Kathleen Kennedy Confirms This New FORCE AWAKENS Character Will Return in EPISODE VIII

If you're reading this, then I'll assume you're OK with some basic spoilers for The Force Awakens. If that doesn't sound like it applies to you, turn back now.

OK, here we go. Though much still remains a mystery about Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker, we already know that the character will survive the events of The Force Awakens and appear in Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII. Now, thanks to Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy, we know of one more character who will also be appearing in that film: Gwendoline Christie's Captain Phasma. From The L.A. Times:

Kennedy has big plans for Phasma and confirmed that the captain will carry on into the next movie. “She’s an important character, a baddie in the best sense of the word.”

Slashfilm also pointed out this cool quote I'd never seen before from J.J. Abrams, who says Christie's performance was his favorite of anyone in The Force Awakens:

"I can only say that Gwendoline Christie is my favorite. She just killed it. You think, “Well, what? It’s wearing a costume.” But it’s a lot to wear and to have a performance when you’re wearing that requires a different kind of skill set and an additional talent, and she’s got it. It’s an incredible thing to work with her. I am glad that a character has been designed that is visually as stunning as that is, because she deserves it and the fans do too. When I first saw that design my mind was blown because it looked so undeniable."

I'm glad to know that even if Christie gets killed off in upcoming seasons of Game of Thrones, we'll at least be able to see her being a badass in the Star Wars universe for one more movie. She looks spectacular in The Force Awakens, and I'm really looking forward to see how Captain Phasma factors into the action in a galaxy far, far away.