StarWars.com shares an exclusive excerpt from Star Wars: The Galaxy’s Greatest Villains, a special edition of Star Wars: Insider arriving next week, Gwendoline Christie and author Kelly Thompson, who penned Marvel’s Star Wars: Captain Phasma, discuss their love of Captain Phasma.
Christie’s first day on set proved to be phenomenally exciting.
Gwendoline Christie: I walked onto set in the costume. It was a dream come true! I was greeted by such a warm group of people that had been working together for months on this really thrilling project. J.J. [Abrams] and I went through the scene. My heart was racing. I was so overexcited. But nothing prepared me for when I saw the entire set behind me, lit up, and full of characters I recognized from the Star Wars films that I was shown as a little girl.
The first on-screen female stormtrooper, Captain Phasma was one of a number of strong female characters in the sequel trilogy.
Gwendoline Christie: I was incredibly lucky to be playing the part of a female character that was well-rounded. [It’s important] that we see women, not just strong and good, but strong and evil, so we get to see all those aspects of human nature. They are all represented and we can enjoy them. There is something faintly irresistible about Captain Phasma. I think it might be in the costume rather than me. Again, I think it’s forward-thinking and modern for Star Wars to have that kind of character archetype and to investigate that side of femininity.
In the four-issue Star Wars: Captain Phasma from Marvel Comics, the titular character rescues herself from the refuse of Starkiller Base and retakes her command. At the time of its release, series writer Kelly Thompson was already known for her strong female characters.
Kelly Thompson: I’ve definitely gotten a bit of a reputation for writing complex women in comics, and Phasma is definitely complex. But in all other ways she’s different from most of my other licensed work, in that she’s much darker, more serious, and completely laconic.
My “voice” in comics has relied a lot on sense of humor and tone, so this was a total departure and the challenge really excited me. Phasma is a woman of action, not words, and that was a tough line to walk. But fortunately I had great partners in Marco and our colorist, Andres Mossa, so I was able to trust them to help me get Phasma right, even with far fewer words than I’m used to.
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