In a bit of unsurprising, but still great news, Gwendoline Christie has revealed that she will reprise her role as Captain Phasma in STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII. Christie confirmed her involvement with the STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS follow-up on Saturday at the red carpet preshow for the SAG Awards, telling People that "I will be in the next Star Wars movie. I think that's an exclusive, actually." The actress also went on to reiterate how hard she fought for the role.
I was very overexcited. I made no secret of the fact that I really campaigned for the part for a long time. And then I was delighted when J.J. Abrams wanted to have me in the film and then wanted to cast me in this role that had originally been designed for a man.
I know some were bummed that Captain Phasma was underused in STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, but hopefully Christie's character will have a much larger presence in the sequels.
Principal photography for STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII should begin soon with LOOPER's Rian Johnson taking over directing duties from Abrams, and it was recently announced that the release date for the next installment in the new trilogy has been pushed back to December 15, 2017.