Another day, another nugget of news about J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII… Today, we’ve heard again from Badass Digest’s Devin Faraci, who last brought us a very intriguing scoop about the film opening with a lightsaber falling into the hands of a struggling protagonist played by John Boyega. Whether or not that’s true remains to be seen, but Badass is back with some more neat information about the blockbuster – this time regarding the character played by Game of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie.
According to Faraci, Christie’s character is an imperial officer hunting Boyega’s character, who is potentially a deserter. Faraci added that the actress has been training with a lighsaber, teasing:
“Could she be an Imperial officer who has a lightsaber? Or is it something more? I’m hearing the S word.”
Faraci has heard that Christie will have some cool action sequences in the film – which makes sense, given that her action-packed role on Game of Thrones is undoubtedly what won her a part in Star Wars.
Interestingly, Faraci also suspects that Christie’s character was gender-swapped in casting after that initial, dude-heavy casting photo got some flack. He bases his hunch on the fact that Christie is playing an imperial officer, the same role Benedict Cumberbatch was reportedly once in talks for. If that’s true, kudos to Abrams for reworking the script to feature more talented actresses.
It will certainly be exciting to see Christie menace the protagonists of Star Wars: Episode VII if she is in fact a villain. As Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones, she has proven herself to be a highly talented dramatic actress as well as one who can deliver fantastic action sequences (remember that brutal Brienne/Hound throwdown?). If Faraci’s scoop is true, though, that suggests that the Empire has gained prominence again since the destruction of the Death Star in Episode VI – and that the Jedi have again been driven back by the Sith.
We’ll find out what’s going on for sure when Star Wars: Episode VII opens on December 18th, 2015.