Phasma Disney

Star Wars: Gwendoline Christie Would Love to Return as Captain Phasma

Christie remains very open to donning the armor again….

Full disclosure: I very much enjoyed Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But like I do with each Star Wars film, I have a few nitpicks. One of my own minor gripes was the presumed end of “Captain Phasma.” After coming on the scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens with major fanfare and spawning any number of products and toys, super stormtrooper Phasma left The Saga with a decided “phhhhft.”

Perhaps that fizzle was the ultimate plan by director Rian Johnson, whose devotion to Star Wars lore is well-documented. After all, maybe the auteur was looking to give Phasma her own Boba Fett-like dissipation sans Sarlacc.

Remember this is all pre-Disney+. Boba, another be-helmeted would-be marquee villain, was sent into Tatooine’s biggest maw by Han Solo’s errant (lucky?) staff swing into Fett’s jetpack, presumed dead after Return of the Jedi.

“Arrrrgh,” indeed.

Phasma Redux?

Meanwhile, what happened to Phasma?

Well, with the help of Rose Tiko and BB-8, Finn put the shiny baddie down and presumably out via a well-placed baton shot to the helmet and a very convenient fireball.

It was so underwhelming, that I fully expected Phasma — always wearing incredibly impenetrable chromium stormtrooper armor — to return via The Rise of Skywalker.

Nope. And to this fan, it was an opportunity missed. Especially since Phasma’s alter ego, Gwendoline Christie, LOVED being in Star Wars.

Moreover, unlike some of her costars, she makes no bones about wanting to return.

Phasma in Star Wars Resistance. Image: Lucasfilm.

“I haven’t read the comics, but, I mean, it’s Star Wars! I would absolutely love that,” said Christie to Empire Magazine when asked about the possibility of returning to The Saga. “There was a template for a character that people got excited about. It would be smashing if they felt that it was worthwhile to explore, along with some fabulous action.”

Dream Come True

In 2016, talking to People.com, Christie was clear as to her feelings about Phasma and the amazing opportunity to appear in Star Wars.

“People talk about having dreams come true,” Christie said to the site. “This is really a lot of young dreams come true.”

Why?

Gwendoline Christie. Image: Vogue.

“I loved Princess Leia, and that even in my infant mind, I remember thinking, ‘She’s a different kind of woman to the women I see in films,’ ” said Christie. “I think it must have been quite forming.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play a couple of parts of women who are very driven and somewhat unconventional,” added the Game of Thrones actor. “I love playing women who kick ass!”

Indeed.

Kicking Brick Butt

Image: Lucasfilm

For now, however, Christie said she would turn to video games to return to the character.

“This is the next step for me because as a teenager, I was quite obsessed with computer games, and I was quite good at them,” explained Gwendoline, with one eye turned toward LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. “I think it’s time to revisit them because they could be everything I had initially wanted them to be. There are entire worlds out there [where] we can investigate our megalomania!”

Looking forward to hearing more about Christie and Star Wars (even if it simply means she’s kicking brick butt).

About Post Author

contributor
A graduate of Boston U. and Northeastern University, John Bishop, became the beat reporter for BostonBruins.com before the Boston Bruins 2006-07 NHL hockey season. While with the Black & Gold, “^BISH” traveled North America and Europe to cover the team's every move via laptop, blog, and smartphone. The co-author of two books, "Bygone Boston" and "Full 60 to History: The Inside Story of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins," John also covered the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010 and the Bs 2011 Stanley Cup championship run and banner raising before taking a faculty/communications position at a prep school outside Boston in 2013. He lives with his wife Andrea, and sons Jack, Scott, and Luke, in central Massachusetts.

Leave a Reply