Last month, Carrie Fisher whipped the internet into a frenzy when she said she would reprise her role as Princess Leia in the new series of Star Wars films.

In an interview with Palm Beach Illustrated, Fisher gave a simple "yes" when asked for confirmation whether she would be returning to the saga.

Asked to describe how Leia would look in the new movies, the 56-year-old actress quipped: "Elderly."

"She's in an intergalactic old folks' home," she told the magazine. "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 joked that Leia would still be rocking her signature double bun and bikini look.

"The bagel buns and the bikini, because probably she has sundowners syndrome," said Fisher. "At sundown, she thinks that she's twentysomething. And she puts it on and gets institutionalised."

But her spokesperson soon put the kibosh on the quasi-confirmation.

"She was joking," her rep said in a statement to CNN. "Nothing has been announced."

Fisher said something similar back in November.

Asked at a book signing whether she was involved in the upcoming movies, she replied: "I thought it was already common knowledge."

But her rep claimed she was only joking.

"She hasn't confirmed anything," Fisher's rep told E! Online. "Everything you've seen has been tongue-in-cheek."

'OH GOD, I LOVED DOING THAT...'

Well, she's at it again.

Speaking to fans at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in Canada over the weekend, Fisher continued the speculation about her involvement in the Disney-led movies.

"I like being bought by Disney, because they never wanted to buy me before," she said, according to the Calgary Herald.

"I'm glad they are doing a new movie because they are sending a trainer to my house so I can get in really good shape," she said. "So I'm really eating a lot of sugar in advance, as you can see. By the time I really get down to it I will have eaten everything."

She also reflected on the experience of making the original Star Wars trilogy, revealing that one of her favourite scenes was choking Jabba the Hutt to death in Return of the Jedi.

"What was his name? Jabba the Hutt? I always get his name mixed up with other boyfriends," she said. "Oh God, I loved doing that. You know, they ridiculously asked me if I wanted a stunt double to kill Jabba the Hutt. Can you imagine? I got to saw that neck off, it was really, really fun and one of the highlights of my career."

Harrison Ford, 70, recently revealed that his return to the interstellar franchise is almost a done deal.

Interviewed on the red carpet in Chicago by WGN9 News last month, Ford was asked if he would be reuniting with his original castmates for the next movie.

"I think it's almost true. I'm looking forward to it," he said.

"It's not in the bag yet, but I think it's happening."

Mark Hamill confirmed in February that he's in talks about reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode VII.

"It's all very, very exciting and so unexpected," Hamill, 61, said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"I think that's the quality I like about it most - it's like getting a pair of pants out of the closet you haven't worn in three years and finding a $20 bill in the pocket. It's just so unexpected."

"They're talking to us," he said of his possible involvement in Star Wars: Episode VII.

"George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we'd be interested. He did say that if we didn't want to do it, they wouldn't cast another actor in our parts; they would write us out."

He added: "I can tell you right away that we haven't signed any contracts. We're in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with [screenwriter] Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed - on their end, not mine. They're more busy than I am."

Lucas all but confirmed in an interview last month that the trio would reprise their iconic roles.

He told Bloomberg Businessweek that they were signed before the Disney deal went down.

"We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison, or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation," he said.

"Maybe I'm not supposed to say that. I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them."

He concluded: "I won't say whether the negotiations were successful or not."

Disney's Lucasfilm was coy in response.

"George couldn't say whether they were signed or not and neither can we. As Yoda said, 'always in motion is the future'. Stay tuned," said a spokesperson.

Disney announced in October that it would revive the classic sci-fi franchise by releasing a new trilogy.

Star Wars: Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams, is scheduled for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow.

Disney has also revealed that it is developing standalone movies featuring Star Wars characters.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

And finally ...

* Back on: Johnny Depp holds Amber Heard's hand at Rolling Stones gig.

* Keira Knightley will marry her fiancé James Righton this weekend, according to The Sun.

* Hulk Hogan's legal battle over THAT sex tape trundles on.

* "Everyone makes mistakes. It's just a matter of, really, how you come back from 'em" - Michael Bublé weighs in on Reese Witherspoon's arrest.

* One Direction reportedly recording new album to be released around Christmas.

* Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler reportedly dropped by manager.

* Catherine Zeta-Jones returns to treatment for bipolar disorder.

* Jamie Foxx in talks to join Annie remake.

* Victoria Beckham: "Everyone thinks I'm going to be a cow".

* Lindsay Lohan may blog about her time in rehab.

* Quote of the day: "Sex does sell, but you have to find a way that's not just showing your tits. I don't want to be a glorified model. They just walk on stage and it's all about their clothes - or lack of clothes" - Miley Cyrus in the new issue of Elle UK.

* Video: Harry Styles mobbed by fans outside Paris hotel

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- Rumour Has It