Lucasfilm Removes Carrie Fisher From ‘Star Wars’, Replaces Her With New Actress
Princess Leia is returning to Star Wars — but fans will hear a completely new voice behind one of the franchise’s most iconic characters.
Disney and Lucasfilm have teamed up with Welsh broadcaster S4C and Creative Wales for an unprecedented new version of Star Wars: A New Hope, giving the original 1977 movie its first official Welsh-language adaptation.
Known as Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd, the project will completely redub the movie with a new Welsh cast.
Among those performers is Aimee-Ffion Edwards, who has been cast as Princess Leia.
Edwards brings an impressive collection of television credits to the role, having appeared as Shirley Dander in Slow Horses, Shelby in Peaky Blinders, and Jenny Jones in Luther.
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She will be joined by Matthew Rhys as Han Solo, Rhys Ifans as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Osian Morgan as Luke Skywalker.
The project is being released as part of the celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of Star Wars in 2027.
The Many Faces of Princess Leia
For Leia, this represents another chapter in a character history that has already seen several performers step into the role.
Carrie Fisher remains the actress most closely associated with Leia after originating the role in A New Hope (1977). She returned in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), before reprising the character for the sequel trilogy decades later.
Fisher appeared in The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017). Following her death in 2016, previously unreleased footage was used to include Leia in The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Other performers have also portrayed the character in different forms, including animated shows and the anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), where Ingvild Deila physically portrayed Leia, with Fisher’s likeness digitally superimposed onto the actress.
In Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), Vivien Lyra Blair portrayed a child version of Leia opposite Ewan McGregor.
Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd will premiere on S4C and its streaming platforms on Christmas Day, December 25, 2026.
The project doesn’t erase Fisher’s iconic performance, of course. Instead, it gives Welsh-speaking audiences the opportunity to experience George Lucas’ original Star Wars movie in their own language. And for Edwards, it means taking on one of the most recognizable characters in cinematic history.
What do you think of Aimee-Ffion Edwards taking over as Princess Leia? Let us know in the comments below!
