Star Wars: New behind-the-scenes footage from The Empire Strikes Back gives fans a heartwarming look at Carrie Fisher

Fisher died aged 60 in December 2016

Newly surfaced footage from Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at Carrie Fisher.

On Tuesday (15 December), the footage – taken from the production of the 1980 film –  was aired on Good Morning America to commemorate the movie’s 40th anniversary.

The seven-minute video featured a number of outtakes from some of the film’s most iconic scenes, including multiple moments of Fisher, who died aged 60 on 27 December 2016.

Speaking over footage of the late actor looking happy and smiling on set, George Lucas can be heard saying: “Carrie was very funny and kept everyone entertained. She [as Princess Leia] was able to boss those guys around without looking silly.

“That was an important part of her character, that she was the boss. And she was also shorter than everybody else, but she handled that great.”  

Among the scenes featured in the clip were the actor’s famous kiss with Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, as well as numerous touching moments of Fisher and the crew having fun on set.

In 1979, cameras captured the cast and crew hanging out on location in Finse, Norway – which doubled as the planet Hoth – during a snowstorm.  

Fisher came on the trip, despite not appearing in any of the outdoor scenes. “I’m only up here to irritate the crew,” she quips.

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Mark Hamill – who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy – also spoke about how much he enjoyed making The Empire Strikes Back and how pleasantly surprised he was that the film was more than just a replay of the first film, which he said was the usual formula for sequels then.

Fisher played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy that spanned five years between 1977 and 1983, starring opposite Ford and Hamill.

The California-born actor’s other film credits include Shampoo, The Blues Brothers and When Harry Met Sally. Fisher was also nominated twice for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performances on 30 Rock and Catastrophe, respectively.

In 2018, the actor was awarded a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.