
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will hit theaters around the world on Dec. 18.
See the trailer below.