Star Wars Episode VII: Carrie Fisher confirms Princess Leia return

Asked point blank in a recent interview whether she will appear in the new films as Leia, Fisher said: “Yes.”

The 56-year-old actress joked that the returning Princess Leia will be “elderly” and said: “I just think she would be just like she was before, only slower and less inclined to be up for the big battle.”

Fisher also laughingly told Palm Beach Illustrated that she’ll be sporting Leia’s iconic “bagel bun” hairstyle and the golden bikini from Return of the Jedi once shooting begins on the new Star Wars movies.

“The bagel buns and the bikini, because probably [Leia] has sundowners syndrome,” Fisher said. “At sundown, she thinks that she’s 20-something. And she puts it on and gets institutionalized.”

The news comes little more than a fortnight after Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars films, confirmed that he has been in talks with Lucasfilm about appearing in the hotly-anticipated ‘sequel trilogy’.

It was also revealed in November 2012 that Harrison Ford is “upbeat” about the idea of stepping back into the shoes of roguish smuggler Han Solo, meaning that all three the original trilogy’s stars now look set to bridge the gap between the classic Star Wars series and Disney’s new films.

In the Star Wars universe, Princess Leia is a supporter of the Rebel Alliance who is eventually revealed to be Luke Skywalker’s sister.

Star Wars: Episode VII, which will be directed by J.J. Abrams, is tentatively scheduled for release in 2015.