‘Star Wars’: The ‘Waste of a Character’ Fans Still Believe Isn’t Actually Dead
The Star Wars recent sequel trilogy had its fair share of both fans and detractors. Some applauded the bold moves and new creative direction for the franchise. Others expressed frustration about some of the narrative choices the filmmakers made. They questioned how they treated their characters as well, thinking that many of the series characters had a lot of potential, but didn’t live up to it.
One of the characters fans were disappointed with was Captain Phasma. Phasma got a lot of attention leading up to the new trilogy’s release, but ultimately didn’t have much time on screen. Let’s take a closer look why one fan called her a “waste of a character” and why others believe she may still be alive within the Star Wars universe.
Who was Captain Phasma?
Played by Gwendoline Christie, Captain Phasma first appeared in The Force Awakens. She was a high ranking military officer in The First Order army. She’s used as part of Finn’s story arc.
While Phasma looms large over Finn’s experience as a Stormtrooper turned agent of the Resistance, she doesn’t get a lot to do in the movie outside that. She reappears in The Last Jedi when Finn and Rose are captured aboard a First Order ship. She and Finn then engage in combat. That’s the last fans see of her.
She doesn’t have much screen time, which is common with many Star Wars villains who aren’t named Darth Vader or Kylo Ren. When it comes to bad guys, the Star Wars universe applies the phrase “less is more.”
Phasma’s ultimate fate in The Last Jedi gives her a complete story arc. She started as a brutal authoritarian who senselessly ordered her soldiers to do evil things. Finally, one stands up to her in Finn.
It’s Finn that ultimately defeats her in battle, where she’s killed aboard a First Order ship. It may not have been the arc fans were looking for, but it was an arc.
The missed opportunity of Captain Phasma
Many fans left unsatisfied with the direction the filmmakers went with the character. She had all the trappings of a great Star Wars villain. She had an impressive costume and a steely, no-nonsense attitude. Despite this, she isn’t featured very much in either of the films.
She’s even portrayed as ineffective and traitorous in The Force Awakens, where she’s easily overpowered by Finn, Han, and Chewie before giving them exactly what they want with little resistance.
Star Wars fans are used to seeing characters with little screen time get a lot of attention. Boba Fett is lauded as being one of the coolest, most beloved villains in the franchise, and yet he barely appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and did very little.
Why some Star Wars fans believe that Phasma is possibly not dead
In a Reddit post wishing a happy birthday to Christie, one fan pointed out that Phasma as a character represented something of a missed opportunity. They said:
“god what a waste of a character.”
Another fan compared her to Boba Fett, which makes sense. Phasma was a secondary villain talked about by fans for her cool appearance who ended up doing not doing much. She also ended up being defeated in rather easy fashion.
One other poster said it would make sense if Phasma returned as a “cybernetically enhanced bounty hunter.” This clearly didn’t happen in The Rise of Skywalker, but she may return at some point. There’s no clear direction yet on where the Star Wars films go from here, but a Phasma comeback could certainly be in the cards.
