J.J. Abrams is about to go full circle.
Having resurrected the dormant Star Wars franchise with The Force Awakens, and collected a pretty penny at the box office ($2.06 billion), Abrams will soon return to Lucasfilm’s galaxy far, far away in order to helm the as-yet-untitled Episode IX.
It’s still a full two years out, after the Powers That Be decided to push their Star Wars threequel to lend Abrams and Chris Terrio (Justice League) additional time on the script, but that has in no way quelled our excitement. If anything, we’re now even more curious to see how J.J. Abrams brings the curtain down on Lucasfilm’s current trilogy, though it would be nice if we could get confirmation on which characters will and won’t be returning.
For instance, just earlier today we learned that Maz Kanata may not have a role in Episode IX and now, Gwendoline Christie has cast doubt over Captain Phasma appearing in the film. Speaking in a recent interview, the actress was asked if she’d be returning to that galaxy far, far away for Abrams’ upcoming outing and had this to say:
“In truth I don’t know. And that scares and upsets me because I really want to see this character explored. I’m actually very invested in the character now. And that’s genuine. That’s not just chat. It has opened up a chain of stories and events in my mind about who Phasma is.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Christie shared her thoughts on The Last Jedi, saying that she loved the film and thought it was a “progressive step forward” for the franchise.
“I really love ‘The Last Jedi’. It feels like a progressive step forward. It’s the idea of rigidity in one’s thinking or never being able to see the other side. This lack of empathy. It’s a choice.”
We definitely agree with the actress on her thoughts about having Phasma in Star Wars: Episode IX. True, the character was handled a bit better in Episode VIII than she was in The Force Awakens, but there’s still a lot more they could do with her. While some recent comics have certainly gone a long way in fleshing the villain out, it’s probably safe to say that everyone would love to see her step up and get an increased role in the next chapter of the saga.
Whether that’ll happen or not remains unknown, especially because Christie herself isn’t even sure she’ll be involved in the film. With production set to get underway this June, though, we imagine it won’t be long before the studio releases an official cast list and lets us know who exactly we can expect to see in Star Wars: Episode IX.
Until then, however, take to the comments section down below and let us know whether or not you’d like to see more of Phasma in Abrams’ upcoming sequel.
