Rian Johnson Explains How He Almost Accidentally Killed Off Captain Phasma in THE LAST JEDI

A lot of fans are excited to see Gwendoline Christie's Captain Phasma back in action in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. We've already seen some great footage of her in the trailers as she confronts Finn (John Boyega) and engages in battle! 

As it turns out, Rian Johnson almost accidentally killed her off when he was writing the script for The Last Jedi. I'm sure you all remember Captain Phasma's final scene in The Force Awakens when Han Solo suggests that they throw her down the garbage chute leading to the trash compactor of Starkiller Base and then the Starkiller base blew up. Obviously Phasma escaped, but there was a line of dialogue originally written that would not have made sense at all.

Johnson reveals some of the dialogue he had written for a scene where Phasma comes face to face with Finn. He explains to io9::

“When I was first writing, I got really excited because I’d written a line where she said ‘I was stuck in that garbage thing for three weeks’ and he gives her a look and says ‘What did you eat?’”

But, wait? Didn't the Starkiller base blow up!? Yes... yes it did and Johnson had this realization:

“Then I realized, no, [Starkiller Base] blew up. If she was in the garbage chute, that means she blew up with the planet.”

That would have created such a huge plot hole, but luckily he caught it. Had he not caught it, I'm sure the Star Wars story group at Lucasfilm would have caught it. Captain Phasma's escape from Starkiller Base’s trash compactor was told in Marvel’s Captain Phasma comic book series.

Beyond the character's confrontation with Finn in the film, we don't really know what her overall story arc entails, but Johnson says they needed her alive:

"We needed her alive here. Mostly because I wanted to hang out with Gwendoline Christie.”

We'll find out what's in store for Captain Phasma soon! Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be released on December 15th. That's only about a week away!