‘Star Wars’: Gwendoline Christie Discusses Captain Phasma, Harrison Ford Reaction To ‘Force Awakens’ Scene, And ‘Episode VIII’ Title Rumor
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is still the talk of tinsel town despite its lack of Academy awards and the appearance of Deadpool. With Episode VIII and IX still to come and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story coming out in less than a year, there is no shortage of Star Wars mania on the silver screen.
Gwendoline Christie, who plays the much debated Captain Phasma, is said to have a much bigger role in the next few films. This is certainly helpful, considering many Star Wars fans were left scratching their head about her nearly non-existent appearance in Episode VII. Christie’s first interview since The Force Awakens has her delving into her role as Star Wars’ Captain Phasma, Comicbook reports.
“I thought it was a really interesting opportunity because as an actor I’m interested in transformation and different kinds of roles.”
“What’s the role about? Who is the character? What does the character mean in the function of a project or story? I thought it was a really interesting opportunity to play a female character where we formed an opinion of her based on her actions rather than the way she has been made flesh. And that concept within a Star Wars movie, a mainstream phenomenon, was very modern and interesting and exciting.”
Christie is apparently an unabashed fan of the Star Wars franchise, and says she has “made no secret of the fact.” She wanted to be in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and praises Captain Phasma for not being over sexualized.
“I made no secret of the fact I wanted to be in the film, I campaigned hard to be in the film, but to be in it as that kind of character – she’s a woman, she’s in armor, the armor isn’t sexualized, and in the film we don’t see the actor’s face – I thought that was an exciting, modern concept. And obviously, I’m delighted to be in another film [Episode VIII].”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams recently discussed another infamous Star Wars character who was shrouded in a fair amount of mystery prior to and since the release of the newest film. Star Wars articles needed to be shielded from the spoiler about Han Solo’s death by his son Kylo Ren (Ben Solo). Harrison Ford’s reaction to the beloved Star Wars character he played for so many years has also been a mystery to fans. Harrison Ford was “thoughtful” about the decision, according to Abrams, and understood.
“He understood why it was so powerful. And I think part of it was because Harrison himself — Han, the character — has so much ahead of him. Has so much life and fight and adventure — that this was the time to do that thing. If we felt like the character was sort of at the end of his days, it wouldn’t have been as powerful. The thing that made it potentially meaningful wasn’t just who does it and how it happened, but that it’s a character that is so vital that is meeting his demise. I’ll also say that Harrison’s always said that he knew that Han needed to have clear utility, and that’s what he wanted to do.”
Abrams went on to explain that Harrison Ford broached George Lucas about killing Han Solo off during the original Star Wars trilogy, and Lucas would have none of it. Did Abrams kill off one of Harrison Ford’s most iconic roles out of artistic vision or to simply have his Star Wars sage move on? It is hard to say. Star Wars will have to do just that, though. Move on.
Star Wars Episode VIII is not far off, but many fans have been searching for any clues regarding the next installment that they can find. IO9 reports that there is a heavily-circulated Star Wars Episode VIII title that has been making its rounds on the interweb. Star Wars: Tale of the Jedi Temple is the rumored title, but though the old, forgotten temple Luke and Rey are near right now is likely going to be a centerpiece for the remaining films, the title does seem a little too specific. December 2018 can’t come soon enough, but the last wait was certainly a lot longer.
[Image via Gage Skidmore/Flickr/Cropped and Resized/CC BY-SA 2.0]
