4) General Hux
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is going to have four key villains – Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, General Hux and the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke – and it’s inevitable that not all of them will make it to Episode VIII. Seeing as Kylo and Snoke are key parts of the Sith element of the new trilogy, chances are they’re going to be around for the long haul, while Kathleen Kennedy has already confirmed more screentime for Phasma.
That leaves only General Hux, and while it would be a shame to only have the talented Domhnall Gleeson gone after just the one movie, there’s nothing to say he can’t still make a huge impact here (just think back to Grand Moff Tarkin). He actually sounds very similar to that character, especially as there’s supposed to be tension between Hux and Kylo similar to that between Darth Vader and Tarkin in A New Hope.
[zergpaid]If the Resistance succeed in destroying the Starkiller base (which would make sense as the next two movies could shift the focus to the battle between the Jedi and Sith), then Hux being one of the casualties seems very likely indeed. I dare say that it’s even possible Kylo might take him out, especially as he doesn’t exactly seem particularly stable.
Regardless of how it happens though, Hux definitely stands out as perhaps the most expendable of the four major new villains that J.J. Abrams is introducing in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and it would be very surprising to see his story developed any further than just this one movie.