THE first “Star Wars” film featured Mark Hamill as lead star with major assist from Harrison Ford and the late Carrie Fisher. And while Fisher’s role showed power, she still had to wear skimpy outfits at times—just to showcase what a woman really does in films from the past: provide beauty and sexiness.
But then came 2015 and the power shifted. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” featured a female lead in Daisy Ridley playing Rey, who didn’t have to show cleavage or her toned midriff. Assisting Ridley were John Boyega as Finn and Oscar Isaac as Poe.
The 2016 intermission film, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” also featured a female lead: Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso—again, no cleavage or tummy
“The Force Awakens” also introduced fans to Captain Phasma, commander of the First Order of Stormtroopers. It’s the first time the leader is a female and she is played by Gwendoline Christie.
Fisher also returned to play Leia Organa in “The Force Awakens,” holding the rank of general in the Rebellion.
Indeed, Rey, Captain Phasma (baddie or not) and Leia have created a perfect mold for today’s women—they can be tough, they can be leaders, and they don’t have to wear sexy outfits to be noticed.
Christie keeps in fighting in 'Star Wars'
Gwendoline Christie plays fearsome fighters in both Westeros and a galaxy far, far away. And while the statuesque British actress keeps the two worlds distinct in her mind, her combat skills are actually a bridge between them.
Christie’s fight with Finn (John Boyega) as Captain Phasma in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and the face-off between Brienne of Tarth and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) on “Game of Thrones” were created by the same choreographer, C.C. Smiff. (The Finn-Phasma fight is teased in “The Last Jedi” trailer.)
“It was C.C. who taught me to fight, taught me to sword fight and really facilitated me in terms of giving me the confidence to go further,” she said in a recent interview.
Not that there was too far to go in “The Last Jedi.” Captain Phasma’s armor is “incredibly restrictive,” Christie said: “It’s challenging just to walk.”
Still, the 39-year-old actress was “delighted” to play the mysterious character in “The Force Awakens” and reprise it in “The Last Jedi.” She said she loves Phasma’s chromed appearance and genderless power.
“I just go back to the costume, of it being genderless, of it not needing to display any sexuality, and by that I mean not needing to show the delineations of a woman’s body,” she said. “That feels limitless and I think that connects to men and women.”
Fans were so taken by Phasma’s look when it was revealed ahead of “The Force Awakens” in 2015 that some balked about her brief screen time.
“You’ve been asked to be in a ‘Star Wars’ film. You can’t start complaining, 'Oh, there wasn’t more of me,’” Christie said. “What I will say about what you see of Captain Phasma (in the new film)—which I, of course, can’t really say anything—but I don’t think people will be disappointed.”
For her part, she’s just grateful for her place in two vast and beloved worlds, regardless of what kind of fighting it demands.
“What a huge privilege to be part of these two amazing things. ‘Game of Thrones’—nobody knew that it would enjoy such incredible success, it’s become a global phenomenon—and I’ve grown up with 'Star Wars,'” Christie said. “I’ve been hugely lucky in the last few years of my career and I’m just really delighted to be part of the film."
Carrie Fisher's legacy
Carrie Fisher may have been the “madcap Auntie Mame” to Mark Hamill’s “square” homebody, but despite their differences, the "Star Wars" siblings got along famously right till the end.
While both skyrocketed to celebrity with their "Star Wars" roles in 1977 and remained inextricably linked through their on-screen family, Hamill said he missed a lot of Fisher’s life — during “the Bryan Lourd years” and when her daughter Billie Lourd was an infant. That’s why, even before her untimely death last year, he felt especially grateful to just get to spend time with his friend during the filming of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
“I’d see her periodically during charity events or when there were "Star Wars" celebrations and so forth. But this was the first time where we could really hang and enjoy each other. Even if I wasn’t shooting I was coming in for stunt training and this or that, hair tests, coming into her trailer and hanging out with her and (her dog) Gary,” Hamill said.
Fisher was apparently beloved by all in the cast, both for who she was and what the character of Leia meant to them. Her death at age 60 came after filming had finished and deep into post-production, but presented a bit of a conundrum for the filmmakers who had anticipated Leia being part of the next film too.
“The Last Jedi” writer-director Rian Johnson said he ultimately didn’t end up changing anything about her role in this installment, which is the eighth in the Star Wars films about the lives and adventures of the Skywalker clan. That’ll be something J.J. Abrams will have to grapple with in Episode IX, in which Fisher was meant to have a much more prominent role.
“We’ll have to find a way to give her closure in IX, but we’ll never be able to replace her,” Hamill said.
“She is so good in it,” Johnson said. “I always think about the fans who didn’t know her in real life and grew up watching her and it’s like they’re all going through their own type of loss. It’s really going to be emotional for people who she means something to see this. I hope it’ll be good. I hope it’ll mean something to them.”
Many in the cast speak almost interchangeably about the feisty princess turned general and the unapologetic boldness of Hollywood royalty who embodied her. The women in particular recall being deeply affected by the Leia character when they were young.
“I truly remember thinking ’She’s different. She’s not like all the rest,’” Gwendoline Christie said of seeing Leia for the first time when she was six or seven years old. “I’m thinking, ‘I want to be like her.’”
But it was Fisher’s extraordinary persona that was top of mind of everyone.
“It’s hard to do it justice, describing the life of someone. She’s so complicated,” said Adam Driver, who plays her estranged son.
Fisher made newcomer Kelly Marie Tran realize, “How much courage it takes to be yourself when you’re on a public platform.”
“She was so unapologetic and openly herself,” Tran said.
But Fisher’s famed frankness and spirit was only one part of a complex person, according to Hamill, who, after 40 years of knowing her got to see the nuance.
“As tough as she was and as venomous as her wit could be, she was really vulnerable in a way. Even though we weren’t really brother and sister there was sort of a protectiveness I felt. I was defensive when people would criticize her and I’d get mad at her when she was self-indulgent, which was quite a lot. But I loved her so much,” Hamill said.
“When I get mad and selfish and think, ‘Darn-it Carrie, your timing used to be perfect, why now?’ You have to say, ‘At least we have that. We should be grateful for the time we had with her.’ And I do know one thing: She would want us to be laughing and happy, not morose and depressed over her not being around anymore.”
Daisy Ridley returns
Daisy Ridley went from obscurity to international stardom when J.J. Abrams picked her to play the central character of the new Star Wars trilogy, and her character Rey quickly became a fan favorite and an inspiration to young girls around the world.
The 25-year-old British actress returns to the Star Wars fold in “The Last Jedi,” which picks up with Rey at the moment she finds Luke Skywalker on that lush cliff.
“It’s hard, you would think going into the second one you’d be like, ‘Oh yeah I’ve got this.’ No. No. it was very much like new scene partner, new story, new...it was just a new feeling. New director. New writer. It was a lot of wrap my head around. And then things settle down as they always do, and you’re like this is ok,” said Ridley on returning as Rey.
The trailer for “The Last Jedi” hints that Ridley is considering going to the dark side.
“I think she doesn’t quite know what is going through her mind,” Ridley said of Rey’s mindset. “She’s been sent to do this thing and it goes beyond anything she’s known. Everything has been her trying to do the right thing and her trying to help other people and she’s not really stopped for a second.”
“Even doing it, I didn’t quite know. I was trying to play hope and searching for an answer. But hilariously the first time around I didn’t know where that was going to go. Anything that Rey is trying to catch up on, the audience is trying to catch up on with her. Why is she there? What’s the force? What’s this thing? And the greater sort of questions of the universe of good and evil and why people do the things they do.” (AP with JGA)