Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will release in December of 2019, leading many people wondering about their favorite characters’ appearance in the film. The first trailer for the film went up online recently and, while some fans were happy to find out that Emperor Palpatine was returning to the big screen, others were wondering about other villains — specifically, Captain Phasma.

Captain Phasma has been popular with many fans

Captain Phasma (played by Game of Thrones‘ Gwendoline Christie) is the stormtrooper commander of the First Order who appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017).

Despite being a villain and not having much of a role in the films, fans actually grew to really like the character. In fact, her action figures were some of the best-selling ones. Captain Phasma’s popularity seems to be due to her being the first female villain in the Star Wars universe and the fact that she is showing what has been missing from female characters in these types of roles.

Christie said this about Captain Phasma:

“The reason I love my character so much and I feel so enthusiastic about Captain 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… 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.”

Finn fought with Captain Phasma in ‘The Last Jedi’

The last time fans saw Captain Phasma was in The Last Jedi when she found herself fighting with Finn after he and Rose Tico infiltrated Snoke’s ship. Captain Phasma used to be Finn’s superior when he was a stormtrooper in the First Order, so their fight was a personal one. However, she was defeated by Finn and after she fell, the ground beneath her crumbled, causing her to be whisked into the flames.

This was not the first time Captain Phasma was defeated by the Resistance. In The Force Awakens, she was taken hostage by Finn, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, before being stuffed into a trash compactor.

John Boyega says that Captain Phasma will not return in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’

Some fans have expressed disappointment in Captain Phasma’s role being rather small in the past Star Wars film given how historically significant her character is. As such, many have been hoping that The Rise of Skywalker could give the villain a chance to shine a bit more.

However, at a recent panel for the upcoming movie, John Boyega (who plays Finn) was asked if Captain Phasma being dead would give former-stormtrooper Finn a sense of closure.

“Emotional closure, sure,” he responded. “I don’t think about her at night and stuff… Phasma, yeah, she’s dead.”

No doubt it was a sentence that hit hard for Captain Phasma fans. But now that she is gone, it seems Finn will have to face another villain.

There are new characters in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’

With Captain Phasma out of the picture, there is now some space for new faces to be introduced to the audience.

As mentioned before, Sith Lord Emperor Palpatine will somehow make an appearance again after his death in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. 

It has also been announced that a never-before-seen character is going to be in The Rise of Skywalker. Jannah, played by British actress Naomi Ackie, will make her first appearance on the big screen. Not much is currently known about Jannah, but Ackie has this to say: “The original group are going on this epic, epic adventure together and I’m so excited about where Jannah crosses paths with them.”

Some people even believe that she could be Lando Calrissian’s daughter, though Ackie isn’t revealing that just yet. “Lando is a very charming man, so he could have children all over the universe. That’s all I’m saying,” she shared.

Additionally, the new movie will also feature a new droid named D-0, a friend of BB-8.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.