Back when J. J. Abrams was first announced as the director for the seventh chapter of the Star Wars saga, The Force Awakens, very little was known about what direction he’d be taking the franchise, including which actors from the previous six films would be returning, if any. That being the case, Abrams’ former Lost colleague Evangeline Lilly jumped at the opportunity once news of his involvement broke and expressed her desire to follow in the late Carrie Fisher’s shoes by playing Leia Organa.
“When JJ [Abrams] was first announced that he was gonna do his first Star Wars film, I reached out to his producing partner, for the first time ever since Lost ended, I never requested anything ever before, and I said, ‘I wanna be Leia! Make me Leia!’” Lilly said at Fan Expo Boston.
With this interaction seemingly having taken place before any details about the film’s plot were released, Lilly clearly hadn’t anticipated Carrie Fisher returning to the saga to reprise her role.
Had Lilly been able to join The Force Awakens, she wouldn’t have been the first of Abrams’ former collaborators to score a role in the series. Greg Grunberg had a small role in the Star Wars film as Snap Wexley, having previously collaborated with Abrams on Felicity, Alias, Mission: Impossible 3, and LOST. Felicity herself, Keri Russell, will appear in the upcoming Episode IX.
Lilly likely won’t be waiting for a phone call to play Leia, as even Fisher’s passing won’t prevent her from appearing in a new film.
Source: YouTube/David Anthos
