The Women of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Who will Return for Episode VIII

Kathleen_KennedyChatting with Los Angeles Times about the women in Star Wars, Producer Kathleen Kennedy accidentally or not revealed that a certain character from The Force Awakens will return in Episode VIII. Read on to find out who that is…

 

 

Excerpts from Los Angeles Times:

 

Rey 02

The scavenger

The little we know about Rey is that she’s been left to fend for herself amid the wreckage of the previous war between the Empire and the Rebellion. Despite the Ewok celebrations at the defeat of the Empire, there were still corners of the galaxy left forever altered by the damage, including Jakku, Rey’s home.

Asked about her importance Ridley replies:

“Rey’s not important because she’s a woman, she’s just important,” Ridley says. “But obviously, having a woman like this in a film is hugely important.”

Leia 02

The princess

“She had contempt for and worked with men, and I liked that,” Fisher says. “There was something human about her. It showed that she could do whatever she needed to do, and if she could do that, then everybody could do it. People identified with her. She’s like a superhero.”

Leia in The Force Awakens.

The new film reintroduces Leia 30 years after the war. She’s no longer a princess but a general. And she’s still very much in command — “still walking and talking,” Fisher says. “She doesn’t have any mortal wounds or disease.” But, she warns, “things have happened that have been difficult.”

 

Phasma

The soldier

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.”

How Disney reacts to the new approach.

“They are really, really making a huge effort across the company to put more focus around casting women and putting women in positions of responsibility, with directing and various other positions inside, different lines of business in the company,” Kennedy says. “It’s not just about casting female protagonists. It’s gotta be across the board throughout the industry. I think Hasbro, who’s making toys for a while, they were perhaps a little reluctant to move too quickly with something that’s been such a successful boys line. I think they’re recognizing that selling to girls is just as effective as selling to boys.

 

Read the full Los Angeles Times article here.

 

 

Minor Spoilers

 

The comment on Captain Phasma is really interesting. If she survives then someone else from the villains should die. We already heard from interviews that Snoke is important and that he will have a bigger role in the future. Also Kylo Ren seems too important to be killed so early in the new trilogy. This probably could mean (and this is just a speculation) that the chances for Domhnall Gleeson’s character, General Hux to survive TFA are very slim. In a similar fashion like Tarkin in A New Hope. And we already know that J.J. loves making parallels between the two stories .

 

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Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

50 thoughts on “The Women of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Who will Return for Episode VIII

  • December 4, 2015 at 11:07 pm
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    Luke is Phasma.

    • December 4, 2015 at 11:08 pm
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      Jar Jar is Phasma.

      • December 4, 2015 at 11:13 pm
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        C3po is the real Phasma, look at the way she struts….

      • December 5, 2015 at 5:26 am
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        phasma binks confirmed

      • December 5, 2015 at 8:22 am
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        Jar Jar the Sith Lord shape-shifted into Mark Hamill playing Adam Driver as Kylo Ren wearing Captain Phasma’s chrome armour.

        Because Gwendoline Christie had an errand to run.

    • December 4, 2015 at 11:37 pm
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      Wicket’s grandchild is Phasma…no, that’s just silly. Mara Jade’s evil twin sister is Phasma! LOL

    • December 4, 2015 at 11:52 pm
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      Wasn’t there like a rumor a while back about Phasma possibly being related to Count Dooku? After all, there’s that whole “hunt for Count Dooku’s lost treasure” thing lol

    • December 5, 2015 at 11:15 am
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      Phasma is Luke’s father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.

  • December 4, 2015 at 11:11 pm
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    Coming to theaters in the summer of 2021…

    Phasma: A Star Wars Story

    I’m sure Lucasfilm is hoping Phasma resonates with audiences like Boba Fett did, because they’re going to need to build anthology films around some of these new characters. I’m guessing those are the big plans Kennedy is alluding to.

    • December 4, 2015 at 11:13 pm
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      Perhaps. I can’t knock or shot down that idea outright – hell, some folks might actually like that one.

      I’m hoping that LF decides to expand the universe a bit, and goes the “Rogue One” route, by telling stories of things that have only been alluded to or hinted at in passing at some point within the universe that we know.

    • December 4, 2015 at 11:43 pm
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      Phasma as a playable character in Battlefront and its sequels would be nice too

  • December 4, 2015 at 11:18 pm
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    I really like the idea behind Phasma. She seems very similar to me, like “I’m tall and scary, so I’m gonna use that. Heil First Order.”
    …okay, I added the last part, but you get it. I’m looking forward to seeing more Phasma in the future (not just in the movie, which will no doubt be little more than a visual introduction, but in games and comics and books and toys and milk cartons and cookies.)

    • December 4, 2015 at 11:38 pm
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      Phasma standalone? Phasma video game?

  • December 4, 2015 at 11:31 pm
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    parallels or copyings?

    • December 5, 2015 at 3:13 am
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      Parallels.

      • December 5, 2015 at 11:18 am
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        For what is a parallel check the scene in interstellar where Mann fights Cooper

  • December 4, 2015 at 11:36 pm
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    Hux bites the dust?? Man, I’m glad I already bought his action figure! 😀

    • December 5, 2015 at 2:42 pm
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      how does anyone know that aside of the few people who have seen the movie?

  • December 4, 2015 at 11:37 pm
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    Long live Kennedy. I hope you rock our culture and Hollywood for decades to come.

  • December 4, 2015 at 11:57 pm
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    The Phasma Menace !

  • December 5, 2015 at 12:01 am
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    I think it was really stupid move to say that one of 4 main baddies will survive,what’s point of that? I thought they will confirm Lando for episode 8. Damn,I will not read anything more in next 11 days

    • December 5, 2015 at 12:32 am
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      My expectation is no Lando. I think Cloud City is destroyed and dumped on Jakku. It is the only way I can imagine that the lightsabre could end up there without it being bizarre. It is dumped with the rest of the trash on Jakku.

      • December 5, 2015 at 5:09 pm
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        Not exactly the Cloud city opens those vents occasionally to drop the trash out. So it hurtles toward the surface of Bespin.

  • December 5, 2015 at 12:18 am
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    Slightly disappointed. Love Domhnall Gleeson. 🙁

    • December 5, 2015 at 12:20 am
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      Gleeson’s fate is just a speculation. He could very well make it. 🙂

      • December 5, 2015 at 12:36 am
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        I hope so !

      • December 5, 2015 at 1:44 am
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        The movie is supposed to be dark – maybe ALL the villains survive, and half the heroes die?!

        • December 5, 2015 at 5:07 pm
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          This is not the Empire Strikes back that will be episode VIII when the First order retaliates on the Resistance.

  • December 5, 2015 at 12:36 am
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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgp9MPLEAqA

    They are beginning to sound like Stan now with all this women talk.

    NEWSFLASH – Princess Leia was just as central to Star Wars as Luke Skywalker back in the 70’s. Stop blabbering on as if you have to right some sexist wrong that never existed in Star Wars in the past in the first bloody place

    • December 5, 2015 at 1:45 am
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      Yeah, what do people want? TWO women?

    • December 5, 2015 at 1:47 am
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      Well, at least they’ve stopped talking about practical effects for a little bit!

  • December 5, 2015 at 1:00 am
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    I thought it’s been a given for a long while that Hux will not survive this film.

    • December 5, 2015 at 2:41 pm
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      who says?

    • December 5, 2015 at 5:05 pm
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      He will suffer Tarkin’s fate on being with the Super weapon when it is destroyed.

  • December 5, 2015 at 1:28 am
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    Not a complaint because I like what they’re trying to do, but Kennedy needs to be careful with this push to female everything. It was the boys who made SW what it is, and a balance just to have balance in numbers may cause quality to suffer. Politically correct measures can ruin the company and the franchise, let’s make sure the stories are good and the LF employees are quality people; then we can worry about their color and gender. In my humble opinion, which I know is share by many more. May the Force be With ALL of us, Always.

    • December 5, 2015 at 3:11 am
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      Your post would be pretty much spot on, if it wasn’t for the “it was the boys who made SW what it is” crap. You lose most of your credibility there, and you definitely run out of it with the “I know [my “humble” opinion] is shared by many more” part – because they’re both contradictory to the emphasized tone of inclusivity you’re trying to use that, ultimately, comes out as condescending and patronizing.

    • December 5, 2015 at 5:02 am
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      I don’t think there’s much danger of Star Wars losing its male fan base. There’s already been almost 40 years in which that fan base has been the primary target of marketing. Now a special effort is being made to cultivate a bigger female fan base, as well as to create a precedent for women to helm some of the biggest film projects on the planet.

      I know this is anecdotal, but none of my male friends seems any less excited about Star Wars because there are more female protagonists in the works. In fact, among hardcore Star Wars fans, the seeds have already been planted: Ahsoka Tano is an immensely popular character. Speaking for myself, she’s my favorite character in the Star Wars universe since the OT – and this is coming from someone who pretty much despised the prequels…

    • December 5, 2015 at 8:43 am
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      Relax, guys. There’s nothing to worry about. Including more women in Star Wars isn’t hurting it at all. In fact, it’s help make me more excited than ever to see Star Wars.

  • December 5, 2015 at 5:12 am
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    Good to hear that we’ll see more of Phasma. She’s a promising character. Plus, I think it’s great to see a kind of female character we don’t usually see in major movies. As Gwendoline Christie has herself pointed out, she’s the rare female character in a genre project whose body (more precisely, as Christie put it, whose ‘flesh’) isn’t being made the focus of attention.

    I also want to say: it’s also great that Christie has been enjoying more and more success. First of all, she’s a great actress: I loved the character of Brienne from Martin’s books before she ever appeared on Game of Thrones, and Christie just absolutely nails the character – her combination of intimidating strength, together with a really compelling shyness and vulnerability. Plus, Christie has the kind of beauty that isn’t usually prized in Hollywood. She’s nearing middle age (aged 37), and she’s really tall and strong – not at all like the young and infantilized, waify, puny girls that we usually see. And yet…I know I’m not the only one who thinks she’s incredibly beautiful…

    • December 7, 2015 at 6:19 am
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      100% agree!

  • December 5, 2015 at 8:21 am
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    With all the push for Kylo, why wouldn’t he die now (sell the toys first) since the tweet action today confirmed that Rey also has a lightsaber duel with him.

  • December 5, 2015 at 8:31 am
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    😉

    • December 7, 2015 at 6:19 am
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      Trilogy 4……octuplets!

  • December 5, 2015 at 12:21 pm
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    “Kylo Ren seems too important to be killed so early in the new trilogy.”

    Two words for you, my friend: Darth Maul. 😛

    • December 7, 2015 at 6:18 am
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      Ahhh yes but Maul didnt die! He came back!

      • December 23, 2015 at 9:09 pm
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        …. that was exactly the point I was making. ¬_¬”

  • December 5, 2015 at 2:32 pm
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    100% sure Kylo Ren survives this movie, in fact , i think one of the major story arcs in this new trilogy will be how the ultra bad guy, who kills his own father in cold blood , slowly becomes one of the good guys with all the tension and hostility this will come from the other characters ( Remeber what brilliant /conflicted scenes that gave say Boomer in Battlestar Galactica remake) thats a very interesting thing to handle both for as filmmaker and as an actor

  • December 6, 2015 at 12:44 am
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    Not reading it. I’d really wish they would shut up about who is back for the future films since this is the first time in three decades that we can truly be surprised about the fate of characters.

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