Disney Reportedly To Claim $50 Million In Insurance Now That Carrie Fisher Can’t Finish ‘Star Wars’

Insurance company Lloyd’s Of London are reportedly bracing themselves for a huge payout to Disney after the death of Carrie Fisher, which could come to around $50 million. If it proves to be true, then this would be the biggest ever payout for a single personal accident insurance claim.

Sources close to the company told the Insurance Insider that Disney took a $50 million contract protection cover as insurance just in case Carrie Fisher wasn’t able to complete her work in Star Wars: Episode 8 and Star Wars: Episode 9. This is now likely to be triggered following the actress’ tragic death over the Christmas period. The 60-year-old succumbed on Tuesday, December 27, four days after she’d had a heart attack on her flight from London to Los Angeles.

Since Disney and moviegoers are still trying to grapple with the shocking news of Carrie Fisher’s death, fans are not sure how the studio is going to use Princess Leia in Episode 9. In the hours after Fisher’s death was announced, it was confirmed that she had finished shooting her scenes for Episode 8.

According to Variety‘s sources, Fisher finished her work on the sequel before her untimely passing, which means that the Star Wars franchise will address her death when the ninth installment begins shooting in 2018. Star Wars: Episode 9 will be released in 2019, and it was intended for Carrie Fisher to appear in the film. It’s not just Star Wars that will be altered by the death of Carrie Fisher, though. She had roles in Family Guy and Catastrophe, too, which will now have to be rewritten.

The death of Carrie Fisher is also set to make Star Wars 8 an even bigger smash hit film. In fact, there’s a good chance that it will now eclipse the $2.068 billion intake of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is the third highest-grossing film of all time behind Titanic and Avatar. In the past the likes of The Dark Knight and Furious 7 saw huge increase in their box office amounts compared to their predecessors following the deaths of Heath Ledger and Paul Walker, respectively.

In the case of The Dark Knight, it ultimately went on to gross $1.004 billion at the box office, which was nearly three times the amount of Batman Begins‘ $374 million gross. Meanwhile, Furious 7 grossed $1.516 billion at the box office in April 2015, making it the sixth highest-grossing film of all time. The previous installment to the Fast & Furious franchise had made just $788.7 million.

Tributes immediately started to emerge after Carrie Fisher’s death was confirmed. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy eulogized the actress, insisting that Fisher “defined the female hero of our age over a generation ago.”

Kathleen Kennedy added,

“She was Princess Leia to the world but a very special friend to all of us. She had an indomitable spirit, incredible wit, and a loving heart. Carrie also defined the female hero of our age over a generation ago. Her groundbreaking role as Princess Leia served as an inspiration of power and confidence for young girls everywhere.”

It has been confirmed, via the Huffington Post, that Carrie Fisher will be buried alongside her mother Debbie Reynolds in a joint funeral service. It will take place at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Hollywood Hills; however, an actual date for the service hasn’t been confirmed. Debbie Reynolds died just one day after her daughter had passed away, suffering a stroke. She was 84.

Todd Fisher, Debbie Reynolds’ son, confirmed that she had succumbed shortly after helping to arrange the plans for Carrie Fisher’s funeral. While the pair’s relationship was rocky, the duo had formed a tight bond over recent years, and at the time of Carrie Fisher’s death they’d never been closer.

[Featured Image by Lucasfilm]