Confirmed: Gwendoline Christie Will Return as Captain Phasma In 'Star Wars: Episode VIII'

Jan Dizon, Tech Times 01 February 2016, 06:02 am

She didn't have much on-screen time in “The Force Awakens,” but Gwendoline Christie has confirmed that fans will get more of Captain Phasma, the chrome-plated Stormtrooper, in “Star Wars: Episode VIII.”

Christie shared the big news on the red carpet at the 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards pre-show on Jan. 30.

No one is more excited than Christie herself to know that she survived her trip to the trash compactor on the Starkiller base and consequent destruction and will be reprising her role. Although the character of Captain Phasma was reportedly written for a man, Christie broke the gender norm and won the role as the very powerful Stormtrooper leader.

Captain Phasma quickly became one of the most anticipated characters in the new “Star Wars” movie because of the unique spin on the classic Stormtrooper armor. Rather than sporting the uniform black and white, her armor was chrome-plated with a red and black First Order cape draped over a shoulder.

The shiny armor was originally conceived by costume designer Michael Kaplan, as a draft for Kylo Ren's look which was rejected by director J.J. Abrams. However, Lucasfilm President, Kathleen Kennedy, saw the drafts and thought it was a “fantastic” concept and the character of Captain Phasma was written for it.

Even Christie shared her love for Captain Phasma's stand-out armor.

"I was struck by how incredible it looked, but also I liked that it was stormtrooper armor," Christie said. "It hadn't been sexualized or feminized in any way. I thought, 'That is interesting. That's very modern,'" she said.

Although many fans were disappointed that Christie did not get as much screen time as they had initially thought she would get, they are definitely looking forward to seeing more of her in the next installment of the “Star Wars” saga – and maybe even see her without her helmet this time around!

Before "Star Wars: Episode VIII" comes out in theatres in 2017, fans can look forward to Christie returning to HBO's "Game of Thrones" as Brienne of Tarth when the series returns in April 2016.