‘Star Wars 7’ Villain: Gwendolin Christie To Play Gender-Swapped Sith Lord? [Spoilers]
A new Star Wars 7 villain has been revealed as Game of Thrones fan favorite Gwendoline Christie. This is definitely a change from the norm, considering how every major villain in the movies so far has been a man.
This article could be riddled with spoilers, so be warned.
The role was possibly meant for Star Trek and Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, but due to his alleged dislike for Wookiees, he declined. It is unknown if she will be a Sith Lord, Christie has allegedly been practicing with a light saber in her free time.
Will Gwendoline Christie be the first female Sith Lord in the film saga’s history, or is she just a huge Star Wars fan who loves playing with props?
What we do know about her role as a Star Wars 7 villain is that Christie will play the role of an Imperial Officer chasing John Boyega and Daisy Ridley’s characters after Boyega turns rogue. He plays a Storm Trooper who joins Ridley in her quest to find the legendary Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Christie could be looking for Luke herself for a major confrontation in the film, and using the rogue Storm Trooper and his ally to find him.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the film allegedly begins with a dismembered hand floating through space and holding a light saber, indicating that when Luke got his hand cut off in The Empire Strikes Back, it somehow ended up floating through space. Logic would normally place it somewhere in the slums below Cloud City. When it lands, according to the possible leaked plot, someone spots it and ends up on a mission to return the dismembered hand and its weapon to its rightful owner.
This is mostly rumors and speculation, but the fact is that Gwendoline Christie will be playing an Imperial Officer and a major Star Wars 7 villain.
This will certainly help combat the complaint that the Star Wars 7 cast, much like the older films, has generally always been predominantly male with maybe a few token female characters. Having a female villain will tip the gender scale a little more heavily than having a major character’s mother get maybe five minutes of screen time.
RT @cinemablend: Gwendoline Christie May Play A Gender-Swapped Villain In Star Wars: Episode VII http://t.co/LA7q8tlOl4 #movies
— Film Fatale (@FilmFatale_NYC) July 23, 2014
The real challenge will be writing a definite female character as an antagonist without making her look like she could have been a man without much more than a different kind of shirt. It is always difficult to balance definite female characters against stereotypes, and the latter could really destroy the film.
While some fans lament the absence of Mara Jade (Luke Skywalker’s wife in the books), hopefully this possible gender-swapped Star Wars 7 villain will make some positive waves and bring a more female balance to the Force.
[image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]
