Star Wars : Les Derniers Jedi [Lucasfilm - 2017]

Photo : Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

The soldier

If Princess Leia ignited the hearts and minds of little bun-wearing heroes across the galaxy, Capt. Phasma was created to spark fear.

The first female villain in a "Star Wars" movie, played by Gwendoline Christie (who made waves on "Game of Thrones" as Brienne of Tarth), is already setting sights high. Some are comparing Phasma to fan favorite Boba Fett. "Which means she makes a lot of impact but she's not at the forefront of the action all the time," Christie says.

But you won't see Phasma tapping out after being carelessly knocked into a sarlacc pit like a wobbly toddler. Kennedy has big plans for Phasma and confirmed that the captain will carry on into the next movie. "She's an important character, a baddie in the best sense of the word."

Phasma, or the Chrometrooper as fans have dubbed her because of the custom silver armor she wears as a sign of her authority, commands the Stormtroopers of the First Order. But it wasn't talk of villains that intrigued Christie, rather Kennedy's thoughts on the status of female heroes.

"Kathleen Kennedy said to me, 'Have you ever Googled 'female heroines'? I said, 'No,' and she did it for me. If you do it, there are a lot of scantily clad women. Now women should be allowed to dress exactly however they choose, but the idea that you Google female heroines and there isn't a diverse range of examples that come up, I find it a bit depressing."

It was this discussion that helped lead to Christie's involvement. The idea was to try something different, to push the boundaries for female roles, both evil and benevolent, toward a more realistic depiction of women. Which is a funny thought considering the most popular characters of this world carry around lightsabers and converse with Wookiees. Still, you won't find Phasma in the scantily clad role of the hero nor will you see her as the stereotypical slithering, seductive female villain.

"We see women in a different range of roles in the film," Christie says. "And the reason I love my character so much and I feel so enthusiastic about Capt. Phasma is, yes, she's cool, she looks cool, she's a villain — but more than that, we see a female character and respond to her not because of the way she looks. We respond to her because of her actions. I think we're a society that has promoted a homogenized idea of beauty in women — and in men — and I think it's really interesting, modern and necessary to have a female character that isn't about the way her body looks. It isn't about her wearing makeup. It's not about her being conventionally feminized. The idea of this enormous legacy and franchise embracing an idea like that, which of course to many of us feels logical, is actually really progressive. And long overdue."

Après Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) et Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), la présidente de Lucasfilm a confirmé le retour de John Boyega (Finn) et Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) !

Kathleen Kennedy, la productrice de Lucasfilm, lors de la première européenne du film à Londres :

Bien sûr on retrouvera de nouveaux acteurs au générique du huitième épisode, mais tous les membres du casting que vous avez vu ce soir seront également de retour.  

Harrison Ford figurerait donc bien au casting de l'épisode VIII.